Virginia Moves Toward Restoring Elk Population

MISSOULA, Mont. ?Kentucky?’s elk herd runneth over, and Virginia has decided to welcome the overflow and build a sustainable, huntable population of its own.

In August, the governing board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) voted unanimously to end unmanaged harvest of elk by state deer hunters. For years, any Virginian with a deer permit could shoot an elk wandering across the state line from Kentucky. That practice is expected to officially end this fall.

Additionally, the VDGIF board also moved toward an official elk reintroduction and management plan for southwestern Virginia.

?Kudos to conservation leaders in Virginia. Restoring a native game species to management levels is one of the highest achievements in conservation, and it?s great to see Virginia aspiring to that goal for elk,? said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

He added, ?The Elk Foundation is extremely proud of the role we played in restoring elk to neighboring Kentucky. With a lot of money, technical assistance from our staff and support from our volunteers, we helped relocate over 1,500 elk to Kentucky between 1997 and 2002. Today that herd has more than 11,000 animals and offers incredible hunting opportunities with legitimate chances to take world-class bulls.?

Research shows that Kentucky elk have dispersed into four neighboring states with varying degrees of hospitality. Virginians originally wanted to keep elk out but now the culture appears to be changing, said Allen.

As an extension of its mission to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat, RMEF promotes sound management of wild, free-ranging elk, which may be hunted or otherwise enjoyed.

A YouTube video clip of the VDGIF board discussion and vote follows:

Posted by Tom Remington

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New Kentucky State Record Buck?

Truth or False?

My friend Rod in West Virginia sent me these photos and a brief description.

NEW STATE RECORD!
24 Point Buck

Shot in Livingston, KY during gun season Roger saw it chasing a doe and thought it looked pretty big

Shot at 150 yds

Field dressed at 215 lbs

He’s been told the head might sell for $100 to 200K

North American Whitetail shot the story and it will air next fall

Buck Master measured the antlers and said it is a new state record

Boone & Crockett will wait until the antlers dry and then measure but scored a preliminary 287

The state record was broken about two years ago and had a score of 260

Tom Remington

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Humane Society Of The U.S. Do As I Say Not As I Do

Once again the Humane Society of the United States is meddling in areas where it probably shouldn’t be. Laughingly, they are doing to the town of Fort Thomas, Kentucky exactly what they are accusing the town of Fort Thomas, Kentucky of doing – relaying misinformation.

Fort Thomas, like thousands of other towns across American, has a deer problem. The town in trying to devise a plan to deal with it and because they are considering employing hunters to reduce numbers, the HSUS feels compelled to stick their nose in it. But like so many other times, they end up embarrassing themselves.

The Community Press writes that the HSUS is accusing the town of Fort Thomas of putting up “erroneous information” and for making comparisons that “do not hold up to scrutiny”.

Donald Elroy, HSUS’s director of Wildlife Advocacy, says that the town published accident information on their website that he says should have made comparisons nationwide.

Elroy said comparisons should be done with other types of vehicular accidents, which would show that, nationwide, deer-related car accidents are only a small percentage of overall car accidents.

An examination of the website of the town of Fort Thomas presents a different story.

More people are killed as a result of deer/vehicle collisions each year than by dogs, snakes, sharks, mountain lions, bears and alligators combined. On average 130 people are killed in deer/vehicle collisions each year, making deer the most deadly animal in the United States.

In Fort Thomas, between 2003 and 2006 there were 47 deer/vehicle collisions reported in Fort Thomas. This results in a yearly average of 11.75 deer/vehicle collisions in Fort Thomas. Most of the collisions occur along Memorial Parkway and Mary Ingles Highway. Due to the number of deer carcasses found along the wooded areas of the city it is obvious that many more such collisions go unreported. Based on statistics provided by the Kentucky State Police (www.kentuckystatepolice.org/deerauto.htm#totcol), each collision results in approximately $2,000 in damage to the vehicle, but more importantly, a collision puts the occupants of the vehicle at risk of injury or death. In an effort to reduce these risks, the city suggests that drivers implement the following defensive driving techniques:

Is the HSUS suggesting that it is more accurate to compare automobile accidents with deer to those of drunk driving than with other animals? Isn’t a deer an animal? I think it fair to say that when the town put up this information they were suggesting that dogs, snakes, sharks, mountain lions, bears and alligators are, for whatever reasons, better managed or more under control than Fort Thomas’ deer population. Isn’t this why they are meeting to decide what to do?

