Texas Hunting Times: Texas Hunting News

Texas is a Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) free state so far, but state officials cringe each time additional, undocumented white-tailed deer find their way into the state. Sure, some deer do walk across state lines everyday, but the real trouble lies in deer brought into the state illegally each year. Recently, CWD and Bovine Tuberculosis were not detected in more than 300 deer held illegally on an East Texas deer breeding facility, according to findings at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

“We are greatly relieved with the results from the CWD disease testing,” said Carter Smith, executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “We take disease issues very seriously because of the potential impacts to Texas’ natural resources, the public’s wildlife, and the multi-billion dollar deer hunting and deer breeding industries.

While the lab results provide a positive conclusion to an extensive epidemiological investigation by state wildlife officials, they do not moderate the illegal deer smuggling of a 77-year-old former deer breeder that led to the need for disease testing. Billy Powell pleaded guilty on June 14 to the felony offense of smuggling at least 37 white-tailed deer, over a 3-year time span, from Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio into Texas in violation of state and federal laws.

For those not aware, CWD has been documented in at least 10 counties in Illinois, posing a direct link for disease risk in Texas as a result of Powell’s illegal importation activities. “It is regrettable that Mr. Powell forced the state to take this action in the first place,” said Smith. “After he repeatedly smuggled deer illegally into Texas and risked introducing devastating diseases into both wild deer herds and penned deer operations, thereby threatening the state with immense economic harm, the Department had no choice but to step in. Quite simply, the hundreds of thousands of deer hunters who go to the field annually in pursuit of wild game and the thousands of landowners who manage the state’s wildlife responsibly don’t deserve to have their enjoyment of wildlife jeopardized by someone who shows such little regard for the public’s resources.”

The implications from a CWD outbreak in Texas’ internationally recognized white-tailed deer population, both free-ranging and captive, would be significant. Deer hunting is an important cultural and recreational component of Texas lifestyle, pursued annually by more than 600,000 sportsmen, and has an economic impact to the state in excess of $2.2 billion a year, according to published reports. In addition, studies show deer breeding activities have an economic impact in Texas of about $650 million annually.

Currently, 20 states and Canadian provinces are tagged as having documented CWD in their whitetail deer, mule deer, elk or moose. The progression of the disease into new areas remains persistent. In 2005, West Virginia detected a positive. Virginia got a confirmed case in 2010 and this year Maryland joined the list of infected states.

More than 1,200 permits are issued annually to deer breeders in Texas covering an estimated 80,000 whitetails held in captivity. The vast majority of deer breeders operate within guidelines designed to minimize risk of disease transmission. Since CWD testing and surveillance efforts were initiated in Texas a decade ago, more than 35,000 deer samples have been submitted for testing. TPWD has tested only about 800 illegally-possessed deer from 32 different violators.

“People ask me if I’m confident we don’t have CWD in Texas after testing that many animals, and I tell them my confidence level grows each year,” said Mitch Lockwood, TPWD’s big game program director. “But, that confidence drops to zero every time we learn about a deer being smuggled into the state. The threat is real and the consequences can be substantial; just ask any of those other states that are dealing with CWD in their deer herds.”

There are many debates when it comes to white-tailed deer hunting. Sit around any campfire during deer season and you’ll get a taste of what I’m talking about. Just about everything is up for debate or, uh, argument. The age of a buck, Boone and Crockett score, which deer are cull bucks, and whether or not someone should shoot a spike buck are all common topics hunters “discuss.” However, the hot topic in recent seasons has been, you guessed it, antler restrictions. With antler restriction regulations on whitetail bucks now canvasing much of Texas, check out what Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Gary Calkins recently wrote on the issue:

“In the world of entertainment, the measure of success can often be seen by the number of T-shirts with a saying or logo made popular by a band or television show. In a way, the measure of success, or lack thereof, in the wildlife field, can be measured by the number of times we are stopped at the gas station and asked about the topic of the day. These discussions can range from rattlesnakes to bears, to the weather, and the impacts on turkeys. But in recent years, one of the more prevalent topics brought up is “antler restriction regulation.” Phone calls, hunting blogs, coffee shops and gas stations have all been the venue to praise or decry this regulation.

First order of business that I can’t stress enough – this is NOT a trophy buck regulation. Even though we have stated that numerous times, it can’t be stressed enough. The driving force behind this regulation is an improved age structure in the buck segment of the deer herd which has many human, social and deer-related biological impacts. Everything from hunter satisfaction to fawn recruitment are impacted by this management approach.

The single-most important deer management decision that can be made on any property, in any given year, is the simple “to pull the trigger or not to pull the trigger – that is the question.” With the smaller property sizes and number of hunters in Texas, that simple question has huge impacts across the landscape. The premise of this regulation is to help with that decision and lead to a better deer herd and ultimately a better hunting experience.

Without going into all of the boring details, this regulation allows for the harvest of bucks with an inside spread of 13 inches or greater, or at least one unbranched antler. This provides protection to young and middle-aged deer, allowing them to grow and mature, and leads back to that improved age structure I mentioned earlier.

Today’s society operates at high speed all the time. We have Internet, cell phones, and almost every other conceivable device to “stay connected” – even cell phones that go to the Internet. We have become accustomed to instant satisfaction in nearly every aspect of our lives. With wildlife management, this regulation being no exception, instant satisfaction isn’t part of the bargain. Deer couldn’t care less what new “app” is out there for the newest gadget; nature still works at the same tempo it always did, so we are the ones that have to adjust.

