The DGIF’s board of directors met yesterday to vote on proposed hunting and trapping regulations changes.

Every once in a while there’s a proposal that gets to that point but still doesn’t meet approval. Not this time. The board voted to approve everything proposed. Most of the proposals focused on deer, which makes sense as whitetails are the most carefully managed game species in the state, with a wide array of locality-specific rules and regs.

I touched on a few of the highlights in my column in today’s Roanoke Times. The full list of proposals is available in the meeting materials on the DGIF Web site.

Either-sex hunting days are being reduced in a number of counties, primarily on public land. The move reflects the trend with public land deer herds, which seem to be shrinking due in large part to habitat. Mature hardwood forests, like those found on a vast majority of public land acreage these days, just don’t offer great year-round deer habitat.

The “easy” answer is to say the U.S. Forest Service needs to get back to allowing intensive timber cutting, which produces early successional vegetation growth. But it’s not that easy. It’s a basic supply and demand issue. The demand for timber simply isn’t there.

The bright side is that most hunters these days pursue whitetails on private land, and private land herds are still quite robust. There was a little throttling back on doe hunting on private land, but not much.

Of particular personal interest to me was increasing the daily deer bag limit from one to two in Roanoke County. This should encourage hunters to keep the pressure on does — which need pressure in much of the county –  because they won’t have to quit hunting after they drop an antlerless deer. At least that’s the effect it will have on me. When I’m hunting during the rut I’ll be much more likely to shoot the first mature doe I see instead of waiting in hopes a buck is behind her. I’ll shoot the doe and then still wait for the buck!

Another interesting new rule will allow holders of an apprentice hunting license to participate in special youth hunts, which will now be called “Youth and apprentice hunter” days. I think that’s a good move that can help with hunter recruitment.

What do you all think about the changes? Anything jump out?

Today’s Outdoors page in The Roanoke Times featured a listing up upcoming races in the region. There was a long list of running races, and a not-so-long one featuring bike races, triathlons and the like.

This was not a complete list. I had sought input, but some race organizers who didn’t see my calls for submissions missed out. At least on this list. I run events listings in notes columns, the weekly outdoors calendar and the like.

Speaking of running, in an earlier post, hard core endurance athlete and hunter Brandon Lindsey made a comment about Wild Lifers getting together for a post-race photo after the Blue Ridge Marathon, which Lindsey is tackling again this year. I know Ralph Barton has done the half before, as has Steve Stone. I don’t know about Ralph, but I’m pretty sure Steve is running because I’ve passed him in training a few times out there on the road this winter.

Anyone else?

I’ll help Brandon coordinate a post-race photo and be happy to post it here. Unfortunately, I won’t be in it. Nor will I be able to take the shot.  I wasn’t planning to run this year as last year’s half really trashed my legs (the downhill; not the uphill) and, while I love the race, I was worried about that happening again.  I can’t afford that as I train for that July Ironman I’m committed to.

Anyway, as it turns out, some Roanoke Times-related travel  came up and I won’t even be in town. That’s a bummer as I love covering the event.

Even if you’re not tackling the Blue Ridge half or full, take a look at the list and sign up for an event or two (such as the fun Run with Grace, pictured here).Training for a race is a great way to get in shape for hunting season, which will be here before we know it.

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has released its list of staff-recommended changes to its hunting and trapping regulations.

The staff will present the changes at a board meeting on March 21. Those proposals approved by the board — and this could include proposals made by board — will then go out for public comment. The board will take a final vote later this spring.

The list of proposals is long. Really long. All told, the new regulations language and the rationale for the suggestions take 81 pages. You can find the document HERE.

So, I’m not going to be able to cover all of them here. Just a few highlights.

Remember that post I wrote with the headline “Is it time to pull back the deer throttle?” Well, guess what? The DGIF staff thinks it is.

The proposals call for a reduction in firearms season doe-hunting days in 19 counties, while increasing the doe days in only one county.

The Earn-a-Buck requirement is also being dropped from several counties, including Franklin and Patrick.

Roanoke County still keeps its Earn-a-Buck designation. Importantly, the county is being added to those with a two-deer-per-day limit. Hallelujah! I can now kill the first doe I see during a rut hut, and I don’t have to quit for the day!

On the Earn-a-Buck program, the DGIF staff is revamping the rules to try to eliminate some of the confusion. The rules will now apply on a county-specific basis. For example, if I kill a buck in Roanoke County, I have to have killed a buck in Roanoke County before I can kill a second buck in Roanoke County. That Roanoke County buck won’t count against me when I go hunting in Bedford County. At the same time, killing a doe in Roanoke County doesn’t fulfill my Bedford County EAB requirement.

