Region A harvest data indicates that due to management efforts implemented in the last several years, the deer population is increasing in the region. On public lands, however, the growth of the Region A deer herd has been slower than on private lands.

The expectation is that this proposed change would allow additional herd growth on public lands.

Finally, there’s a proposal to allow crossbows to be used during the entire bow season in the Suburban Deer Archery Zone, which includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, and Montgomery and Prince Georges counties.

According to the DNR, crossbows may currently be used in the Suburban Deer Archery Zone during the crossbow segment of the bow season. This change would allow the use of crossbows in these selected counties during the entire bow season. This proposed change should help meet the DNR’s goal of increasing the deer harvest in the Suburban Deer Archery Zone through increased hunter participation during bow season.

Be sure to carefully examine your new Regulations Brochure with your 2008 license for the status of these potential changes, and the opportunities they present. New items are also listed on the DNR’s home page at www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/ index.asp.

DELAWARE
For the near future, don’t expect any significant changes to Delaware’s deer-management program. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to talk about. Since earlier this year, the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife has been working hard on a new deer management plan that may translate into significant changes -- and potentially add deer hunting opportunities in the near future.

Unlike some neighboring states, Delaware doesn’t have a formal deer-management plan, according to Joe Rogerson, a biologist with the DFW. That’s something the agency plans to change in the coming months.

Because the creation of a formal deer-management plan is in the works, Rogerson said no changes in deer seasons will occur for this year’s hunt. However, depending on the plan’s end result, significant changes could be on the horizon, likely for the 2009 season.

The Sunday-hunting component of deer hunting is a legislative issue in Delaware. At the time of our conversation, Rogerson wasn’t aware of any bills being sponsored for Sunday hunting this year.

He said the first step in creating a deer-management plan would be a stakeholders’ committee meeting, made up of several key groups of delegates.

“There will be two representatives from each category,” he explained. “For instance, a group from the agriculture community. Animal welfare will be represented. One that I think will really be a key is the land-use planning group. Delaware is becoming highly developed and urbanized. And keeping some green space within these developing communities is a common component.

“But this creates ideal deer habitats, which are too close to have hunts either legally or effectively,” he went on. “As these developments continue to pop up, they become places where deer have safe havens, where we can’t hunt them.

“So getting these planning folks involved is vital to keep from creating a deer-management nightmare 15 or 20 years down the road.

“When you think of deer, you think of hunters, the consumptive users. But there are non-consumptive users who are also affected by deer management. So there will be representatives from these interests, such as the Delaware Audubon Society.

“We have all these deer seasons to try to manage the deer herd properly, but these impact non-hunters as well. Both public and private land management is represented, as well as those concerned with public safety.”