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Licensed turkey hunters took to the woods during the 6 day fall season and came home with 282 birds for the Thanksgiving table according to preliminary figures compiled by Jim Cardoza, Turkey Project Leader for MassWildlife. During the same season in 1998, 270 turkeys were taken. The fall season was open from central Worcester County westward to the New York state line as well as on the island of Martha^s Vineyard. A total of 148 turkeys were checked in MassWildlife^s Western District, 101 in the Connecticut Valley District, 31 in Central District and 2 were taken on the Vineyard.
"The wild turkey is a great example of how scientific wildlife management can restore a species for the benefit of all," states Cardoza. "People can enjoy the turkey as the centerpiece of their Thanksgiving celebration, or as part of an exhilarating hunt, or through their binocular or camera lenses. We can enjoy turkeys for all these purposes while maintaining a vigorous population."
Likewise, preliminary results of the archery deer season suggest whitetails continue to thrive across the Bay State. With several check stations yet to report, a total of 2,324 deer have been checked by Massachusetts archers. A total of 1,798 deer were taken in the 1998 archery season.
Early figures suggest deer densities remain high in the eastern half of the state as check stations in MassWildlife^s Southeast District reported 641 deer tagged during the extended 6 week season. The Northeast and Central Districts reported 440 and 483 deer respectively. In the western half of the state, where the archery season was open for 3 weeks, 426 deer were checked at Valley District stations and 334 in the Western District. Numerous deer topped the 200 pound mark on weigh station scales with one buck checked at the Martin Burns Wildlife Management Area in Newbury going 248. The Roger Reed Salmon Hatchery in Palmer also checked a 240+ pounder.
"Deer management is a longterm proposition, so the jury is still out on how effective our extended archery season will ultimately be in eastern Massachusetts," states Dr. John McDonald, MassWildlife Deer Project Leader. "The Board lengthened the season to help us curb the growth rate of the herd in our eastern Deer Management Zones. We^ll see how this management strategy dovetails with increased numbers of antlerless permits available to licensed hunters for the shotgun season plus the options for extra deer in Zones 10 and 14. The shotgun season is still our most effective tool for managing deer numbers in the western zones." McDonald advises that antlerless permits are still available for sale over the counter for Deer Management Zones 9, 10 and 14. Antlerless permits for DMZ 13 (Martha^s Vineyard) may be purchased at the State Forest check station by anyone who does not already possess a permit for any zone.
Numerous whitetails in Northern Berkshire County and parts of Middlesex and Plymouth Counties are fitted with radiotelemetry collars as part of a MassWildlife/UMass deer research project. The deer are legal game during the open seasons and sportsmen who harvest collared deer are asked to turn in the telemetry at the check station.
Shotgun season opens November 29 and runs through December 11. In DMZs 12 and 13 which encompasses the southeast portion of Plymouth County, and all of Barnstable and Dukes Counties, the season closes December 4.
Uploaded: 11/27/1999
Uploaded: 11/27/1999