Elroy accuses the town of trying to employ scare tactics on its citizens. While presenting statistics from the Kentucky state police as fact is not only responsible, it is the truth whether we like it or not. Belittling the risks of deer/auto accidents by comparing them to other types of auto accidents and associated risks, is irresponsibly idiotic.

Elroy also declares that Fort Thomas is using scare tactics in stating that deer attacks on humans are on the rise.

Elroy said deer attacks on humans, which the Web site says are “on the rise”, “are so relatively rare that it should not be used as a justification for lethal methodologies and is simply a scare tactic.”

And what is really on the town’s website?

While deer appear to be harmless creatures, the number of attacks on humans by deer is on the increase. An attack by a deer can be brutal. Deer antlers can cause puncture wounds. On occasion, deer attacks have been known to result in severe and permanent injury to people and even death. To reduce the risk of being a victim of a deer attack, people are encouraged to observe the following suggestions:

The site responsibly goes on to list ways in which people can avoid a confrontation with a deer. Granted, attacks by deer on humans are rare but are we to ignore facts because we don’t like them? The reason that attacks are on the increase is because the combination of too many deer and too many people ups the odds considerably. What is Mr. Elroy suggesting the town do? Lie or just bury their head in the sand?

Then Elroy begins to nitpick. He accuses the town of telling false information by declaring the town is trying to scare people by saying that deer spread Lyme disease.

He also challenged information on the Web site that says deer carry and transmit Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is transmitted through infected black legged ticks, not deer, Elroy said.

So, who’s spreading misinformation? Elroy is suggesting that town officials don’t know how Lyme disease is spread. The Fort Thomas website says this about Lyme disease.

Deer pose a threat to public safety by the possibility of transmitting diseases to people. Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are known to be carried by deer. Laboratory tests indicate that these diseases can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected parasites such as ticks. To help reduce the likelihood of contracting one of these diseases the following measures are suggested: (emboldening is mine)

Once again the town responsibly list ways in which people can reduce their chances of catching the disease. I want to know where in that statement does the town say that deer “carry and transmit” Lyme disease? I believe it is quite accurate in its description that deer are the carriers of the ticks that carry the diseases. Talk about taking this out of context in order to spin a story.

I think the townspeople of Fort Thomas, Kentucky are very much capable of working out their deer population problems without the assistance of an organization bent on spreading more lies and filling the heads of the residents there with information that isn’t true.

As is typical of such organizations, they can seldom support their ideals on factual information so they resort to distortions of the truth while accusing others of doing exactly what they are doing – lying.

Tom Remington

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EHD A Bit “Ho-Hum” In The Deep South

We are at a point where it would be safe to say that this year’s outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is quite widespread. Here’s a list of states that have confirmed cases of the virus that is carried to deer by biting midges or no-see-ums: Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, Montana, Mississippi and Georgia. In addition, some states are waiting for test results to confirm what they already suspect – South Carolina is one such state.

To confirm the presence of the disease, blood and certain tissue has to be analyzed.

According to both the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Alabama Department of Conservation, dealing with EHD is quite routine. Charles Ruth, Deer/Turkey Project supervisor for the South Carolina DNR says flair-ups in that state seem to run in cycles of 3-5 years and there’s a reasonable explanation.

“This is probably related to the fact that once deer are exposed to the disease they are more resistant to it. Therefore, if you have disease one year the deer become exposed or inoculated to the disease and you do not see much disease activity until there is turnover in the deer population. After several years you are dealing with another cohort of deer and their systems are ‘naïve’ to the disease. The last time there was significant hemorrhagic disease activity in South Carolina was in 2002, therefore, disease activity could be relatively high this year.”

