What do you think about the new regulations impacting deer seasons on Missouri?

By Grant Woods,

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← Grant's Answers — Deer Biology
Question
What is your opinion on the new regulations for deer hunting here in MO. Also what are is your opinion on the CWD management zones, I am a hunter in one of the new areas and I have not see CWD on the farm, how is putting out minerals a bad thing. We do all we can to get the most growth out of are deer population. With out being able to put out minerals I feel we will lose some of that growth and we will loose the deer population we have on the farm.

Thank you for your time,

Jeff,

Overall I think the Missouri Department of Conservation does a good job managing natural resources.  It’s very tough to manage deer on a statewide or even countywide basis.  Habitat, the number of deer, etc., can change substantially from property to property so most state agencies are forced to manage based on averages.  16+ states use some type of Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP). This requires each landowner to collect data but also allows them to taylor deer harvest and management goals for their property.  

I assist landowners in several states that use DMAP programs and am impressed with the results. Some states have had DMAP programs for decades.  

CWD is a very serious concern.  Unfortunately there’s still much that’s not known about CWD.  However, there seems to be some very common trends associated with CWD that might be used to guide wildlife managers.  

One such trend is that some of the highest infection rate/longest known occurrences of CWD are in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado. The vast majority of these areas are public lands were feeding and supplemental minerals are illegal.  CWD has obviously spread unchecked even though supplemental feeding or minerals were not and are not being used.  Conversely there are many states such as South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, etc., where CWD has yet to be found even though supplemental feeding and/or minerals are legal.  There are many variables including the intensity of testing for CWD, etc.

It doesn’t seem like the rate of CWD transmission is related to the practice of providing supplemental feed and/or minerals.  This is possibly due to the fact that deer are very social.  They lick, groom, etc., other deer frequently. The smell the urine of other deer, use scrapes, etc.

There is much unknown about CWD and I certainly favor intense research on this subject. It may be best to be overly cautious in areas where CWD has been detected.  I hope we redirect some research dollars and effort to focusing on CWD soon.

Enjoy creation,

grant

December 20, 2015