Board passes deer ruling MONTPELIER
June 18th, 2005 by Administrator
Board passes deer ruling MONTPELIER — Bring on the big bucks. That’s what the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board was thinking after it approved a statewide spikehorn ban on a third and final vote at the Pavilion Auditorium Wednesday.
The decision, which came on a 9-4 vote, means that Vermont deer hunters must pass up any spiked bucks that come their way during regular deer season, archery, firearms and muzzleloading deer seasons. Only youth hunters will be allowed to take spikehorns this year.
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department endorsed the spikehorn ban as a way to ensure that bigger and heavier bucks will survive the coming deer season and ensuing seasons, offering Vermont deer hunters a higher-quality hunt.
Under the decision, spikehorn bucks, deer with single spike antlers growing out of their heads, will be protected during the 16-day rifle season.
Since spikehorns make up about 35 percent of the annual buck kill and those bucks will be spared this November, hunters must understand that the overall buck kill will be even lower than last year’s near-record-low kill, Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Larouche said.
“Expect that the buck kill will be lower this year,” he said after the meeting ended. “Hunters must have a willingness to sacrifice for an older age buck and possibly better hunting in the future.”
The statewide spikehorn experiment, the first in the history of Vermont deer hunting, follows one of the worst deer seasons in history.
Last November, deer hunters shot just 5,589 bucks during the November season, the second lowest kill in 57 years. As recently as 2000, deer hunters tagged 10,225 bucks.
Deer hunters around the state sounded off at a series of nine deer hearings held in January and February. The vast majority of those who spoke up said they wanted to see a spikehorn ban, saying that they wanted the opportunity to hunt bigger, older bucks.
A series of severe winters, diminishing whitetail habitat and stressed deer yards have all been blamed for a big decline in the state deer herd.
The board also voted in favor of a two-buck limit for this November, down from a three-buck bag limit that hunters previously enjoyed.
This year, a buck must have “at least one antler having at least two points of at least 1-inch in length,” according to the department’s description of a legal buck
The final decision was a big turnaround to what the board voted on in April, when it rejected the spikehorn proposal 9-2 in its first vote. The board reversed itself on a second vote, held earlier this month.
Many of those who voted against the measure were inundated with e-mails and telephone calls from angry deer hunters who believed that their voices were being ignored.
Jeremy Baker, Rutland County’s representative on the board, was one of those board members who switched his earlier vote.
“We’ve given the vocal public what they appear to want,” the Rutland resident said.
After he voted against the proposal in April, Baker said, he was hammered by the public for his stand.
“After April 21, I received 50 phone calls and about 250 e-mails,” he said. “Since the last vote, I’ve received one phone call and less than 20 e-mails. So, if there are people who did not want antler restrictions, they’re not contacting me.”
Albert Floyd, the Orange County representative on the board, voted against the spikehorn ban, along with Robert Shannon (Lamoille County), Craig Lefevre (Orleans County) and Walt Driscoll (Essex County)
“I support shooting spikehorns,” said Floyd, who lives in Randolph. “Some people I’ve talked with are real upset (with the spikehorn ban). But they’re going to live with it. None are going to stop hunting.”
Rob Borowske (Washington County), Baker, Wayne Barrows (Windsor County), John Roy (Grand Isle County), Dana Kittell (Franklin County), Claude Rainville (Addison County), Bruce Therrien (Caledonia County), Susan Winter (Chittenden County) and Joyce Wyman (Bennington County) voted in favor of the spikehorn ban.
Borowske, the board chairman, was one of only three original supporters of the spikehorn ban. The others were Barrows and Kittell.
“We should be able to see the difference in the quality of hunting and the quality of the deer,” he said. “The process was difficult for everyone. Ultimately, we did the right thing.”
Contact Dennis Jensen at dennis.jensen@rutlandherald.com