This theory is confirmed by a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“We have some cases every year,” said Keith Guyse, a whitetail specialist with the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division in the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “In the Coastal Plain, the virus is there frequently enough that deer have been exposed to it and have some resistance to it.

Both representatives indicate that EHD in their respective states is pretty much routine only because of the build up of a certain degree of immunity. Therefore, these southern states don’t see wide outbreaks of the disease that often. When EHD hits the more northern climes, EHD seems to grab harder. Ruth explains.

Deer likely die in South Carolina each year from hemorrhagic disease, however, there is no indication that a major outbreak has occurred in the state since the mid 1970s. The disease is part of life for deer in the Southeast and fortunately it appears that Southern deer have acquired some immunity to the disease, said Ruth. Northern deer, on the other hand, are not exposed to the disease as frequently since the insect vector is not as common in cooler climates. For this reason, significant outbreaks and mortality from hemorrhagic disease are more likely in northern deer populations.

Guyse from Alabama makes reference to the same theory.

“Typically in North Alabama and above the fall line, they’re not exposed to it as often. So over a period of time you have a population that doesn’t have much resistance. When you have (outbreaks) up there, it tends to be more noticeable.”

This helps us understand why some states may have more severe outbreaks, killing larger numbers of deer, than others but why this year are outbreaks so widespread across the landscape of the country? Some have related it to the summer heat and drought. That may be true, I don’t know. It would be logical to assume that being that the virus is carried and spread by tiny midges or gnats, a larger than normal population of that insect would be directly proportional to the spread of the disease. Of course science isn’t that simplistic and we know that there are probably many more factors to consider or it could be just merely a coincidence.

However, Guyse from Alabama eludes to the theory of increased numbers of midges, somewhat.

“Auburn (researchers) had traps out to catch the flies and they might catch a few every once in a while, and then all of a sudden they catch hundreds,” Guyse said. “Much of that still is a mystery.”

Obviously, they don’t have a good handle on it either.

Hunters and others should be aware of the symptoms they may find on deer suffering from the disease.

Symptoms of hemorrhagic disease include poor physical condition, sloughing hooves, abrasions or sores on the brisket and legs, and ulcerations on the mouth, tongue, and rumen (stomach).

As I said earlier, verification of the disease has to be done in the lab.

If you see sick or dead deer in your travels, please report it to the appropriate authorities. It is highly recommended that nobody eats any of the meat from deer sickened by EHD.

Tom Remington

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EHD Outbreak Widespread And Following Drought

As most hunters are aware, several states are experiencing outbreaks of EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease). To date, states involved are, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey and Montana. In those states, some are experiencing widespread outbreaks while others are sporadic. Either way, it appears that this year’s outbreak is one that could be classified as the most widespread in some years.

J.R. Absher, the Newshound, and I sent a couple emails back and forth this morning about what’s happening with EHD. In one of my emails, I asked J.R. if this was what he would consider a large outbreak from his years of experience in the field. What he told me was that in a previous article he mentioned that he had talked with a friend of his, Doug Markham, information officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, about this year’s outbreak.

My good friend Doug Markham, information officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, dropped me an email over the weekend saying it’s as bad as he’s ever seen it in his 20 years with the agency.

Some especially hard-hit areas of the Volunteer State could lose half their deer to EHD this year, Markham speculated.

One other thing that J.R. mentioned was that it seemed that the EHD outbreak was following a similar path as this summer’s drought. I’ll have to do some investigating to see if I can find out if that is a common occurrence.

In the meantime, we all need to be praying for some frost and freezes to kill this thing off.

Tom Remington

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Further Spreading Of EHD And Troubles With Water Contamination In Pennsylvania

We can now add Montana to the growing list of states confirming outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, EHD, or blue tongue. EHD is contracted by the bite of insects called “biting midges.” The virus usually kills the animals within five to 10 days. It is not spread by deer-to-deer contact and is rare in domestic cattle. States already having confirmed cases of EHD are: Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New Jersey.

