By JESSE WHITE


TOWER - While some local papers splashed weighty headlines across the tops of their pages this week declaring a 7 percent drop in the deer harvest compared to 2011, most hunters were left to wonder just what that really means.

You see while dramatic headers may sell papers, in order to understand how significant the final harvest number is - and where it comes from - you need to take a look at past seasons.

That's where you'll find the real story.

Every deer hunter who spent significant time in the woods this November knew before the Department of Natural Resources released their final preliminary numbers that the harvest was going to be down.

We expected that going into the season - the DNR told us it was coming - and we saw it for ourselves from our deer stands once the 16-day season rolled around.

Still, I think it was a shock to many just how slow things were out there, myself included.

Consider this: Statewide, hunters had harvested 151,400 deer during the 2012 firearms season before the final tally from the late 3B season was taken into account. That's the lowest amount since 1998, when hunters killed 143,396 deer.

That total is also a far cry from the record setting harvest of 257,860 deer set nearly a decade ago in 2003.

Add that to the fact that the harvest has been slowly dropping the past few years (164,200 in 2011; 174,101 in 2010; 162,345 in 2009; and 183,793 in 2008) and it's easy to see why hunters have been doing a lot of grumbling this year - and pointing a lot of fingers in the direction of the DNR and the traditional enemy of the deer hunter and deer, the wolf.

But while predators and management decisions have an effect on the whitetail population - nothing hits the herd harder than harsh Minnesota winters that start too early and last too long.

It's just fact: Bad winters kill the young, the fawns and the elderly deer and the end result is what we are seeing now - a smaller population and a conservative approach to deer management.

This brings us to what 1998 and 2012 have in common when it comes to deer hunting: Both seasons followed a stretch of particularly tough winters.

The 1998 deer season followed two of the harshest winters on record in Minnesota. Both the winter of 1995-96 and the following winter, 1996-97, were devastating to the whitetail herd, particularly in the northern part of the state where an estimated 120,000 to 360,000 deer died, according to the DNR.

Interestingly enough, the three winters that followed those two seasons were some of the mildest on record and the deer population rebounded and eventually peaked in 2003 when the record harvest was set.

Flash forward to the winter of 2008-09 and we see another harsh winter that killed an estimated 20 percent of the deer herd in the Tower area. That winter was followed by another severe winter in 2010-11. The winter of 2007-2008 was no picnic for deer either.

And while last winter was considered mild, DNR wildlife managers decided to be conservative when it came to license options this year. Their goal was to maintain populations at levels determined by citizen-lead groups back in the mid-2000's after many in the state complained the deer herd was too big.

The DNR increased the number of lottery areas where hunters could only take an antlerless deer by permit. Many other Permit Areas which had been designated “Managed” (where hunters could harvest two deer) were changed to “Hunter's Choice,” where hunters could shoot one deer of either-sex.

And, as expected, most shot bucks.

“The increase in buck harvest and decrease in antlerless deer harvest is a reflection of slightly higher deer populations statewide, yet a more conservative harvest philosophy this year,” said Lou Cornicelli, DNR wildlife research manager, said in a news release. “What drives total harvest is how we manage antlerless deer."

Locally, where most Permit Areas are at or below population goals, the harvest was down 7.5 percent, said Tom Rusch, DNR Wildlife Manager in Tower.

The buck harvest in northern St. Louis and northern Lake counties was up 4.4 percent compared to 2011. Statewide the buck harvest was up 9 percent.

Locally the harvest broke down as follows in comparison to last year:

  • Permit Area (PA) 108 (International Falls): 1,270 deer in 2012; 1,026 in 2011.
  • PA 117 (BWCAW): 60 in 2012; 37 2011.
  • PA 118 (BWCAW) 662 in 2012; 984 in 2011.
  • PA 119 (North of Orr): 841 in 2012; 824 in 2011
  • PA 122 (East of Aurora): 529 in 2012; 835 in 2011.
  • PA 127 (Isabella): 140 in 2012; 120 in 2011.
  • PA 176 (Central Iron Range): 2,669 in 2012; 2,430 in 2011.
  • PA 177 (Cook): 1,378 in 2012; 1,751 in 2011.
  • PA 178 (South Iron Range): 4,570 in 2012; 5,092 in 2011.

Permit areas 108, 118, 119 and 122 were Lottery Areas where hunters could only shoot one deer and needed to apply for antlerless permit. Otherwise it was bucks only.

Permit Areas 117, 127, 176, and 177 were Hunter Choice where hunters could shoot either one buck or one antlerless deer with an over-the-counter license.

Permit Area 178 was Managed, where there was a two deer limit. And either-sex license was sold over-the-counter and hunters could also purchase an antlerless bonus permit.

According to DNR numbers, the antlerless harvest in northern Minnesota was down 20.2 percent and 21 percent statewide.

The state harvest number does not include the tally from the late 3B season in southeastern Minnesota, which closed Sunday, Nov. 25.

Ample hunting opportunities remain as the statewide muzzleloader season runs Sunday, Dec. 9. The archery season closes on Monday, Dec. 31.

In Minnesota, hunters normally bag 7,000 to 9,000 deer by muzzleloader and 15,000 to 20,000 by bow.