The editor:
In recent years, the KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlife has advertised a robust number regarding white-tailed deer in our state. I have heard these claims in the newspaper, on the radio, and KET call-in shows. 900,000? 1 million? Where do these numbers come from? Whose educated guess is this?
Hunters have been told for several years now to shoot does. The state’s claim is the buck to doe will make for better success rates and bigger bucks. What if certain areas of the state (ex: Daniel Boone National Forest) are over-hunted by the shoot-the-first-thing-I-see outdoors people? With no zoning change, a county like Rowan that is covered by thousands of acres of public hunting ground, has no true management of the deer herd.
As of today, Rowan County has telechecked 518 whitetails, Fleming County 575, Bath County 596. This is after a September start to archery season, two muzzleloader seasons and a rifle season.
Are the whitetails becoming so elusive that Rowan Countians cannot match the 894 animals that were harvested in 2001? I am, and always will be, a hunter. Times have changed, we have changed as outdoorsmen and women. Has anyone noticed less deer activity or the lowering of harvest results in the past few years?
Fact. Our neighbor to the north, the state of Ohio, as of Dec. 23, has checked in 198,297 deer at actual check stations, not via the telephone! This considering there is no early black powder on private lands, and only 9 days of shotgun season! They do have archery season long and a late black powder in January. Ohio claims to have 650,00 white tails, they harvest nearly a third each season and reload for the next year. We have a million? We will struggle to harvest 110,000 deer this year. Would someone from Frankfort step up to the plate and tell the truth!
Mike Collins Jr.
Morehead