Montana officials have confirmed the presence of EHD in the southeastern part of the state.

So far “hundreds” of antelope and deer carcasses have been reported.

The heaviest concentration of the disease appears to be in the Melstone area east to Ingomar and Sumatra.

There really is not much that can be done about the disease. We just wait until the first good frost or freeze that will kill the midges that carry the virus.

In the meantime, troubles from dying deer in Pennsylvania are raising concerns about the possible contamination of drinking water supplies. In Beaver, Greene and Washington counties estimates are that over 1,000 deer carcasses are lying about rotting and stinking up the air. For some, there is concern that the decaying carcasses, many of which are lying in water, are contaminating the water supplies.

Russell Morgan is a Greene Township Supervisor and a farmer. He’s concerned about the water problems but is getting no help from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to get the carcasses cleaned up.

Already, Morgan said, he has confirmed 17 dead deer on and around his property. Township secretary Sandy Wright said one resident found 50 dead deer within a short distance of each other. Another resident reported finding 35 dead deer, Wright said.

Morgan said the game commission should at least help remove the remains from water sources. Instead, he was told removal of the deer is the responsibility of the homeowner,

“No one wants to take responsibility for what’s going on,” he said.

One of the side effects of the disease in deer causes the body temperature to rise, thus sending the deer to water to cool off. This is often where they expire.

Game Commission Supervisor Barry Zaffuto says it isn’t the responsibility of the PGC to take care of the dead animals and that the rotting deer are not contaminating the water.

“A deer is 100 percent natural,” he said. “This virus is not transferable, so it would be just like a deer that dies in the water naturally, because it does happen.”

The commission, he said, does not have the resources to search across a three-county area for deer and then remove them, especially when nature is taking care of that for them.

“That would just be totally impossible. What would we do with them?’ he said. “Deer decompose naturally and rapidly.”

Morgan isn’t buying Zaffuto’s explanation about deer being all natural and wouldn’t ruin the water. As a farmer, he is required by law to remove any of his livestock if it should dye in or near water. Under the watchful eye of the Department of Environmental Protection, he is made to clean up the carcass immediately because it will contaminate the water. Morgan wants to know what the difference is between a cow and a deer?

Morgan isn’t the only one concerned about the dying deer and how to clean up the mess. According to the PGC, it’s the landowners’ responsibility but this is angering citizens because of the double standards being exemplified in this video.

Tom Remington

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EHD Or Blue Tongue Showing Up In More States

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease or blue tongue is affecting whitetail deer herds in several states now. On the list are Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and now New Jersey. There may be more.

Fred J. Aun of the Star-Ledger, in reporting about the discovery of the disease in New Jersey, describes EHD this way.

EHD is not uncommon and it’s not dangerous to humans. It is caused by the bite of certain midges and results in high fevers and hemorrhages in the mouths, noses and eyes of deer prior to death. Fish and Wildlife said deer usually expire within 10 days of getting EHD.

Vice President of Global Operations for Skinny Moose Media and U.S. Hunting Today, John Stabley, called Dr. Colleen O’Keefe, IDOA division manager of Food Safety and Animal Protection, in Illinois to ask her specific questions about the disease, its affect on deer and other animals as well as humans. You can read the entire interview at Stabley’s blog, Stabley Outdoors.

J.R. Absher, the Newshound, has been keeping his readers abreast of the locations and severity of the disease.

In the meantime, as we hunters head into the woods to do our scouting or for the start of any of hunting seasons, keep an eye open for the possibility of EHD being present in deer. If you encounter any cases you are encouraged to contact your fish and game department with the information.

Tom Remington

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EHD Found in Indiana And Pennsylvania

Thanks to my good friend J.R. Absher, the “Newshound” at Outdoor Life for providing me the link I was looking for that confirms the presence of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, also referred to as blue tongue, in the whitetail deer population.

Yesterday I reported that EHD had been confirmed in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama. Today, Pennsylvania officials report 100 deer found dead in the southwestern part of the state was due also to EHD.

