February 21st, 2021 by WCBC Radio

 

 

 

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported that deer hunters harvested 81,729 deer during the combined archery, firearms, and muzzleloader seasons, from Sept. 11, 2020 through Feb. 3, 2021.

The statewide harvest included 29,242 antlered and 49,033 antlerless white-tailed deer, plus 1,500 antlered and 1,954 antlerless sika deer. The harvest was 3% higher than the 2019-2020 total of 79,457 deer.

Hunters harvested more than 8,000 deer on Sundays, comprising 10% of the total harvest. Hunting deer on Sunday is only permitted during certain weeks in 20 of Maryland’s 23 counties.

Deer hunters took advantage of the new Primitive Deer Hunt, Feb. 1 – 3, and harvested 250 deer. A significant snow and ice storm affected the hunt days, but hunters still managed to harvest 42 deer with primitive bows and 208 deer with primitive muzzleloaders.

“Our deer population continues to be an invaluable resource for thousands of Marylanders,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “Both consumptive and non-consumptive users enjoy deer, and the species generates millions of dollars in revenue for the state’s economy and for the conservation of Maryland’s other wildlife.”

The harvest in deer management Region A (Western Maryland) increased 10%, from 8,534 deer last year to 9,383 this year. Hunters in the western counties reported 5,470 antlered and 3,913 antlerless deer.

Hunters in Region B — the remainder of the state — harvested 72,346 deer, up 2% from 70,923 deer harvested last year. A total of 25,272 antlered and 47,074 antlerless deer were reported in this region.

Frederick County had the highest reported harvest again this year, with 7,342 deer reported. Carroll County followed with 6,202 deer, and Baltimore County was third with 5,356. Garrett and Washington counties rounded out the top five with 4,904 and 4,712 deer, respectively.

Counties in southern Maryland experienced significant harvest declines for the season, primarily due to an outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). EHD is common in Maryland and varies annually in location and severity. The 2020 outbreak is not expected to have long-term consequences for the local deer population.

 

Maryland Reported Antlered and Antlerless Deer Harvest  for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 Hunting Seasons
	Antlered			Antlerless			Total
County	2019-20	2020-21	% Change	2019-20	2020-21	% Change	2019-20	2020-21	% Change
Allegany	1,667	1,921	15.2	1,179	1,379	17.0	2,846	3,300	16.0
Anne Arundel	966	642	-33.5	1,653	1,277	-22.7	2,619	1,919	-26.7
Baltimore	1,774	1,781	0.4	3,195	3,575	11.9	4,969	5,356	7.8
Calvert	639	468	-26.8	1,025	916	-10.6	1,664	1,384	-16.8
Caroline
whitetail	785	884	12.6	1,797	1,894	5.4	2,582	2,778	7.6
sika	0	0	*	1	2	*	1	2	*
Carroll	2,016	2,196	8.9	3,537	4,006	13.3	5,553	6,202	11.7
Cecil	1,226	1,227	0.1	2,468	2,530	2.5	3,694	3,757	1.7
Charles	1,349	1,074	-20.4	1,868	1,557	-16.6	3,217	2,631	-18.2
Dorchester
whitetail	748	728	-2.7	1,203	1,327	10.3	1,951	2,055	5.3
sika	1,405	1,337	-4.8	1,711	1,749	2.2	3,116	3,086	-1.0
Frederick	2,543	2,854	12.2	3,815	4,488	17.6	6,358	7,342	15.5
Garrett	2,733	2,873	5.1	1,874	2,031	8.4	4,607	4,904	6.4
Harford	1,224	1,209	-1.2	2,353	2,371	0.8	3,577	3,580	0.1
Howard	798	807	1.1	1,470	1,576	7.2	2,268	2,383	5.1
Kent	1,162	1,044	-10.2	2,020	2,108	4.4	3,182	3,152	-0.9
Montgomery	1,367	1,363	-0.3	2,588	2,741	5.9	3,955	4,104	3.8
Prince George’s	885	662	-25.2	1,311	963	-26.5	2,196	1,625	-26.0
Queen Anne’s	1,127	1,006	-10.7	2,248	2,321	3.2	3,375	3,327	-1.4
St. Mary’s	962	792	-17.7	1,547	1,264	-18.3	2,509	2,056	-18.1
Somerset
whitetail	649	691	6.5	1,488	1,566	5.2	2,137	2,257	5.6
sika	8	7	*	8	8	*	16	16	*
Talbot	717	697	-2.8	1,637	1,576	-3.7	2,354	2,273	-3.4
Washington	1,846	2,096	13.5	2,195	2,616	19.2	4,041	4,712	16.6
Wicomico
whitetail	975	1,063	9.0	1,963	2,289	16.6	2,938	3,352	14.1
sika	83	118	*	114	116	*	197	234	*
Worcester
whitetail	1,075	1,164	8.3	2,343	2,662	13.6	3,418	3,826	11.9
sika	55	38	*	61	78	*	116	116	*
Total	30,785	30,742	-0.1	48,672	50,987	4.8	79,457	81,729	2.9
*Small sample size