Hunters blast doe harvest proposal
Plan would increase antlerless permits to 3,200
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By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff - Published: June 11, 2008
BENNINGTON — During a sometimes tense public meeting, residents of Bennington County blasted Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Laroche and the department's proposal to increase antlerless deer permits to 3,200, from 500 in 2007.
"If I had my way, I'd fire the whole bunch of you and start over. The people of Bennington County, me, we've been doing this for five or six years, you don't listen to us. What do we gotta do?" said Michael Watrous of West Rupert.
Laroche and Fish & Wildlife's deer team leader Shawn Haskell explained to about 40 people at the Bennington fire facility Tuesday night that every indicator — from game warden reports to hunter results to road kill — indicated the deer herd needed to be reduced.
Haskell said the hunting success rate indicated that even if the state issued the new permits, there would only be about 500 more doe harvested this year.
Haskell also pointed out that the recommendations to increase the antlerless permits came from the deer team, not Laroche.
But hunters, many of whom indicated they have been hunting in Vermont for decades, say they're not seeing deer in the number they once did.
Laroche said he had come to Pownal late last week and spent time on land owned by Fish & Wildlife Board member Keith Armstrong. Using night vision cameras, Laroche and local game wardens were able to film deer.
Those images also failed to impress the audience members.
"There might be more deer down here but the deer down here we can't hunt," said Shawn Gassaway of Bennington. "You can't count the deer on posted property. The deer you saw the other night riding around? You can't hunt them. You can't hunt them. How can you count them against us."
Laroche and Haskell were in Bennington on Tuesday in response to strong reactions to the plan that calls for more permits and an increase in the bag limit from two to three deer.
The changes must be approved by three votes by the Fish & Wildlife Board, the first of which was successful in April. A second vote is scheduled for next week.
Haskell and Laroche spent more than 30 minutes explaining what information and methods were used to determine the need to increase permits, but Rep. Mary Morrissey, R-Bennington, said she didn't believe the concerns from local hunters came from a lack of understanding.
"I found our people to be well-educated with what you folks are finding out in the field, if that's really what you're finding, but they say differently. But this just does not add up," she said.
Morrissey especially questioned the differences between New York, which is trying to increase its deer herd, and Vermont, which is trying to reduce its numbers.
Kelli Raymond of West Rupert said she runs a store that acts as a deer reporting station but said she planned to stop because she believed the state's policies were decreasing the number of hunters, especially from out of state.
Other members of the audience attributed the lower number of deer to poachers or out-of-state hunters who didn't respect local laws.
Laroche said there would be another public hearing on the deer herd, during which residents could testify on public record in Rutland on June 30 or July 1.
Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com.
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