Here’s a bit more information about EHD from the Indiana DNR website.

The disease is transmitted by biting insects called midges. EHD is not transmitted to humans and is not normally found in domestic animals, which generally contract a related disease commonly called Blue Tongue instead.

EHD poses no danger to humans from handling, processing or eating the meat of an exposed animal. Hunters should take normal precautions handling all deer. As always, deer meat should be thoroughly cooked to kill any bacteria present.

This disease should not be confused with the unrelated brain disease in deer, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which has never been found in Indiana.

EHD causes severe, flulike symptoms, plus a high fever in deer, apparently causing those infected to seek open water to cool. Sick deer may lose their appetite, coordination and their fear of normal dangers. The animals become dehydrated and progressively weaker as the disease progresses, with mouth and eye tissue often showing a rosy or bluish color. A sick deer will be obvious to someone familiar with what a healthy deer looks like.

EHD is a common virus found in whitetail deer and will run its usual course until the first hard freeze, when insects that carry the disease will die off. It is not always fatal to the deer.

Tom Remington

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Blue Tongue Found In Tenn. And Ky. Deer

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, also known as blue tongue is killing deer in parts of Eastern Tennessee as well as parts of Kentucky. I have also heard reports but haven’t been able to confirm yet that it is showing up in Southern Indiana. Officials say EHD has been confirmed in North Carolina, Virginia and Alabama.

The disease is carried by gnats or commonly called “no-seeums”. Once the deer is bitten and the virus spreads, it increases the body temperature of the deer often forcing them to water where they want to cool off. Deer do not always die from the disease. It is spread only by the bite of the gnats and cannot be spread from one deer to the next. Many deer survive the disease. Hunters can often tell if a deer has survived EHD by examining their hooves. If they find hooves broken at the ends or growing irregularly, it’s a pretty good indication the deer once suffered from EHD.

Although EHD is not contracted by humans, one biologist with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says that any animal that looks sick he recommends not eating it.

Tom Remington

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Trophy Elk Hunting Paradise…….Eastern Kentucky?

When we think about hunting that trophy elk, visions of some western state like Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and a host of other elk hot spots, dance in our brains. But Kentucky? Yup! Eastern Kentucky now has over 6,500 elk, free roaming, and officials at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation say that Kentucky’s elk average 15% larger than other state’s free roaming elk.

In 1997, seven elk were released into the Cyprus Amax Wildlife Management Area in southeastern Kentucky as part of a restoration project to return elk to the landscape after an absence of about 150 years. After that initial release, an additional 1,500 elk were imported from places like Utah, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon and Arizona. The long range goal of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is a herd size of about 10,000.

In 2001, 12 elk permits were issued to hunters. The same followed in 2002 and 2003. This year 300 permits will be issued. The deadline for applying is July 31. A non-refundable application fee of $10.00 is charged.

For more information on the Kentucky elk hunt, click here.

If you would like to apply for an elk permit, click here.

Tom Remington

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Black Bears And Other Wildlife Encroaching On Humans

Now there’s a headline you’re not going to see very often, if at all. It’s also one that will rile the dander of just about every anti-hunter and animal rights group that believe humans should take a back seat to animals and let them run nilly-willy over the countryside.

All we ever hear about these days when it comes to human/wild animal encounters is how man is encroaching on wildlife and that we are to blame for forcing these poor innocent creatures into our backyards to eat our garbage, kill our pets and attack children.

What if it’s not our fault? What if the cause of these increases in coyote attacks in New Jersey and bear attacks in Utah, Pennsylvania and Kentucky were just the result of too many animals?

Don’t get me wrong. I do think that we are building far too many homes and developing too many areas that once was fine habitat for many species of wildlife but if we are to blame ourselves for these attacks, maybe we should consider that we have done such a great job managing our game and wildlife that we now have too many.

