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ONS-DEER SEASON FORECAST -- Jim Matthews-ONS -- 01oct03
Southern California deer seasons open Oct. 11, forecast is just fair
Most Southern California deer zones open for the rifle season on Oct. 11, and the general forecast is a mixed one for hunters, with both good news and bad news. For hunters with tags for the D14 zone in the San Bernardino Mountains and the D19 zone in the San Jacinto Mountains, the U.S. Forest Service has pledged to keep the San Bernardino National Forest open to hunters, unlike last year, unless there is a major blaze ongoing and no access is allowed. These two zones, along with the D11 zone in the San Gabriel Mountains, D15 in the Santa Ana Mountains, and D16 which encompasses most of San Diego County, were all essentially closed last season due to fire concerns in the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests. Gene Zimmerman, the forest supervisor on the San Bernardino, pledged earlier this year to keep the San Bernardino National Forest open, except in the most extreme conditions. But hunters need to check with forest offices in all areas to make sure they will have access.
Jim Davis, the Department of Fish and Game's regional biologist, said that last year's closures are the one positive he sees in this fall's season. "We had almost no fawn production last year, so we're carrying over some young bucks from the previous year," said Davis. "Since there wasn't much of a hunting season last year, I don't expect them to be too wary and aware. The numbers aren't increasing that greatly so I don't forecast a tremendously large kill. We just don't have a large number of young animals out there" Davis said that young deer always make up the bulk of the harvest. He added that rains this spring and the monsoon moisture of the past few weeks has led to good forage production and that deer are widely scattered in all of the Southern California zones, which will make hunting a little more difficult. "So we're probably going to see a pretty typical year -- although we will have some stupid animals that will be walking around out there since we didn't have too many days of hunting last year," said Davis.
The D16 zone in San Diego County opens Oct. 25 and a spokesman for the Cleveland National Forest said that he would hunt the edges of one of the many burns that took place on this forest the past three or four years, especially near water. Production in those areas, where the chaparral has crown-sprouted and the forage is very good, has been better than other areas of the forest. He said this advice actually applies throughout the region. The D13 hunting area, in the Frazier Mountain region, received a ton of hunting pressure last year. It was the only major zone in this region that was not closed, thanks to a courageous move by Jeannine Derby, the Los Padres National Forest supervisor, who kept her forest open to recreational users. All hunters with D11 and D15 tags can also hunt D13, and it seemed that most of them did last year. While the DFG's harvest data was not complete for last year, the forest service and local businesses in Frazier Park reported a dramatic increase in hunters last fall.
This likely translated into a larger harvest than normal and with this year's poor production, according to Davis, things do not look all that good. Brian Tait, who owns 400 acres and the Tait Ranch Trout Ponds in Frazier Park, said they usually have a lot of deer on their ranch this time of year, moving into the property as a refuge to escape hunters, but that numbers are down this year. Don Geivet, the game manager on the nearby Tejon Ranch, is far more optimistic about the deer season, which opened Sept. 27 in the D10 zone. "This is our second year of the ranch-wide quality deer management program," said Geivet. "I think our outlook is good. Where else can you go and know that 60 percent of the hunters are going to shoot a quality buck?" Geivet said their program is designed to increase the harvest of older age class deer, with all young bucks off limits.
As more older age class deer enter the population, the number of trophy class deer also increases. "It's already working," said Geivet. "We had this program as a voluntary part of the deal for three years, and those lease members who've participated since day one are seeing more big bucks than they ever have." Southern California's two desert zones, D17 in the east Mojave, and D12 along the Colorado River, both look to be similar to last year. Water is always the limiting factor on these herds, and Cliff McDonald, a long-time Needles-based desert hunter who's been leading the battle to save water sources in the Mojave, said he had mixed feelings. "My son drove out and did some scouting the other day and saw a big forked horn and three point," said McDonald of his hunting area on the Mojave National Preserve.
"That's pretty good to see two bucks in one day out here. "The desert looks beautiful, but there's not going to be the numbers of deer taken because the deer aren't there because of the loss of cattle water. Ms. [Mary] Martin [the preserve superintendent] needs to understand they are killing animals out there when they remove this stock water." The D17 zone opens Oct. 12, like most other Southern California zones, but the D12 zone along the Colorado River kicks off Nov. 1 this year. The D16 zone in the San Jacinto Mountains opens Oct. 4, a week earlier than other zones. Hunters should make sure they know the seasons and contact local agencies about road and fire closures before they take to the field this year.
