3 deer killed during annual Plum Island hunt

Dave Rogers, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·2 min read

Dec. 6—PLUM ISLAND — In the span of two days last week, 43 hunters killed three deer during the Parker River Wildlife Refuge's annual limited white-tailed deer hunt, according to park ranger Matt Poole.

The shotgun-only hunt, which has been held since the 1980s, was initiated to reduce a once-booming deer population. But decades of hunting has curbed the number of deer there to the point where they no longer overpopulate the refuge. These days, the hunt is mostly for recreation, Poole said.

Poole said the three deer were killed on the first day, when there were 24 hunters in the refuge. An additional 19 hunters were on Plum Island the following day.

"It seemed to go as well as it does every year," Poole said.

Each year, the refugee closes to all except permitted hunters for the deer hunt. Hunters apply in September and are chosen in a lottery with up to 70 people selected. The number of hunters allowed has been capped at 70 with 35 no-cost permits available per day. The hunt took place Dec. 1 and 2.

The refuge is overseen by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which endorses hunting as one of six identified priority public uses. The other five are fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental education and environmental interpretation.

Last week's tally fell in line with Poole's prediction that three to five deer would be killed.

In 2019, 49 hunters killed 11 deer. For many years, the average number of deer killed has been two.

But Poole said 2019 was an anomaly and based on a recent snowfall, that left easy-to-track deer prints in the snow. That year, Nancy Pau, a wildlife biologist at the refuge, estimated about 30 deer called the area home but added that the number varied as deer move on and off the island.

Poole said the refuge no longer tracks the number of deer on the island and has no plans to, "unless its numbers got out of control again."

There are more than 95,000 white-tailed deer in the state, according to MassWildlife.

MassWildlife estimates deer populations across the 15 wildlife management zones by annually evaluating hunter harvest data and biological data collected at check stations.

MassWildlife said in the 2020 deer hunting season, 14,766 deer were killed, 5,138 of those by hunters using shotguns. Only shotguns, bows and arrows, and black-powder firearms can be used to hunt deer in Massachusetts.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.