On the Horizon

Change is the only element of life which is constant

If there is anything constant about deer season in Tennessee, is that it is constantly changing. Some will argue that the changes have been for the better; some may even argue that the changes have been for the worse. We, as an agency, contend the changes are sometimes neither good nor bad, simply that they are necessary.

Take for example how we manage deer in Tennessee. Twenty years ago, there were many places in Tennessee where the deer herd was still trying to get established. Traditional management strategies called for strict regulations on the harvest of antlerless deer. This strategy allowed the herd to grow and gain a foothold in every corner of every county of the state. Nowadays, our management strategy has shifted from a restoration phase to a management phase where the number one issue now is not trying to grow the deer herd, but rather how to get the deer herd to stop growing. This type of management requires more liberal antlerless harvests and usually results in the stabilization of the deer herd.

Not only has the change in management strategy resulted in a more stable deer herd, but it has also resulted in a tremendous change in the quality of the herd. As recently as the early 90s, the buck harvest in Tennessee consisted primarily of yearlings. Up to 80% of all the bucks fell into this category. In less than 20 years, Tennessee now ranks up there with the midwestern states, which by some, are known as the trophy states. According to the Quality Deer Management Association, over the last three years, the Midwestern yearling harvest rate averaged 44.3% yearlings. During that same time period, the Tennessee harvest rate averaged 41.0% yearlings. Not only are yearling harvest rates similar, but so is the harvest rate of 3½ year old and older bucks. Believe it or not, Tennessee is right on par with the trophy states in that one out of every five bucks harvested comes in at least 3½ years of age or older.

Besides changing the management strategy and overall quality of the deer herd, Tennessee sportsmen have recently seen numerous changes to the season structure. As recently as 2007, there were seven season changes outside of the Young Sportsman hunt. This meant, depending upon which week you were in, a different weapon was legal for deer season. Although generally understood by the seasoned hunter, these ever-changing regulations often discouraged the new and more inexperienced hunters. In 2009, a simplification was made to unite the two separate muzzleloader seasons. This is now followed in 2011 by what we hope is our last change to the season structure. We have now united two gun segments to create one continuous gun season. The end result is a season that progresses simply from archery to muzzleloader to gun.

What changes are lurking on the horizon?

Hopefully, regulations will stay fairly static for a number of years. In fact, the agency is going to make a conscious effort in the coming years to not make any unnecessary changes to the seasons or bag limits. We do, however, foresee some big changes in the way deer are checked in. As technologies advance, so too must our data collection methods. Unfortunately, many technologies are extremely expensive, especially when it comes to big game check-in. To keep agency costs at a minimum, new avenues to check-in deer are being explored. Some of the less expensive yet most useful methods to check-in animals are by the use of internet and smart phones. Though there are still many questions to be answered, do not be surprised if an internet-based system becomes the system of choice for the agency. Do not worry, we will still make every effort to maintain check stations for those folks who really don’t like the idea of change. After all not all change is good. However, it is sometimes necessary.

© iStockphoto.com/EEI_Tony

Reprinted from the 2011 QDMA Whitetailed Deer Report

Internet-based check-in may be the system of the future. If so, permanent and temporary kill tags may be replaced with a harvest log system like the one above.