ON OUTDOORS: THINKING ABOUT DEER IN THE 'DOG DAYS'

With temperatures in the 90s, along with high humidity, you may not be thinking much about deer hunting.

Well, maybe you should be.

Deer hunting permits went on sale July 1, and there are several changes from previous years.

Before we get to those changes, let's discuss a little bit of the history of deer in Missouri.

The white-tailed deer, one of our most important wildlife resources, has had a very interesting history in Missouri. When European settlers first arrived in what later became Missouri, deer were plentiful. However, by the early 20th century unregulated market hunting had almost eliminated deer. Token laws restricting the killing of deer had been in place since the late 1800s, but they went largely unenforced. By 1925, it is estimated that fewer than 400 deer remained in all of Missouri.

Only when the Conservation Commission was established in 1937 did significant efforts to restore the whitetail begin to succeed.

In 1938, the commission closed the Missouri deer hunting season and deer were stocked from Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and the existing Missouri refuges. Strict enforcement of the Wildlife Code by professionally trained Conservation Agents helped deter poaching, and by 1944 the state's deer population had soared to 15,000. Hunting season was reopened in 1944 but was restricted to bucks-only to allow continued growth in the deer population. That year 7,557 hunters harvested 583 deer. In 1951 limited doe harvests were initiated.

The deer herd has grown over the years and today we estimate there are nearly 1 million deer in Missouri. Each year, thousands of Missouri deer hunters collectively spend about 3 million days pursuing deer. Those hunters also annually infuse approximately $800 million into our state's economy. Obviously, deer hunting is important to many people for many reasons. One very important role that hunting plays is as a deer population management tool.

Regulated hunting is the primary factor governing deer abundance in most of Missouri.

Every year hunters take 40 to 70 percent of the antlered bucks and up to 25 percent of the does.

Without hunting, the annual mortality rate for six-month and older deer is typically less than 5 percent. Consequently, if hunting were eliminated and all other mortality and reproductive factors remained the same, deer populations could increase rapidly, even quadrupling in just 10 years.

Under such conditions, problems associated with high-deer numbers, such as crop damage and deer-vehicle accidents increase, and the deer population ultimately reaches and then exceeds the land's capacity to support a healthy herd. Typically, however, the limit of human tolerance is reached long before biological carrying capacity is achieved.

So, deer hunters are also deer managers. The Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) statewide deer management program seeks to maintain deer numbers at levels high enough to provide sufficient hunting and deer-viewing opportunity but also low enough to minimize crop damage and the incidence of deer-vehicle accidents.

Under traditional deer management, regulated doe harvest is most important because the number of does taken determines overall population levels. Buck harvest is less restrictive because a high proportion of bucks can be taken without affecting overall deer population size. This management scheme has worked well, allowing once low-deer populations to rebuild to current high levels.

Last year a total 541,316 firearms deer hunting permits were sold. Of those 525,876, or over 97 percent, were purchased by Missouri residents.

Of the 187,970 deer taken during the firearms deer season, 180,980, or over 96 percent, were taken by resident hunters. The same is true for the archery season; 96 percent of the deer taken last year were taken by Missouri residents.

When you add the archery harvest, the total number of deer taken exceeded 245,000.

If you want to be a part of this year's harvest, you should be aware of some changes in regulations for 2001.

There is a new "Youth-Only" Portion of the firearms deer hunting season (Oct. 27-28).

Permits have a new look and an integral transportation tag. Immediately after harvest (but not before), separate the transportation tag from your permit and attach it to the game. But, do not remove the protective backing from the rest of your permit.

A few quick permit facts:

* You can buy Any-Deer and Bonus Deer permits for different units.

* The "week before" deadline for purchasing open quota Any-Deer and Bonus Deer permits has been eliminated. Buy permits any time through January 8, but buy early to avoid long lines.

* Apply for Limited Quota Any-Deer or Bonus Deer permits through August 15.

* Managed Deer Hunts have their own permit.

* Apply for Managed Deer Hunts by telephone or on the web.

* A Youth Deer & Turkey Hunting permit is available.

* During the January extension, any unfilled Any-Deer or Bonus Deer permits issued for any unit is valid in any unit that is open during the January extension. Remember, the January extension is for antlerless deer only.

For complete details, consult the 2001 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Information pamphlet, available from permit vendors statewide.

Gene Myers is a Missouri Department of Conservation agent in Cape Girardeau County.