N.B. Whitetail harvest one of the worst

coldshot

coldshot

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The 2015 New Brunswick deer harvest was one of the worst on record and possibly the second worst ever recorded. Estimates from the DNR show that harvest was down 38 per cent from 2014, with only 4,313 deer killed in the month long season, and 49,000 hunters.
This season almost ties with the abysmal harvest of 2001, which was 4,314 deer harvested. The worst season on record was in 1973, when 4,273 were registered.
The harvest peaked in 1985 with more than 31,000 deer registered.
 
Yeah, my hardwood wood lot of 250 acres was devoid of deer sign this year. I had a population of 8 in 2013. I am in zone 18 right beside an 10000 acre crown lease to Irving. They sprayed in 2014. There was virtually no deer harvested in the whole zone. It was winter that did it but the spray that started the decline.
 
I think the government should outlaw herbicide spray like in Quebec, and employ people with bush saws to contend with the hardwood sapling competition, or just leave it to form a mixed growth.
 
They spray the clearcuts after logging in BC too. New hunters are always wondering why they don't see many deer in the clearcuts compared to an area after a fire and the spraying is the main reason I think.
 
Spraying wtf! Forests need to go through the succession process to remain healthy Logging or fire doesn't matter just let nature go through its process. Good for game good for everything. If politicians gave a rats arse they would end this crap rather than worrying about carbon taxes.
 
coldshot said:
The 2015 New Brunswick deer harvest was one of the worst on record and possibly the second worst ever recorded. Estimates from the DNR show that harvest was down 38 per cent from 2014, with only 4,313 deer killed in the month long season, and 49,000 hunters.
This season almost ties with the abysmal harvest of 2001, which was 4,314 deer harvested. The worst season on record was in 1973, when 4,273 were registered.
The harvest peaked in 1985 with more than 31,000 deer registered.
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No suprise with the winters we both put in the last two years. It is no better down this way
Many parts of this province should not have even allowed a deer season but yet they still allow two tags and a doe draw.
Unreal. They don't have a clue or don't care
Cheers
 
Ohhh they care.... About the tax they could like the from hunting licenses. Reading the Cumberland files from Halifax Media CoOp, it looks like NB would have to close the non-nuisance season for five to seven years for a recovery. That will not happen and in six years tge season will be closed permanently.
 
I saw tons of tracks! My deer camera caught quite a few doe's but no bucks. I was baiting with apples, and they were only coming at night, or a few hours after I left when dark.

I tried a few other spots on acadian timber land, and nothing. I was out a few times a week and every weekend, was hard for sure. A good buddy of mine called me one day and said he got his deer. I asked him how since I knew he was working, his truck hit a doe! Well technically he was right, but that was all he got!
 
Lots of info there.and he is right.if thy spend a little and look into what's going on. You can come up with a reason and a solution. If thy just shovel it under the rug and never spend to do the research. You get no results. Dutch
 
powdergun said:
Spraying wtf! Forests need to go through the succession process to remain healthy Logging or fire doesn't matter just let nature go through its process. Good for game good for everything. If politicians gave a rats arse they would end this crap rather than worrying about carbon taxes.
Click to expand...

Actually, waiting for nature to go through all of its succession paths is not good for the forest, wildlife or the forest industry. Spraying ensures conifer renewal comes back which is the main product used by the forest industry, I can guarantee your house isn't made of poplar or birch 2x4s. The industry actually prefers not to spray, it is an additional cost to them, however their forest management plans have specific goals for conifer renewal. If it is crownland I can guarantee you, as the public, have had a chance to comment on the forest prescriptions for areas of interest to you, some blocks don't get sprayed because of adjacent landowner concerns.

Conifer dominated forest stands provide valuable late winter habitat for deer and moose and other wildlife. In Ontario poor past silviculture practices and wildlife habitat goals have resulted in a forest that is over dominated by hardwood and mixed woods, therefore there are targets to increase conifer renewal.
 
fraserdw said:
Yeah, my hardwood wood lot of 250 acres was devoid of deer sign this year. I had a population of 8 in 2013. I am in zone 18 right beside an 10000 acre crown lease to Irving. They sprayed in 2014. There was virtually no deer harvested in the whole zone. It was winter that did it but the spray that started the decline.
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Great stuff isn't it! ;)

I wonder if TXS will be along to straighten this thread out and call it hogwash!
 
