Big Break For Our Deer Herds

[bearpaw]

2010 proved to be probably one of our best deer years ever for us. We had great hunts in all four states that we hunt (WA, ID, MT, and UT).

November started our winter off like a lion, we had single digit temps in all the states. Then snow started falling, I was afraid we were going to have near record snow fall in all our states and all predictions were indicating a harsh winter throughout the west. Then a couple weeks ago the rain started. My wife told me the rain was intense in NE WA, a few days later it hit southern Idaho and Utah. Nearly all the snow melted off in numerous states. Even though precip is high the warmup has saved our herds for now as deer can get to vital forage on southern exposure for now.

My fingers are crossed for a continued good winter.

[PolarBear]

I heard on the radio that January and into February are the months that we really have to worry about.  Much higher precipitation and colder temps.  They are predicting record snowfall in the mountains, some in the lowlands and record rainfall wherever it ain't snowing.  We'll see. 

[400out]

I heard on the radio that January and into February are the months that we really have to worry about.  Much higher precipitation and colder temps.  They are predicting record snowfall in the mountains, some in the lowlands and record rainfall wherever it ain't snowing.  We'll see. 

I don't think their weather rocks can predict that far ahead.

[rainshadow1]

It's liable to be bad in Jan/Feb, but same there as here, losing that initial snow dump to rains up to 7,000' was a big deal. If that initial snow had stayed, March would be looking mighty bleak for the herbivores....

[bearpaw]

It's liable to be bad in Jan/Feb, but same there as here, losing that initial snow dump to rains up to 7,000' was a big deal. If that initial snow had stayed, March would be looking mighty bleak for the herbivores....

I totally agree, if it had been tough from November till March you could just write off another 70% of the deer in NE Washington. As long as we get a warmup here and there, to melt off the southern exposure every month or so, it really don't matter how harsh the rest of the winter is. I just hope we get some more warm temps to do that in Jan/Feb/Mar.

Where we hunt in Idaho the deer were all down to the lowest elevations. We actually had deer moving back up to mid elevations in mid December. That is a very good sign.

[boneaddict]

As long as the rain keeps it to a minimium, or even worse freezing rain

[Skyvalhunter]

Deep snow then rain followed by freezing is a deers worst to over come and be able to feed.

[Fish4Fun]

As long as the snow depth isn't too bad and it doesn't rain and crust over with ice we shouldn't have huge losses. The ice crusted stuff is what seems to do them in the fastest. More energy is spent than they are eating, makes for a bad deal.

[bearpaw]

I was just all over our NE WA mountains on a lion hunt. I was able to drive almost anywhere I wanted to go, that is unusual for this late in the year. We ended up treeing a big tom yesterday on southern exposure that only had about 4 to 10 inches of snow in most places. That same area would normally have 12 to 20 inches at this time. We only have about 5 inches in my yard, 2 and 3 years ago there was 30 to 40 inches at this time in my yard.

Looking very good for our deer so far.

However I must point out, deer numbers on public land are already low due to those bad winters 2 and 3 years ago.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

How bad was the winter kill after the big winter of 96-97. I started hunting here in 98 and it seemed like there were a lot more deer than we have currently. I guess two winters will do that.

A mild winter would be great for the herd. I have at least a dozen bucks that will be real GIANTS with another year of growth.

[huntnnw]

I love how they try to predict the weather months in advance, hell they cant get a week right

[DBHAWTHORNE]

I love how they try to predict the weather months in advance, hell they cant get a week right

No kidding sometimes they can't get "current" weather right.

[huntnnw]

yup, some bad winters we are only 3 deg from a soggy wet mess to a full on blizzard. all timing and temps.

[sakoshooter]

The Farmer's Almanac predicts lots of snow but I thought it also said it would be warmer than usual. I hope it is for the deer's sake.

[bearpaw]

96/97 was a tough one too. There was never a break, cold and deep snow the entire winter, from mid November to March, I assessed about 60% to 80% winter kill in most areas of NE WA after that winter. I can't say what the damage was to other areas.

Another winter with similar effects on our herds was back in 92. And another super bad winter was in 68, I remember 1968 as the worst winter in my lifetime. I can remember 40 below and snow to the top of some fence posts.

Hopefully 2010 will just be another average winter when it is said and done. Our deer do not need another tough one after tough winters back to back in 2007 and 2008.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

96/97 was a tough one too. There was never a break, cold and deep snow the entire winter, from mid November to March, I assessed about 60% to 80% winter kill in most areas of NE WA after that winter. I can't say what the damage was to other areas.

Another winter with similar effects on our herds was back in 92. And another super bad winter was in 68, I remember 1968 as the worst winter in my lifetime. I can remember 40 below and snow to the top of some fence posts.

Hopefully 2010 will just be another average winter when it is said and done. Our deer do not need another tough one after tough winters back to back in 2007 and 2008.

Dale,
 
Thanks for the reply/insight. From a hunters perspective how long did it take for the herds to recover to reasonable levels after hard winters like those? I know large alfalfa fields where I used to see nearly a hundred deer an evening where now I only have 15-30 on any given day.

[bearpaw]

In my opinion it takes 4 to 6 years to really bring back the deer numbers. One of the reasons it takes so long is that the first year after a tough winter, many of the does have no fawns. So it is the second year after the bad winter before you get a good fawn crop. Then it depends how many predators are impacting an area and how many deer hunters are taking. But it seems that in 4 to 6 years the damage is usually overcome.

[huntnnw]

85 was really bad... alot of records set that Nov in NE WA that are still records today. The winter just 3 years ago in NE WA was devastating.. I had on avg the summer before 70 deer in the field, that following summer maybe 30.

[bearpaw]

Driving around the mountains cat hunting with snow on the ground really tells the story for what the deer numbers are. Right now there are areas that I would say are at 20% of the deer we had 4 years ago. Yes there are a few good bucks, but the deer numbers simply are not there. Even on the private land numbers are down, not as bad as the public ground, but they are much lower than 4 years ago.