Blacktail harvest fluctuates

By Allen Thomas | The Vancouver Columbian • Published September 27, 2008

By the time the deer seasons in Southwest Washington conclude in December, between 5,000 and 6,000 animals probably will have been taken.

Given good hunting conditions, the number likely will be near the high end. If it's hot and dry, or if there are access restrictions because of fire danger, the number will be near the low end.

Unlike fish populations, which can fluctuate significantly year to year, blacktail deer numbers in Clark, Skamania, Klickitat, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and Lewis counties change in small increments.

Weather reigns

The local deer harvest is much more affected by weather, access and how much effort individual hunters put out, said Eric Holman, a biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"Our success rates have been very similar over the course of many years, bouncing around between 15 percent and 20 percent," Holman said. "About one in five guys gets a deer. Those who really try hard are probably way higher than that. Those who just buy a tag and go looking for elk, or go out to enjoy the woods or hang out with friends don't get one as regularly."

While much was made about the huge snowfall last winter, deer are less affected, he said.

That's because blacktails live in low-elevation units such as Washougal, Winston, Ryderwood and Coweeman, not the high country of Siouxon, Lewis River and Packwood.

"There's not all that many deer living in those higher elevation places to begin with,'' Holman said. "Deer have a hard time making a living high up in the Cascades. The strength of the population is at low-elevation places. You see that in the harvest, you see that when you survey them."

Subtle effects

While deer are less susceptible to harsh winter conditions, the weather can play in a role in population levels.

"It was still a bad winter with record snowfall in the southern Cascades,'' Holman said. "It was rainy and cold and wet for a long time. That's still hard on them even though they don't live in a place that might load up with 5 feet of snow. It's not an easy condition to be living in."