I’ve written several articles of late concerning bear attacks on humans. The latest being that of 11-year old Samuel Ives in Utah while camping with family. One particular article, “Expert Advice On Dealing With Black Bears“, relates to an article written in the Bangor Daily News by John Holyoke about how to deal with black bears. Holyoke talked with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife field expert on bears, Randy Cross.

In that article, I took issue with a comment cross made about the frequency of bear attacks.

“I think it’s remote out there [in Utah] as well,” he said. “It’s not like it happens five times a year or even five times in a decade. We’re talking about something that happens less than five times in a century … almost anywhere you want to go.”

The article began a mini debate. Reader Richard Paradis wanted to know if I had links to support my claim that bear attacks occurred far more often than Cross suggested. I had forgotten to include the links in the original story and added them later in the comments section. Here again are those links.

Southeastern Outdoors, where they claim that there have been 52 known fatal black bear attacks in North America in the last 100 years.

Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Washington. This article claims there have been 45 black bear deaths since 1900.

Ithaca37, another Black Bear Blog reader wrote:

It is not as much bans on hunting as it is urban sprawl that has led to increased human-wild animal contacts. As people push farther[sic] out into “the woods”, the less space there is for wildlife.

The fact that there have been more attacks recently doesn’t mean anything unless you look at urban sprawl and what has happened to the number of national park visitors. I do not know if there are more people visiting national parks or not, but until someone can demonstrate that there has not been a significant change in other factors there can be no positive link between number of bear attacks and hunting bans.

I responded to Ithaca37 that there had to be some degree of a correlation between encroachment and the closing of hunting lands by landowners sprawling further out into the woods, resulting in less hunting opportunities. With less hunting comes an increase in bear populations.

Paradis, having some kind of trouble last evening posting further comments, sent me an email with information in it about bear populations and changes in hunting regulations.

The argument here is whether or not bears are encroaching on us or we are encroaching on them. Paradis points out an article that appears in the Foggy Mountain Guide Service website that was written by Craig McLaughlin, Ph.D., Wildlife Biologist, Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The statewide population was estimated at 6,000-9,000 in 1979, and season restrictions were implemented to guard against over harvests. By 1984, improved information on bear densities yielded a revised statewide estimate of 18,000 bears. The 1985 population was estimated at 21,000 bears, but renewed interest in hunting and escalating harvests during the late 1980s reduced the population to 18,000 bears by 1989.

Additional restrictions on hunting season length have increased bear survival during the 1990s, and the population increased to 22,000-23,000 bears in 1998.

I’ll revert back to the Bangor Daily News piece in which Cross points out that Maine probably has fewer human/bear encounters because of hunting pressure that helps instill that fear of man by bears.

“The biggest problem I think you have with bears becoming dangerous are bears that have lost their fear of humans,” Cross said. “The habituation of bears usually begins with inadvertent feeding of bears and escalates from there. But once bears have lost their fear of humans, they’re a much more dangerous animal at that point.”

Cross said Maine’s hunting heritage may be a factor in reducing bear-human contact here, in that the most aggressive, bold bears are generally among the bruins that are shot each year.

Doesn’t this further explain why there are increased human/bear encounters in areas where bears are not hunted than in those that aren’t? Maine has a relatively small human population in proportion to land mass but one of the largest black bear populations in the U.S. One would think Maine would have more bear/human attacks than most other states.

Even to further confirm the 23,000 bear population estimate for Maine, back in 2004 during the big bear hunting referendum debate, opponents of that initiative put together a television commercial in which Jennifer Vashon, a wildlife biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, made the following statement.

“I’m Jennifer Vashon, the state’s bear biologist. Maine’s bear population is healthy and growing. Today we have over 23,000 black bears – one of the largest bear populations in the country. Our bear hunt is highly regulated and closely monitored by wildlife experts”.

We have to ask ourselves who’s encroaching on whom? As Paradis pointed out in his email, a 400% increase in bear numbers is huge.

I believe the fact that we have nearly a 400% increase in bear population in Maine over a relatively short period of time to be the most significant cause.

Cause, is referring to the cause for human/bear encounter increases.

