Proper white-tailed deer management is still a top priority with all three states’ wildlife divisions. Photo by Ron Sinfelt

The 2004-05 hunting season in the Mid-Atlantic turned out to be one of the most interesting in a good many years. Besides the slightly above-average deer hunting, good small-game hunting and sub-par waterfowl seasons, two states (New Jersey and Maryland) had a bear-hunting season up for grabs. Only one state, Maryland, managed to actually conduct a bear season, while New Jersey sportsmen saw politics trump sound wildlife management based on science and biology. Both states had to put up with a flurry of attacks from animal rights zealots and anti-hunting groups, and both states had to deal with legislative interference and court cases.

As a whole, hunting in the Mid-Atlantic states of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland has remained stable for the last several years. I spoke with representatives of each state’s respective fish and wildlife departments, who all agreed that more and more politics is creeping into wildlife management.

WATERFOWL SURVEYS
According to waterfowl ecology and management program biologists, the mid-continent breeding populations and habitat conditions in some survey areas were not as good as recent years, but the status of waterfowl and their habitats were sufficient overall to justify a liberal duck-hunting season framework. While mid-continent populations of waterfowl rise and fall relative to the amount of precipitation that falls in wetland habitat, habitat conditions in eastern North America have been comparatively stable in recent years.

For the past several years, hunting regulations in the Atlantic Flyway have been based on an Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) approach, which is based on the status of eastern mallards. In 2004, 1.1 million mallards were estimated in the eastern survey area, which is consistent with the long-term average. Based on these biological assessments, it was decided that a liberal duck-hunting season in all flyways was consistent with the long-term welfare of North American waterfowl populations.

DEER MANAGEMENT
Deer management in the Mid-Atlantic states has gotten more and more complicated in recent years. With increasing amounts of land and habitat falling to development, deer populations have adapted to urban living, and have grown in leaps and bounds. This has forced states to liberalize their deer regulations, thus giving hunters more hunting opportunities than ever in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

This growth of deer populations in urban areas has also forced wildlife officials to tailor their deer management strategies, especially in urban areas. This has resulted in a big up-swing in the popularity of bowhunting. Bowhunting organizations are working with many communities to manage deer herds in urban areas.

SMALL-GAME REPORT
One place where hunters have taken a hit in recent years is with small game. Here, too, as urban sprawl and the development of rural areas become more common, prime habitat is being gobbled up at an alarming rate. This has put more pressure on public lands and has put more reliance on hatchery-raised and stocked birds for pheasant and quail hunters. While there may be plenty of bushytails around, rabbit hunters have been forced to travel farther away from urban areas to pursue their sport.

MARYLAND UPDATE
According to Paul Peditto, Maryland’s director of Fish and Wildlife, the state’s approximately 120,000 hunters enjoyed some very good results this past season. Peditto said habitat loss resulting from land development has had an impact on hunting in the state; however, the diversity of the state’s terrain, which ranges from coastal to mountains, has helped keep the hunting in good shape.

Maryland conducted a black bear hunt, despite plenty of opposition from animal rights activists and anti-hunting groups. In this case, Peditto said science and good sound wildlife management won out. Even though only 20 bears were taken in the one- day hunt, biologists consider it a big success. Just like in other states, bear numbers are on the increase and human-bear problems are also increasing as well. The hunt will allow Maryland’s Division of Fish and Wildlife to keep the bear population in check before it gets out of control, as it has done in some other states.