"Bayou Bill" Scifres
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Deer Reduction Program Essential to Animal and Plant Life
Copyright © 2004 by Bill Scifres
11-22-04

Hunters bagged 944 deer on the first two days of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) deer reduction program at 16 state properties not ordinarily hunted. 

That translates into bringing deer herds at these properties to levels that will make living conditions better for remaining deer, not to mention providing food for a lot of tables, and recreational hunting opportunity for several hundred hunters.

Still, there are those who do not understand that the planning for deer reduction programs is not a willy-nilly effort to provide hunting opportunity, but rather an effort to make a place for both deer and the plants of the areas involved.

The DNR uses a formula developed by Dr. George Parker, a Purdue University forest ecologist, who worked extensively through the early 1990s to bring about the first deer reduction hunt at Brown County State Park on December 4, 1993. 

For the record, 466 hunters bagged 392 deer that day. Studies of deer taken left little doubt that deer reduction programs would, indeed, be necessary in other no-hunting bastions. The one-day hunt also led to a formula Dr. Parker worked out to determine when such areas should be hunted, and when they should not, to protect plant life, and deter deer from eating themselves out of a place to live.

Dr. Parker’s formula for determining when, and when not, state parks and other “protected” herds of deer should be reduced in numbers still is used every year to determine when given areas should be hunted.

The formula is based on success ratios of hunters per square mile and hunter success ratios.

When these parts of the formula indicate the deer herd of a given area is at a level where hunting is not needed, these areas are not hunted. But the moratorium is short lived--usually only one year--because dear are a prolific animals (many does produce twins).

Jim Gerbracht, wildlife biologist for the DNR Department of State Parks-Reservoir, says the need for hunting on new areas is determined by vegetative analysis, but once an area is hunted the deciding factors are deer harvested per square mile and hunter success ratios.

The following thumbnail sketches of the 20 areas that have been hunted since 1993 reflect the mechanics of the plan.
  

(Key To Abbreviations: h = hunters; d = deer taken; pct = hunter success ratio in percentages).

BROWN COUNTY--1993: 466 h, 392 d, 85 pct; 1995: 868 h, 536 d; 62 pct; 1996:1,687 h, 603 d, 36 pct; 1997:1,420 h, 307 d, 22 pct; 1999 --1,290 h, 347 d, 27 pct; 2001: 1,116 h, 247 d, 22 pct; 2003:1,198 h, 238 d, 20 pct. Totals: 7, 2,670 d, 8,025 h.

CHAIN O’LAKES--1998: 378 h, 337 d, 90 pct; 2000: 390 h, 218 d, pct; 56; 2001: 368 h, 176 d, 48 pct; 2002:349 h, 179 d, 51 pct; 2003:360 h, 171 d, 48 pct; Totals: 5 years, 1,081 d, 1,845 h.

CHARLESTOWN--1995 148 h, 38 d, 26 pct; 1996: 243 h, 97 d, 40 pct; 1997: 223 h, 52 d, 24 pct; 1998:204 h, 43 d, 21 pct; 2000:251 h, 87d, 35 pct; 2001:222 h, 46 d, 21 pct; 2003:221 h, 66 d, 30 pct. Totals: 7 years, 429 d, 1,512 h.

CLIFTY FALLS--1998: 262 h, 109 d, 67 pct; 2000:254 h, 100 d, 40 pct; 2001, 417 h, 69 d, 17 pct; 2002:359 h, 54 d 15 pct; 2003:307 h, 43 d, 14 pct. Totals 4 years, 375 d, 1,599 h.

HARMONIE--1995, 269 h, 374 d, 139 pct; 1996, 524 h, 534 d, 1.02 pct; 1998, 500 h, 371 d, 75 pct; 1999, 485h, 246 d, 51 pct; 2000, 473 h, 209 d, 45 pct; 2001, 476 h, 206 d, 43 pct; 2002, 446 h, 185 d, pct 41 pt; 2003, 422 h, 178 d, 42 pct. Totals: 8 years, 2,303 d, 3,595 h. 

INDIANA DUNES--1998, 301 h, 201 d, 67 pct; 1999, 297 h, 117 d, 40 pct; 2000, 272 h, 102 d, 38 pct; 2001, 260 h, 53d, 20 pct; 2003, 272 h, 99 d, 36 pct. Totals: 5 years, 572 d, 1,402 h.

LINCOLN--1996, 260 h, 120 d, 47 pct; 1997, 197 h, 66 d, 34 pct; 2000, 219 h, 75 d, 35 pct; 2001, 175 h, 67 d, 38 pct; 2002, 207 h, 59 d, 29 pct; 2003, 194 h, 60 d, 31 pct. Totals: 6 years, 447 d, 1,252 h.