Southern California deer seasons open Oct. 11, forecast is just fair
Most Southern California deer zones open for the rifle season on Oct. 11, and the general forecast is a mixed one for hunters, with both good news and bad news. For hunters with tags for the D14 zone in the San Bernardino Mountains and the D19 zone in the San Jacinto Mountains, the U.S. Forest Service has pledged to keep the San Bernardino National Forest open to hunters, unlike last year, unless there is a major blaze ongoing and no access is allowed. These two zones, along with the D11 zone in the San Gabriel Mountains, D15 in the Santa Ana Mountains, and D16 which encompasses most of San Diego County, were all essentially closed last season due to fire concerns in the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests. Gene Zimmerman, the forest supervisor on the San Bernardino, pledged earlier this year to keep the San Bernardino National Forest open, except in the most extreme conditions. But hunters need to check with forest offices in all areas to make sure they will have access.
Jim Davis, the Department of Fish and Game's regional biologist, said that last year's closures are the one positive he sees in this fall's season. "We had almost no fawn production last year, so we're carrying over some young bucks from the previous year," said Davis. "Since there wasn't much of a hunting season last year, I don't expect them to be too wary and aware. The numbers aren't increasing that greatly so I don't forecast a tremendously large kill. We just don't have a large number of young animals out there" Davis said that young deer always make up the bulk of the harvest. He added that rains this spring and the monsoon moisture of the past few weeks has led to good forage production and that deer are widely scattered in all of the Southern California zones, which will make hunting a little more difficult. "So we're probably going to see a pretty typical year -- although we will have some stupid animals that will be walking around out there since we didn't have too many days of hunting last year," said Davis.
The D16 zone in San Diego County opens Oct. 25 and a spokesman for the Cleveland National Forest said that he would hunt the edges of one of the many burns that took place on this forest the past three or four years, especially near water. Production in those areas, where the chaparral has crown-sprouted and the forage is very good, has been better than other areas of the forest. He said this advice actually applies throughout the region. The D13 hunting area, in the Frazier Mountain region, received a ton of hunting pressure last year. It was the only major zone in this region that was not closed, thanks to a courageous move by Jeannine Derby, the Los Padres National Forest supervisor, who kept her forest open to recreational users. All hunters with D11 and D15 tags can also hunt D13, and it seemed that most of them did last year. While the DFG's harvest data was not complete for last year, the forest service and local businesses in Frazier Park reported a dramatic increase in hunters last fall.
This likely translated into a larger harvest than normal and with this year's poor production, according to Davis, things do not look all that good. Brian Tait, who owns 400 acres and the Tait Ranch Trout Ponds in Frazier Park, said they usually have a lot of deer on their ranch this time of year, moving into the property as a refuge to escape hunters, but that numbers are down this year. Don Geivet, the game manager on the nearby Tejon Ranch, is far more optimistic about the deer season, which opened Sept. 27 in the D10 zone. "This is our second year of the ranch-wide quality deer management program," said Geivet. "I think our outlook is good. Where else can you go and know that 60 percent of the hunters are going to shoot a quality buck?" Geivet said their program is designed to increase the harvest of older age class deer, with all young bucks off limits.
As more older age class deer enter the population, the number of trophy class deer also increases. "It's already working," said Geivet. "We had this program as a voluntary part of the deal for three years, and those lease members who've participated since day one are seeing more big bucks than they ever have." Southern California's two desert zones, D17 in the east Mojave, and D12 along the Colorado River, both look to be similar to last year. Water is always the limiting factor on these herds, and Cliff McDonald, a long-time Needles-based desert hunter who's been leading the battle to save water sources in the Mojave, said he had mixed feelings. "My son drove out and did some scouting the other day and saw a big forked horn and three point," said McDonald of his hunting area on the Mojave National Preserve.
"That's pretty good to see two bucks in one day out here. "The desert looks beautiful, but there's not going to be the numbers of deer taken because the deer aren't there because of the loss of cattle water. Ms. [Mary] Martin [the preserve superintendent] needs to understand they are killing animals out there when they remove this stock water." The D17 zone opens Oct. 12, like most other Southern California zones, but the D12 zone along the Colorado River kicks off Nov. 1 this year. The D16 zone in the San Jacinto Mountains opens Oct. 4, a week earlier than other zones. Hunters should make sure they know the seasons and contact local agencies about road and fire closures before they take to the field this year.