Kenny_G2 said:
Actually, waiting for nature to go through all of its succession paths is not good for the forest, wildlife or the forest industry. Spraying ensures conifer renewal comes back which is the main product used by the forest industry, I can guarantee your house isn't made of poplar or birch 2x4s. The industry actually prefers not to spray, it is an additional cost to them, however their forest management plans have specific goals for conifer renewal. If it is crownland I can guarantee you, as the public, have had a chance to comment on the forest prescriptions for areas of interest to you, some blocks don't get sprayed because of adjacent landowner concerns.

Conifer dominated forest stands provide valuable late winter habitat for deer and moose and other wildlife. In Ontario poor past silviculture practices and wildlife habitat goals have resulted in a forest that is over dominated by hardwood and mixed woods, therefore there are targets to increase conifer renewal.
Click to expand...
Seemed to work out just fine before we showed up. It's all about money, like you said they're not after birch or poplars and couldn't give a rats ass about wildlife either. Just quick re harvests.
 
Quebec deer harvest results for 2015 huge drop from 2014



Actually that's not really that bad considering the last 2 winters. I remember the year 1973. Very bad and long winters from the mid sixties to the mid seventies. That was also any deer seasons. Right after that they instituted bucks only for about 6-7 years. Then I believe they had a doe season but only the first 2 days. Gradually as the winters were less severe they changed the regs to about what they have now. 1973 total, the last year of the any deer season I believe the total was about 3400. Much better now even with the latest declines.
 
I don't understand why the forest companies could not benefit from a mixed stand forest, the only shortcomings that I could see would be sorting it after the final cut. The modern harvest heads can discern the best way to cut up the various species via programing software, and with hard wood firewood selling for $250 a cord, or in one of the local building supply stores for $169 a pallet (about a third of a cord), I would think it would be worth more than softwood.
The forest ecosystem as well as the trees themselves would benefit from a mixed stand which would be a win, win for everyone.
 
powdergun said:
Spraying wtf! Forests need to go through the succession process to remain healthy Logging or fire doesn't matter just let nature go through its process. Good for game good for everything. If politicians gave a rats arse they would end this crap rather than worrying about carbon taxes.
Click to expand...

Hey man, you're talking sense and we all know that sense, or common sense, is a way down on the politicians list.
And yes, a forester will explain how an original spruce and douglas fir forest has those tall trees, with minimum branches on them, because of the poplar trees they grew up with. The deciduous trees grow faster, providing shade and for the ever green trees to compete they have to stretch up, to get into the sunshine.
I remember once walking through a virgin forest with a registered forester and he said he thought the forest was about eighty years old. I asked him what he was judging that by and he said poplar trees die at about 45 or so years and he was judging by how long it had been since the poplar had died!
 
Kenny_G2 said:
Actually, waiting for nature to go through all of its succession paths is not good for the forest, wildlife or the forest industry. Spraying ensures conifer renewal comes back which is the main product used by the forest industry, I can guarantee your house isn't made of poplar or birch 2x4s. The industry actually prefers not to spray, it is an additional cost to them, however their forest management plans have specific goals for conifer renewal. If it is crownland I can guarantee you, as the public, have had a chance to comment on the forest prescriptions for areas of interest to you, some blocks don't get sprayed because of adjacent landowner concerns.

Conifer dominated forest stands provide valuable late winter habitat for deer and moose and other wildlife. In Ontario poor past silviculture practices and wildlife habitat goals have resulted in a forest that is over dominated by hardwood and mixed woods, therefore there are targets to increase conifer renewal.
Click to expand...

The issue with the softwood stands the timber companies are growing is they don't provide much by way of feed for other 8 or so months of the year when deer are trying to establish the fat reserves required to survive a winter. Also one of the biggest issues with New Brunswick's forestry management plan, we the tax payers are footing the bill for the herbicide spraying. And our crown lands are nearly devoid of deer because of it. I live on the edge of crown land that has been recently harvested and sprayed over the last 3 years. Deer sightings have gone from 4-6 a day to this year where I have seen exactly 7 deer since August when they sprayed.
I can travel 15 kilometers to a friends home in the nuisance deer permit area of the province and spend an evening in a deer blind and have so many deer around me I can't draw my bow. There is a definite imbalance to our deer herd that was compounded by last winters high mortality for young of the year. Lets face it here in NB most hunters are getting older and compounded by the fact we aren't allowed to bone out a big game animal most either can't or won't hunt further from a road than they can carry a bag of apples, so with a lack of young bucks and most of the approximately 30,000 hunters having to shoot an antlered deer I can see how we had a success rate of roughly 14% lets face it most of us don't hunt the areas big bucks hide pre and post rut.
 
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