With changes in management approaches, it can take several years to reap the benefits, simply because we have to wait for nature to adjust and catch up. From the outset, we said that the first two or three years may be tough deer hunting after the change to this regulation, but that then hunting would improve. We have also heard everything from “the deer have to have narrow antlers to run through the woods so they will never get bigger” to “if we kill all the big ones, only the little ones will be left.” Years of data can show that neither of this is going to happen and that we are seeing an improving trend in the harvest in the Pineywoods and throughout counties with antler restrictions.

The area that Texas Parks and Wildlife defines as the Pineywoods consists of 27 counties running roughly from Texarkana to Jacksonville, then to Houston and over to Beaumont, with the state line as the eastern boundary. This entire area had a deer herd that was being harvested too heavily in the younger segment of the buck herd.

When antler restrictions were first implemented, the northern 16 counties were the first group to have the new regulation. This decision was based on the fact that these counties were one-buck counties, had over 65 percent of the male harvest being 1.5 and 2.5-year-old deer, and through open “come one, come all” scoping meetings, had overwhelming public support to move forward. This initial group of 16 counties adopted antler restrictions regulations, with the 2006-07 hunting season being the first year to operate under the regulation.

The 2009-10 hunting season was the initial year that the southern 11 counties in the Pineywoods operated under the regulation, with the just-completed season being only the second to see the regulation implemented. Even though this group of counties was operating under a two-buck bag limit, the harvest of immature deer was exceeding the 65 percent benchmark used in the north as well. Scoping meetings were also held across this area, the year before, to gauge public support, and while not as strong as the northern counties, the scoping meetings showed favorable response for the concept.

Since the initial 16 counties have a little more history under the regulation, analysis of the harvest data is made a bit easier. When looking at the harvest data for the five years averaged prior to the implementation of the regulation, over 71 percent of the male harvest was made up of 1.5 and 2.5-year-old bucks. Simple math says that when you kill that many of them that early, there just aren’t going to be many that grow old. No matter what the genetics of that animal are, nor how much he eats, unless he grows up, he will never be able to show the potential of those antlers on his head.

Since the implementation of the regulation in the northern counties, age structure has shifted down to 53 percent of the harvest being in that same age bracket. The most noticeable is the shift in the harvest of 2.5-year-olds from nearly 30 percent of the harvest, down to roughly 20 percent; and having a higher percentage of 3.5-year-old bucks in the harvest than 2.5’s. Plus, the harvest of 4.5-year-olds and older is now at 17.5 percent of the harvest – nearing the numbers of 2.5-yearolds harvested.

Since the southern 11 counties only have two years under their belts, those can’t be analyzed on their own simply due to a lack of data. However, looking at the data from the entire Pineywoods lumped together, it shows a similar trend as the northern counties by themselves. From 67 percent of the harvest being the 1.5 and 2.5-year-old deer in 2005, it now shows that number to be just over 54 percent. The numbers of 4.5-year-olds and older in the harvest is almost identical to the northern counties and increasing.

We realize that it seems like a long time since the regulation went into effect in that first batch of Pineywoods counties, but we haven’t even gone through a full generation of deer in that area. Mother Nature does not get in a hurry with things like this, so we have to practice patience as well. However, all indications are that we are going in the right direction. We are not only collecting age structure information; other research projects have been ongoing to determine the effects of the regulation on the deer population. Recently a research project was completed to see if the breeding dates of the does had shifted as a result of the older age structure in the buck segment of the herd.

Results are very preliminary, but appear to show that very trend. If it is confirmed, it will mean fawns on the ground earlier, having a better chance at survival, and a more stable deer herd.  In the meantime – go hunting, enjoy the resource, take that extra minute to not only evaluate the antler spread of the deer, but to simply enjoy the moment and the opportunity to be out there immersed in nature. If you shoot the first one that comes out, you will just have to go home. There are way worse ways to spend your time than deer hunting in Texas!”

The primary purpose of the Texas Deer Association (TDA) is to increase quality deer hunting opportunities for all Texas hunters. To achieve that goal, the TDA advocates wise wildlife management practices, promotes research and technology regarding improvements to deer herds through the practice of controlled breeding and genetic improvements and recognizes that hunting and wildlife management are lifelong enterprises.

The TDA also seeks to be a repository and resource of accurate, high-quality information and to improve the image and awareness of deer management and harvest through public education. The TDA shares all of its research findings, management techniques and harvest strategies with its membership.

The Texas Deer Association is the only non-profit organization in Texas solely dedicated to improving the quality of Texas deer herds. Founded in 1999, TDA promotes and cares for the welfare and health of our deer herds and seeks to improve deer quality and the hunting experience in Texas.

As the unified voice of deer enthusiasts throughout the state, TDA is also a tireless champion for wise management practices on high- and low-fenced private
properties.

From hunters looking for bigger racks to landowners working to provide an improved habitat, everyone benefits from healthier deer and better harvests. Everyone benefits with TDA.

Many hunters and landowners may not realize that the TDA organization is still young. Their official office only opened in 2001, and just since 2004 has TDA operated with more than 3 employees. Relatively speaking, they are doing a great job of representing property owners and white-tailed deer, from commercial deer breeding operations to free-ranging deer herds.

As State Senator Leticia Van de Putte told said of TDA: “This is an exciting industry. You have a story to tell. You are on the cutting edge. You are making a positive difference in our state. Get out there and tell your story.” If you’re interested in whitetail, herd management and deer hunting then give the Texas Deer Association a look.