CONCORD, N.H. -- The preliminary numbers are in for New Hampshire's fall hunting seasons. The unofficial deer kill for New Hampshire's 2014 hunting season was 11,464 deer -- down 8.6% from the final 2013 kill of 12,540, but a good year nonetheless, according to N. H. Fish and Game Deer Project Leader Dan Bergeron.

"Keep in mind that last year (2013) was a very high harvest year, the fourth highest on record, " said Bergeron. "Although we are down a bit from that peak, 2014 was a good year overall for New Hampshire's deer hunters. Based on where deer were registered, it appears as if most counties had deer kills similar to or slightly below the 2013 harvest."

Looking further back, New Hampshire's 2014 harvest was the fifth highest in the last ten years, the sixth highest in the last twenty years, and the ninth highest since 1922. "Interestingly, five of the ten highest-ever years of deer harvest in New Hampshire have taken place in the past seven years, " said Bergeron. "So our hunters are doing pretty well. "

The 2014 harvest represents about 11.5% of New Hampshire's pre-season population of about 100,000 deer. Deer hunting closed in the state on December 15, the final day of the archery deer season.

"Some of the decline in this year's harvest may be due to last year's winter, which was slightly above average in some areas of the state based on long term winter severity index data the department collects. Winter weather is one of the main limiting factors to deer in New Hampshire and severe winters have the ability to negatively impact the population, " explained Bergeron. However, in the past five years New Hampshire has seen three of the mildest winters on record since Fish and Game started recording winter severity index data during the winter of 1964-65, which has helped the deer herd grow in many areas of the state

The unofficial deer kill for New Hampshire's 2014 season by county, with comparisons to previous years, is posted at http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/deer_hunt_take_by_County.htm. The 2014 figures are estimates based on the number of deer registrations reported in each county, not necessarily killed in that county. As a result, they may not be directly comparable to the actual kill by county for previous years. This is particularly evident in the south-central portion of the state, where many deer killed in surrounding counties are registered in Hillsborough County. Bergeron noted that registration data are being entered and verified and, by mid-January, better information on the distribution of the kill by Wildlife Management Unit, season, and sex will be available.

BEAR HUNTING SEASON

The 2014 bear season finished with a harvest tally of 784, representing a 20% increase over the preceding 5-year average of 653 bears. This represented a good harvest, one that was consistent with regional management goals, according to Fish and Game Bear Biologist Andrew Timmins. The harvest sex ratio was 1.2 m: f (428 males, 356 females), which was similar to past ratios and in line with management objectives. A male-biased sex ratio results in an appropriate harvest rate on both males and females and strikes a balance between desired harvest impact and maximized hunter opportunity.

The increased harvest resulted from several factors, including a strong bear population, a continued shift in hunters using methods that yield higher success, an abundant acorn crop and extended hunting opportunity in select regions, Timmins explained.

Bear populations are generally consistent with current goals in most parts of New Hampshire, however, populations in some regions are either above or below goal. "There are good bear numbers in most areas, which has resulted in increased hunter interest and participation, " said Timmins.

The number of hunters using bait continues to grow; this method now accounts for 50-60% of the annual bear harvest. Recently, there has also been an increase in hound hunting, particularly among nonresident hunters. Houndsmen achieved a record harvest this past fall, with 117 bears; however this group continues to take the lowest percentage (15%) of the total annual harvest.

Bear hunting seasons were extended in several regions (White Mountains, Central, Southwest-2 and Southeast) in 2014, in an effort to slow/stabilize population growth; this additional harvest contributed to the overall harvest increase. These extended hunting seasons were useful in that they resulted in the highest harvest occurring in the Central (266 bears) and White Mountains (234 bears) regions, two areas where a reduction in bear abundance is needed to remain consistent with current goals. Finally, bears congregated in oak stands this fall, causing them to be more easily patterned by hunters, resulting in increased harvest and higher hunter success.

For a comparison of bear season results in recent years, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/bear_hunt_take.htm.

FALL TURKEY SEASON

Fall 2014 turkey hunters did fairly well, considering that the relative abundance of acorns kept turkeys in the woods more than in the open field areas. Preliminary harvest figures show a total of 650 turkey (443 taken with shotgun, 207 by archery) based on registration forms received to date; the archery season ended December 15.

Tentatively, the five-day October shotgun turkey season represented 68.2% of the fall 2014 harvest, and the three-month archery harvest accounted for 31.8% of the fall total.

The breakdown by sex and age category was: 256 adult hens (39.4%), 210 toms (32.3%), 107 juvenile hens (16.5%), and 77 jakes (11.8%).

Of the 17 wildlife management units into which the state is divided, the units in southeastern New Hampshire had the greatest number of turkeys harvested: J2 (95), K (104), L (62), M (89), followed by H2 (77) and G (55) in western New Hampshire. Last year, the total fall 2013 harvest saw 855 turkeys taken, 542 during the shotgun season and 313 by bowhunters.

HARVEST SUMMARY

Final numbers from all the year's hunting seasons will be summarized in the 2014 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, which will be issued in March of 2015.

New Hampshire's successful hunting seasons are a reminder that hunting activities, made possible by science-based wildlife management, contribute significantly to New Hampshire's economy. The 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-associated Recreation done by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that hunters generate about $61 million in hunting-related expenditures each year in New Hampshire. In 2013, more than 61,500 hunting licenses were sold in New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state's fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.huntnh.com.



CONTACT: Dan Bergeron: (603) 271-2461 Andy Timmins: (603) 788-3164 Ted Walski: (603) 352-9669 Jane Vachon: (603) 271-3211