MCCORMICK’S CREEK--1996, 252 h, 158 d, 63 pct; 1997, 225 h, 70 d, 32 pct; 1999, 222 h, 79 d, 36 pct; 2000, 196 h, 42 d, 22 pct; 2002,196 h, 64 d, 33pct; 2003, 195 h, 49 d, 25 pct. Totals: 6 years, 462 d, 3,056 h.

QUABACHE--2002, 157 h, 153 d, 97 pct; 2003, 160 H, 143 d, 89 pct. Totals: 2 years, 296 d, 317 h.

POKAGON--1995, 93 h, 124 d, 1.34 pct; 1996, 86 h, 41 d, 48 pct; 1998, 105 h, 35 d, 34 pct; 2000, 183 h, 74 d, 41 pct; 2001, 139 h, 23 d, 17 pct; 2003, 179 h, 87 d, 49 pct. Totals: 6 years, 384 d, 785 h. 

POTATO CREEK--1995, 276 h, 350 d, 1.27 pct; 1996, 530 h 474 d, 90 pct; 1997, 518 h, 262 d, 51 pct; 1998, 502 h, 136 d, 27 pct; 2000, 441 h, 130 d, 30 pct; 2002, 447 h, 215 d, 48 pct; 2003, 458 h, 152 d, 33 pct. Totals: 7 years, 3,172 h, 1,719 d.

SHAKAMAK--1999, 171 h, 89 d, 52 pct; 2000 155 h, 35 d, 23 pct; 2002, 125 h, 65 d, 52 pct; 2003 113 h, 29 d, 26 pct. Totals: 4 years, 564 h, 218 d.

SHADES--1997, 452 h 288 d, 64 pct; 1998, 477 h, 149 d, 32 pct; 1999 (bow only), 174 h, 20 d, 12 pct; 2000, 428 h, 173 d, 41 pct; 2001, 388 h, 106 d, 27 pct; 2002, 367 h, 112 d, 31 pct; 2003, 362 h, 114 d, 31 pct. Totals: 7 years, 822 h, 2,648 d.

SPRING MILL--1999, 171 h, 72 d, 43 pct; 2000,114 h, 22 d, 20 pct; 2002, 140 h, 54 d, 39 pct; 2003, 129 h, 26 d, 20 pct. Totals: 4 years, 554 h, 174 d.

SUMMIT LAKE--2003, 240 h, 76 d, 32 pct.

TIPPECANOE--1997, 416 h, 509 d, 1.23 pct; 1999, 422 h, 332d, 79 pct; 2000, 401 h, 195 d, 49 pct; 2001, 382 h, 104 d, 27 pct; 202, 323 h, 118 d, 37 pct; 2003, 388 h, 114 d, 29 pct. Totals: 6 years, 2,332 h, 1,372 d.

TURKEY RUN--1999, 298 h, 145 d, 49 pct; 2000, 280 h, 96 d, 35 pct; 2001, 242 h, 67 d, 28 pct; 2002, 235 h, 66 d, 28 pct; 2003, 243 h, 90 d, 37 pct. Totals: 5 years, 1298 h, 464 d.

VERSAILLES--1997, 918 h, 687 d, 69 pct; 1998, 879 h, 254 d, 29 pct; 1999, 812 h, 152 d, 19 pct; 2001. 757 h, 237 d, 31 pct; 2002, 751 h, 198 d, 26 pct; 2003, 612 h, 142 d, 23 pct.  Totals: 6 years, 4,429 h, 2,593 d.

WHITEWATER--1997, 267 h, 249 d, 94 pct; 1998, 251 h, 100 d, 40 pct; 2000, 253 h, 139 d, 55 pct; 2001, 246 h, 82 d, 33 pct; 2002, 221 h, 87 d, 39 pct; 2003, 235 h, 84 d, 36 pct. Totals 6 years, 1,473 h, 741 d. 
TWIN SWAMPS--2000, 53 h, 43 d, 81 pct; 2001, 86 h, 88 d, 1.02 pct; 2002, 96 h, 77 d, 80 pct; 2003, 84h, 73d, 87 pct. Totals: 4 years, 319 h, 281d. 


 
All columns, essays, and photos are copyrighted by Bill Scifres and may not be reproduced in any form without prior permission from the author.  For reproduction permission and media usage fees, contact: Bill Scifres, 6420 East 116th Street, Fishers, IN 46038, E-mail: billscifres@aol.com

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