Make sense?

Another proposal would allow holders of an apprentice license to hunt on designated youth deer and turkey hunting days.

Take a look at the proposals and let us know what you think.

Rob Schroeder sent in this shot of his lab puppie, Millie, with her first shed find.

Schroeder, who lives in Botetourt County, has been training Millie since she was a wee puppy. He carries a GPS during his walks with her and said they covered 23 miles before she found this.

That may sound like not a good average. But those of us who hunt sheds know the reality of this game. It is as much about exercise and having fun outdoors as it is about finding lots of antlers. If it were we’d give up.

My shed season got off to a great start (though I was finding year-old drops) but it’s been tough since. I haven’t been carrying a GPS but I suspect I’ve put in 10 miles on my recent trips and I haven’t found a single shed. I’m searching fairly small woodlots, too, where the deer are pretty concentrated.

Schroeder reported trying a shed trap like the ones I am trying. He’s had no success with those, and I haven’t either. In fact, I’ve talked to two other guys who have tried them and succeeded only in feeding crows, squirrels and does. Oh, well. Worth a try.

I am hearing reports of plenty of bucks still carrying headgear. I think the next few weeks should be the best, before things really start growing in the spring.

Congrats to Millie and Rob, and I’m sure this isn’t going to be the team’s final find.

I had a short blog post last week about big game kill tallies for this past season.

My column on the topic ran today in The Roanoke Times. (It was supposed to run Sunday, but did not, due to, shall we say, a communication breakdown.)

Anyway, the deer kill was down this year to its second-lowest level since 2006, and was 9 percent below the 10-year average.

We all know (or I hope we do) that the DGIF’s deer management philosophy of late has been to stabilize the herd and, in some high deer population areas, reduce the herd. Only in a few areas have regulations been adjusted to provide additional protection to female deer, which can should increase the herd size.

It appears, after we hit a record high of nearly 260,000 in 2009, we are getting there.

I’m not going to rehash specifics numbers here. You can find more in my column, and much more than that on the DGIF site, including links to historical data.

It’s not all about us hunters, of course. The DGIF has to manage the population for the overall good of the commonwealth.

My question for hunters is, what do you think about where we are with deer hunting? And the deer population? Would you like to see antlerless regs tightened, which will likely lead to more drops in kill totals but ultimately should contribute to populations growing? Or should remain relatively liberal? Or something else?

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is participating in the Governor’s Regulatory Reform Initiative.

Here are the basics, from the DGIF website:

“The Governor of Virginia has directed that the Commonwealth’s regulations be reviewed for possible improvements. This site solicits your suggestions pertaining to Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF)-administered regulations currently governing

-fishing
-wildlife diversity (wildlife species that are not hunted or fished)
-boating

…that would help to achieve the following results:

Repeal regulations that are unnecessary or no longer in use; and
Reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on individuals, businesses, and other regulated groups.”

Hunting and trapping aren’t  included above because they are already being reviewed as part of the DGIF’s bi-annual regulations review process. So, suggestions are welcome on hunting and trapping, too.

The DGIF website page on the issue includes information on how to submit suggestions.

I’d like to write a column about this process to better get the word out about this. I’d like to include examples of regulations that Virginia’s hunters, anglers, boaters and other outdoors enthusiasts would like to see addressed. (Though Sunday hunting is a legislative issue, I don’t suppose it could hurt to include it in your comments.)

I will be disappointed if frequent contributor Walt doesn’t quickly chime in because I know he’s got at least one beef with the current deer hunting rules!

I’ll start: Current regs don’t allow me to take a “conventional” firearm with me when I am muzzleloader hunting for deer. I’d like someone to explain to me why I shouldn’t be able to take a shotgun with me when the muzzleloader deer and firearms turkey seasons overlap. (It would actually be me taking a muzzleloader with me while turkey hunting, but you get the drift.)  I don’t want to shoot a turkey with a muzzleloader, and it’s not like the shotgun is going to give me some kind of advantage in deer hunting. It seems any concern about using buckshot or a slug shotgun can be addressed by rules regarding shot size, etc.

In addition to Walt I’d like to hear from readers about what regs you’d like to see addressed.

Urban deer aren’t a problem only in Virginia. This picture comes from Missoula, Mont., where the paper did a story last spring about challenges of dealing with suburban/urban deer.

