RANCHING Wildlife
E
Texas Hunting Forecast for 2013 Positive
By Alan Cain, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department white-tailed deer program leader
ACH YEAR FROM LATE JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER, TEXAS PARKS AND Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists conduct deer surveys to help estimate deer populations across the
state. It’s no secret Texas is home to the largest white-tailed deer population in the U.S. The deer population fl uctuates from year to year with an
8-year average of 3.46 million deer. In 2012, the population was estimated at 3.69 million deer, about a 6.5 percent increase above the average and a 2.8 percent increase from the 2011 population estimate during the extreme drought. The largest deer populations can be found in the Edwards
Plateau and Cross Timbers ecoregions, with 2012 estimates at 1,654,000 and 696,630 respectively. Density estimates in 2012 were 17.2 acres per deer in the
Cross Timbers and 11.73 acres per deer in the Edwards Plateau. Terrell and Pecos counties in the eastern edge of the Trans Pe- cos ecoregion also support a good deer population, with 2012 density estimates at 22.1 acres per deer. The 2012 deer density estimate in South Texas was 43 acres
per deer, 59 acres per deer in the Piney Woods, and 31 acres per deer in the Post Oak Savannah region. Deer population trends over the last 8 years indicate an in-
creasing deer population in the Piney Woods, Cross Timbers, Post Oak Savannah, and the Rolling Plains. Populations continue to remain stable in South Texas and Edwards Plateau. Statewide population trends also remain stable and hunters should expect good numbers of deer year in and year out. I predict the statewide deer population to be close to or slightly
above the long-term average and hover around that 3.6 million deer mark for 2013. Most regions of the state received some spring rains to “green up” the brush and produce a few weeds that provided adequate forage to support deer populations and help out with antler growth and fawn rearing this summer. South Texas, Trans Pecos and the western edge of the Ed-
wards Plateau are still relatively dry, and hunters might expect lower fawn crops in these areas, but adult deer numbers should remain stable. One factor hunters should also keep in mind is the good
carryover of deer from the 2012 season, as harvest was down because of heavy acorn and mast crops in several regions of the state. For hunters, this translates into a target-rich environment in 2013 where opportunities to harvest a deer are high. In fact, harvest rates average around 0.91 deer per hunter in Texas, al- though 2012 numbers were a bit lower at 0.86 deer harvested per hunter, likely a result of the large acorn and mast crops.
54 The Cattleman September 2013
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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