"I will be working on developing Delaware's deer management plan," reported Rogerson.

"This will get stake holders involved with designing seasons. More of what our overall deer population is going to be.

"In addition to hunters, we'll address what the agricultural producers want, along with wildlife watchers and such. So I think hunters are looking at two years down the road, perhaps a tweaking of things here and there to focus in on those high-density areas.

"In the past, any changes have been statewide. I expect hunters might soon see a site-specific thing."

Rogerson said the DFW manages deer based on available habitat within each of its zones. Deer habitat includes any undeveloped land, excluding agricultural lands.

Included are deciduous forest, coniferous forest and wetlands.

"We exclude agricultural land," he said, "because while soybean fields and cornfields may make ideal habitat during the summer months, crops get harvested in the fall, forcing deer into the woods.

"As we lose habitat to development, the density will remain the same. We will, however, adjust the overall population."

The agency's current goal for deer density is a total of 40 deer per square mile of habitat. Compared to other states, that number may seem high. But the difference lies in the exclusion of farming lands.

Rogerson said that if such lands were included -- as they are in some states -- Delaware's goal would be more in the neighborhood of 25 deer per square mile.

Delaware has limited public-land resources for the deer hunter, and this is reflected in harvest statistics.

During the 2005-06 season, according to 11,000 deer-harvest responses, 9,754 deer came from private land and 1,246 from public land.

According to Rogerson, the best public-land option remains the 2,992-acre Redden State Forest, located in south-central Sussex County.

"Redden State Forest is our largest area for public hunting in the state," he said.

"It is comprised of several tracts. It's not one large, contiguous land. It gives hunters a lot of freedom to move around into different habitat types. It is located in our highest deer density area.

"If you want to hike off the road and get away from other hunters, you can do so."

Links to Redden State Forest are found on the DFW's Web site at www.fw.delaware.gov.

Maps can be downloaded from the Redden State Forest sites.

In Part 2 of our annual deer forecast, we'll explore the trophy buck hunting aspects of the mid-Atlantic region.