Thoughts from the Hunting Blind is a column from Erin Merrill.
Each year hundreds of thousands of us take to the woods and fields across Maine to harvest a whitetail deer. Two years ago, Maine law changed to allow deer hunters the opportunity to take at least two deer if they decided to enter the lottery for a doe permit. The reasons behind this change were simple; it created a fund for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to purchase and protect ideal wintering habitat for deer and it gave hunters the opportunity to harvest a doe and a buck. We have known for a long time that the deer population was getting out of control in some areas of the State and this is one solution. This fall, every hunter that has a doe tag should actively try to be punching that tag.
For newer hunters, does can be more tricky to hunt. Unlike bucks that can be aged easily by their antlers, aging a doe means you are looking at the size of their head, specifically their ears and nose. The longer the nose is, the older the animal is. The smaller the ears look compared to the head, the older the animal is. It means that you need to be able to spend more time identifying what you are shooting. Plus, if you are in the woods where there is still coverage, hunters need to make sure there is not a fawn traveling with the doe. It is more work but it is important.
State deer biologists monitor the number of deer and doe tags in each wildlife management district to ensure the right number of deer are potentially harvested each year. There are two key factors to consider: social carrying capacity, which is the number of animals in a specific area that people can tolerate before they become a nuisance either as pests (eating gardens and plants) or as a danger (to drivers). The other is the biological carrying capacity which is the number of animals in an area that can survive given the amount of food, water and shelter in that area.
When too many deer are in an area, problems occur. It could be car collisions or it could be an increased number of predators looking for food. When a lot of deer are in a small area, coyotes don’t have to exert a lot of energy looking for a quick meal and tend to stay close by. Large numbers of deer also make diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) or Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) easier to spread. While Maine does not have either of these diseases, they have been found as far north as Maryland and Quebec.
A doe tag should not be a backup tag. A doe might not be a hunter’s ultimate goal for the season, but it makes the most sense to use that tag first. It ensures meat in the freezer, helps with the carrying capacities of an area and when there are less does around, bucks have to travel more during the rut. It is a win-win.
I plan to prioritize my doe tag this season and I hope you will join me.
Erin Merrill is a freelance outdoor writer. She writes a monthly column in the Northwoods Sporting Journal and is a Senior Writer for Drury Outdoor’s DeerCast. To find more articles and contact her visit her website; And a Strong Cup of Coffee. Erin is a member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association, New England Outdoor Writers Association and is the vice president of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
