All indications point to a good season for deer hunters in the Juneau area, wildlife biologists say.<\/p>\n
Deer season opened on Aug. 1 for bucks and will be extended to does on Douglas, Shelter, Lincoln and Sullivan islands after Sept. 15. Hunting on the mainland is limited to bucks all year to protect populations.<\/p>\n
Biologists count \u201cpellet groups\u201d \u2014 piles of droppings \u2014 to assess the health of deer populations in different areas around Southeast. The amount of pellet groups can\u2019t be directly tied to a number of deer, as \u201cone deer can leave a lot of poop,\u201d Alaska Department of Fish and Game regional supervisor Ryan Scott said, but it does tend to correlate with the number of deer hunters shoot.<\/p>\n
During surveys this spring, biologists on Douglas counted an increase in pellets, and as such, they\u2019re expecting an increase in successful hunts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a significant increase in pellet groups on Douglas, when we went out and took a look at those places, which suggests there are more deer on the ground,\u201d Scott said. \u201cBottom line is I am very optimistic for the deer season. That doesn\u2019t mean there will be a deer behind every tree, but it should be a very successful season for hunters.\u201d<\/p>\n
A series of low-snow winters in Southeast also bodes well for deer and their hunters, ADF&G biologist Stephanie Sell explained.<\/p>\n
There are two reasons for this. For one, deer are easier for hunters to spot and kill on the beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinter snowfall basically drives deer out of the alpine and into lower elevations. And so what happens is most of our people around here hunt later in the fall because they see deer around the beach line,\u201d Sell said. \u201cSo certainly when we get a lot of snow, deer come down to the beaches and people kind of slaughter them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sell wanted to remind hunters that it is illegal to hunt from a boat in the Juneau area. One of the reasons for this rule, Sell said, is that you can\u2019t track a wounded deer from a boat; hunters have to be on the ground to finish a kill.<\/p>\n
Large amounts of snow can also cover up food sources for deer, leaving them to subsist on seaweed and old grass, Sell said. They can survive on this diet, but won\u2019t be able to grow.<\/p>\n
This year, late winter and spring did bring a lot of snow to Juneau, but by that time hunting season was over and deer already had a good amount of time to forage.<\/p>\n
Douglas Island sees a majority of hunting pressure in the Juneau area, Sell said, as hunters have ample access to hunting grounds from North Douglas Highway and Eagle Crest Road.<\/p>\n