By Nate Skinner for Lone Star Outdoor News
During the 2019-2020 hunting season, four doe days were introduced in 21 counties in the south central and southeast central portions of Texas.
According to TPWD White-tailed Deer Program Leader Alan Cain, this was the first time in more than 25 years for there to be a doe season in these counties during the regular white-tailed deer season for hunters tagging does with their hunting license tags. Before the introduction of the doe days, legal doe harvests in these counties during the general season dates were by permit only.
Along with the opportunity to harvest does came mandatory harvest reporting. The following 21 counties fell under this requirement, in addition to receiving four doe days during the general season: Austin, Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal, Dewitt, Fayette, Goliad, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays, Jackson, Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Travis, Victoria, Waller, Washington, Wharton and Wilson.
Cain said the reasons behind the implementation of this short doe season were pretty simple.
“There has been a steady, 3.1 percent average annual increase in deer density across these 21 counties over many years,” he said. “Some of these counties have deer densities as high as one deer per 10-15 acres, which is comparable with portions of the Hill Country.”
In addition to increasing deer densities, Cain said the doe-to-buck ratios in these counties are skewed from a management standpoint. Many of them have ratios that fall within the range of 3.8:1 and 4.2:1.
“Additional data also supported the introduction of doe days in these counties,” Cain elaborated. “Antlerless harvests only make up about 41 percent of total white-tailed deer harvests statewide. We also only have about 56 percent of antlerless MLDP tags utilized by MLDP hunters and participants.”
Cain said TPWD had received many requests from landowners, hunters, and staff for the implantation of doe days within these counties.
“We are always looking for more ways to provide hunters with increased opportunities,” he said. “When adding more opportunities it falls in line with our management plan like it did in this particular case, the reasons for allowing the harvest of does for a short time period pretty much speak for themselves.”
Despite the supporting information, many hunters and landowners were concerned about the results that these new regulations might have on their deer populations.
TPWD wildlife biologist for Wilson and Karnes counties, Jamie Killian, said she received many calls and emails from concerned hunters and landowners within the regions she manages.
“Back in the ’90s, a doe season was introduced in these areas, and it unfortunately coincided with some unfavorable environmental conditions that resulted in poor fawn crops in the following years,” Killian explained. “Many folks associate the decrease in deer density during that time period with the doe season that was introduced, and it left a bad taste in their mouths in regards to the idea of harvesting does.”
Killian said that both areas surprisingly had significant totals of does harvested.
“Mandatory harvest reporting data from does tagged with regular hunting license tags shows that 312 does were harvested in Wilson County, and that 257 does were harvested in Karnes County,” she said. According to Cain, of the 3,978 total does that were reported harvested and tagged with regular hunting license tags across all 21 counties, the highest harvest reports occurred in Dewitt and Fayette counties. A total of 455 does were reported as harvested in Dewitt County, and 417 were reported in Fayette County.
Cain said he thought that doe harvests from regular hunting license tags would total 5,000 to 6,000.
“We are currently waiting on the harvest results from MLDP properties, as the hunting season on these managed lands runs through the end of February. Even without knowing these numbers, we expect the doe harvest totals from both regular license tags and MLDP permits to fall below our recommended harvest numbers within these 21 counties.”
Cain said TPWD assesses trends in white-tailed deer populations over periods of three years, so hunters within the aforementioned 21 counties can expect to have the four day doe season available for the next two hunting seasons.
“The opportunity for hunters within these counties to harvest and tag does with their regular hunting license tags during the general hunting season will remain available until data reveals that it is no longer beneficial to the area’s white-tailed deer population,” Cain said.
