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Although deer numbers seem to be improving on Chichagof Island after two severe winters, wildlife managers are considering limiting the deer hunt on the island this fall.

Deer season opened Aug. 1 for bucks only, and opened for does as well on Sept. 15. The season is scheduled to run through Dec. 31, but Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists are considering closing doe season early this fall. Doe season was closed in early November last year on north Chichagof Island, followed with a doe closure throughout Unit 4 in mid-December. Unit 4 includes Chichagof, Baranof and Admiralty Islands.

When the deer hunt began this year on Aug. 1, hunters reported seeing quite a few bucks up in the alpine, but they also were surprised at the amount of snow still left at the higher elevations. Our cool and wet summer allowed the snowpack to persist longer in some places than it has in a long time. Still, early hunter reports were encouraging for everyplace else in Unit 4 but northeast Chichagof Island. A week-long survey there the last week of August only located 20 deer. While the lack of seeing deer is one factor, a bigger factor was the surveys found very little physical evidence of deer such as browsing of preferred plants and shrubs, fresh pellets, and tracks.

There is a significant concern that the deer population on northeast Chichagof Island may be depressed enough that hunter-caused mortality of does may contribute to a slower rebound of the population. Although a single yearling doe was collared during the field work and she was in very good condition, there appears to be very few deer to go around.

Currently, Fish and Game is collecting additional survey and hunter data to consider implementing a doe closure for the northeast Chichagof Island. The department also is working with federal subsistence hunt managers to address potential changes to the deer season. A subsistence meeting is planned for Sept. 23-25 at the Extended Stay Hotel in Juneau. State game biologists are on the agenda on Sept. 25 to talk about the deer conditions in Unit 4.

The winter of 2006 -2007 brought record-breaking snow followed by last winter's above average snowpack and another late spring green-up. The fall hunt of 2006 saw hunters harvest thousands of deer while the spring of 2007 saw many hundreds of winter-killed deer on the shorelines and floating in the bays.

By the October deer hunt last fall, with few deer seen and even fewer harvested, some hunters hung up their rifles for the season. Many of them called Fish and Game asking if the hunt would be shortened or, at least, would the doe season be ended. After looking at the survey data and hunter reports, the doe season was closed in early November on north Chichagof Island and followed with a unit-wide doe closure in mid-December. The federal deer season for does on north Chichagof Island was closed by mid-November thru December. The remaining January unit-wide federal hunt also was closed for doe hunting.

The preliminary tally of harvest report records submitted by hunters during the 2007 Southeast Region hunt show a record low deer harvest. Nearly 7,000 fewer deer were harvested from the previous year and 5,600 deer fewer than the five-year average.

Late March 2008 deer condition and beach mortality surveys from Sitka Sound north into Hoonah Sound and Peril Strait were more encouraging. Most deer looked to be in good condition and very few winter-killed deer were found along the beaches. Although plant green-up was again delayed by a cold spring and lingering snow, there was a marked improvement in browse growth and availability to deer. Certain areas of the unit (NE Chichagof, west Chichagof islands, south end of Baranof Island, north Chichagof Island and east Admiralty Island) lagged behind. Although those deer numbers improved from the previous spring, there were fewer fawns seen and few reports of twins.

In the meantime, while the remainder of Unit 4 looks to have increasing numbers of deer, Fish and Game biologists will continue to monitor hunter harvest and weather conditions throughout the season.

• State wildlife biologist Phil Mooney is the area biologist for Unit 4. He's based in Sitka.