DNR state deer biologist Jace Elliott says hunters took just shy of 102,000 deer through the various seasons this year, which is similar to last year. He says the numbers varied quite a bit throughout each region.
He says disease is likely the biggest issue with deer populations.
Elliott says it will take some more time to recover from the outbreaks.
Elliott says one thing that hasn’t changed is the number of people who put on some orange and head out to hunt deer here.
Elliott says the DNR will continue to analyze the deer numbers and base the various license allocations on the population of deer in each county. The DNR does an annual spotlight survey every spring to get a handle on the number of deer in the state.
