The general A zone deer season gets underway on Saturday and hunters are hoping for cooler weather. The temperatures have been hitting the century mark just about every day. Overall, the county’s deer herd continues a slow decline. The reason for the deer decline is a continuing loss of habitat and predation by coyotes and mountain lions. A study done by the University of California field station in Mendocino County (Hopland) revealed that only about one in four fawns survive a year because of the growing coyote population.
Archery hunters in Lake County in this year’s hunting reason reported seeing dozens of coyotes. In fact, coyotes can be heard howling every night on the outskirts of Lakeport. The past five years have seen the deer herd leveling off and today it’s barely holding its own. Much of the deer range along the North Coast is now at its maximum carrying capacity. The Mendocino National Forest is a good example. In the 1960s it wasn’t unusual to see 25 to 60 deer per day. Now if you see five deer per day it’s considered a lot.
All the deer in Lake County are of the Columbian blacktail species. They are a subspecies of the mule deer but much smaller. A mature blacktail buck will weigh about 130 to 150 pounds alive.
The deer herd reached its maximum numbers in the late 1950s when deer kills in the county often exceeded 2,000 bucks. Compare that to last year when fewer than 300 bucks were taken. The prospects look good for this year. The game wardens report that hunters they have checked during the recent archery season report seeing a good number of bucks near Elk Mountain and Pine Mountain in the Mendocino National Forest.
To survive and reproduce, deer need food, water and cover. As more and more people move into the county, suitable wildlife habitat disappears. A half century ago the sheep population along the North Coast was peaking and ranchers provided water, food and predator control which, while helping the sheep, also benefited the deer. Another factor were the timber harvests in the Mendocino National Forest. With all these ideal conditions the deer herd literally exploded. That has all changed. Vineyards have taken over most of the rural parts of the county and there are no predator controls.
Many people think because they see dozens of deer on the local golf courses and in the backyards that the county is awash with deer. Not so. The reason the deer hang around the golf courses and local residences is because there is an abundant food supply. However, the back county is often a virtual desert.
Of all the species of deer, the blacktail is the most challenging to hunt. They test not only the hunter’s endurance but his patience as well. You’re hunting in brush so thick that you can often see only a few yards, and all for a buck that usually is only a forked horn and weighs under a 100 pounds. No other hunting sport challenges the hunter like the coastal deer zone. And yet, it is one of the most popular deer hunting zones in the state.
Without question a blacktail buck is a worthy opponent. He would rather hide than run and more than one hunter has walked within a few feet of a buck and never known he was there. He thrives in the hot, dry terrain under miserable conditions. He spends most of his day in the thick brush or deep canyons, and unlike his muley cousin who often stops and stares when flushed, all most hunters see of a black-tailed buck is his rear end as he goes over the hill. When a hunter bags a blacktail buck—be it a forked horn or four-pointer—he has earned his trophy.
As in past years on the opening weekend the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) game wardens will be out in force checking hunters for hunting license and deer tags. They will also be making sure hunters are equipped with steel ammunition as required by law.
The wardens will also be enforcing the loaded weapon in vehicle law. A weapon is considered loaded by the DFW when there is a shell in the chamber. The wardens will also be looking for trespassers. The law says that if a property is posted, fenced or under cultivation you must have written permission from the owner to hunt on it. It goes without saying that you must have a valid hunting license and the appropriate deer tags in your possession while hunting.
For those lucky hunters that manage to bag a buck, Larry Poff of Kelseyville will process the deer. He does approximately 500 deer a season. He can be reached at (707) 349-6800