Maine is only one case. I have no statistics on other states as far as increases in bear populations. On the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources website, officials estimate the black bear population at between 2,000 and 4,000.

Bunnell says Utah’s black bear population numbers between 2,000 to 4,000 bears. “While that may sound like a lot of bears, our bear population is actually small compared to many other states,” he says.

Bunnell says bears can be found in almost any mountainous area in Utah.

There is one other issue to address in which Ithaca37 brought up. This was the one of whether there was any increase in visitors to National Parks that would add to the increase in bear/human encounters.

Paradis pointed out an article published in the Portland Press Herald in July of 2006 that states that visits to Maine’s parks have taken a sharp decline and that it is a reflection of the trend nationwide.

Use of Maine’s two premier parks – Baxter State Park and Acadia National Park – has fallen sharply since 2000, a drop that mirrors national trends and is blamed by some on an exploding preoccupation with the Internet and entertainment media………

Attendance at Acadia dropped 20 percent during the same period, from 2.5 million to 2 million…….

The study found that park attendance increased nationally from 1939 to 1987. The steady decline since then has accompanied an explosion in electronic entertainment.

If this is true, then isn’t this further evidence that there are more bears, perhaps more than officials estimate and that there is far more competition among the animals for food and good habitat forcing them more into our back yards and campsites?

I’ll say it again. We need to slow down the sprawl and building of homes in the middle of wildlife habitat but we also need to stop completely blaming human encroachment on wildlife as the only cause for increased human/wildlife encounters.

We do a great job overall in managing our wild animals, perhaps too good. Demand is increasing from U.S. citizens to be able to drive around a view wildlife. With better science and management skills, decreased access to land for hunting, urban sprawl and development and continued insistence by anti-hunting and animal rights groups to ban hunting and trapping, this trend toward human/animal conflict will continue to rise. With this rise, fish and game officials will have to more closely monitor wildlife populations and manage accordingly.

I want to thank Richard Paradis for taking the time to email me the links with the very helpful information on them.

Tom Remington

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Kentucky Governor Supports Tax Breaks For Landowners Who Open Their Lands

Access to hunting lands is crippling outdoor recreation including hunting, fishing and trapping. In many states private land is leased to hunters and hunting groups often pricing middle and low income sportsmen out of their sport.

WYMT-TV website has an article that states the governor, Ernie Fletcher, supports the idea of offering tax breaks to private land owners willing to open their lands up for recreation, while at the same time protecting it from development.

“This is a very high-impact, low-cost way to achieve a dramatic increase in land conservation and wildlife recreation access,” Fletcher said at a news conference touting the plan.

Landowners who would opt to participate would have to agree to protect their land from development and leave it open to certain kinds of recreation.

Approved landowners, under the plan, would agree to protect their land from development and allow members of the public to use the land for certain outdoor activities – such as hunting and fishing, Fletcher said. In exchange, landowners would retain ownership and management of their land and qualify for a maximum $250,000 annual credit, and a $2.5 million lifetime break, on their personal or corporate income taxes, Fletcher said.

Governor Fletcher believes this plan would benefit all sportsmen, including the lower income.

“The nice thing about this is it takes away the advantage that wealthy sportsmen have and it opens this up to everyone, regardless of their demographic disposition,” Fletcher said.

Tom Remington

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Kentucky May Have Two New Elk Records

Two hunters, not together, each bagged what is likely to become new Kentucky state records for typical and non-typical bull elk. Read the story.

Tom Remington

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Kentucky Elk Draw Results

More than 26,000 hunters vied for only 200 elk permits in the state of Kentucky. The draw was completed and the results are available at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources website.

Tom Remington

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Your Chance To Bid On Special Kentucky Deer Tag

A special deer tag that will allow the holder to hunt in any wildlife management area in the state of Kentucky will be auctioned off on EBay from August 8-18. The proceeds of the auction will go to Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry. The tag can be bought by either a resident or non-resident.

For more information go the the EBay website, Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry or call John Phillips at 859-824-1372.

Tom Remington

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