One of the tools is urban archery seasons, which I wrote about in my Sunday column in The Roanoke Times.

I haven’t killed a deer during Roanoke County’s designated urban archery season, but it’s not for a lack of effort. I plan to keep with it.

As I wrote Sunday, this isn’t just a hunting opportunity. Participating in urban archery hunts is a responsibility. If we can make a notable dent in deer populations, that increases the likelihood of other localities opting in to urban archery seasons. If we don’t, not only will cities that could use archery hunters’ help — like Roanoke — not bother with urban archery seasons, but some cities and towns that participate may eventually opt out.

Who else hunts the urban season? And if you aren’t hunting, why not?

Finally, if you are a non-hunting Roanoke County resident (with enough ground to safely and legally bowhunt) who is frustrated with deer damage — to your garden, landscaping or cars — drop me a line. I suspect I can find some bowhunters who would be willing to try to help you.

I found this shed antler a couple years ago in a deer bedding thicket in Botetourt County. I walked 3 miles that day and this was the only shed I found.

When I was talking to fellow shed enthusiast Rob Schroeder yesterday, for my story on shed hunting that ran in today’s Roanoke Times, Schroeder said something pretty insightful about the activity.

“I think,” he said, “That finding a [good] shed is harder than killing a deer.”

I think he’s right.

I spend quite a bit of time out in the woods, and I find a couple sheds a year. At best.

It makes sense, really. When we are deer hunting, deer are pretty big. And they are moving. So they’re pretty easy to see. But finding shed is a lot like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

This year I’m trying to increase my odds by using baited shed traps. I am going to have trailcams out over corn anyway and my homemade shed traps cost next to nothing to make. So there’s no harm in trying.

I’ll be honest; I’m not hopeful. Has anyone else tried them? Any success?

One thing that’s easy to find is deer tracks in snow. I’m heading out shortly to do some recon on a couple of my Roanoke County spots in hopes I can pinpoint a couple good sites to put stands for some urban archery hunting. And, no, those stands won’t be anywhere near my corn-baited shed traps!

Lynn Blankenship of Troutville sent in these shots from this past season. Here’s his report:

“I was hunting with my two amigos Ed ( princess) Ward of Blue Ridge and Kevin (flashlight) Taylor of Roanoke who also had a good season. Kevin took a nice nine-pointer and a doe and Ed took a spike and a beatiful coyote.

I have been hunting this area for 36 years and have never seen a year like this one. Normally the place is crawling with does, and it is nothing for the three of us to see 10 or 12 does any time they hunt. But this year the does had disappeared. Between the three of us we did not see but may be 10 does from archery to the end of rifle season. I am guessing the farmers had gotten kill permits and put the hurt on the does before the season. That really worked out for the best. We had never seen so many bucks moving looking for does.
Every time we hunted it was bucks only being seen.  One morning alone I passed up five different bucks trailing one doe that came thru.

I took the seven pointer (top) opening day of black powder season and the six pointer the last day of rifle season, both were checking scape lines.”

Congrats on the good season, Lynn, and thanks for the interesting report. I would tell you to fix the date on your camera, but that would mean I’d have to fix the date on mine. And I don’t want to try.

My friends sometimes accuse me of being nuts when I take my bow out during muzzleloader and rifle seasons. It certainly does make it a little tougher to fill a tag, but I just love the thrill and challenge of bowhunting so much that I can’t help myself.

Anyway, I loved getting this shot and story from 16-year-old Jeremy Lester of Hardy, who hurried out for an after-school hunt the hard way and got it done.

“Going into the stand late in the day November 14 left doubts in my mind wondering if it was even worth hunting this late. I headed out of
the house with my bow. My dad stopped me and warned me that I should take my muzzleloader. Hard headed and persistent I still took my bow.

Once I finally got into the stand it was 4:25 PM. I looked to my left and saw a few does feeding along the creek bottom. I figured there
would be a nice buck near and decided to grunt in the direction of the does. Next thing I knew I saw a rack coming through the woods straight towards me. I stood up and figured out how far the shot would be. As the buck got closer I started to doubt if it was big enough to shoot.
Confident the buck was a shooter I drew back and placed a great shot on him and he ran 80 yards and expired within my vision. When I went
to retrieve the buck I was surprised to see that he had broken off his main beam. The buck was now an eight point (5×3).”

I’d say there is little doubt this buck is big enough to be a shooter, broken beam and all. Congrats, Jeremy, on a great deer and great story!