"We've seen a 46 percent increase in the harvest of 2 1/2-year-old and older antlered bucks in the pilot counties from 2003 through 2006," Hansen said. "In control counties, we still saw an increase of 29 percent."

Control counties are those adjacent to counties in the antler-point restriction program. Control counties do not have the restriction requiring 4 points or better on one side of the rack.

"What we are seeing is that more people in non-pilot counties are beginning to implement more selective buck harvesting practices," Hansen said. "We are really satisfied at the significant increase in the numbers of older age-class bucks in these pilot counties."

However, growing older age-class bucks wasn't the only reason for beginning the 4-points-or-better restriction in those 29 counties. The goal was to shift the focus of harvest from 1 1/2-year-old bucks to antlerless deer, thus allowing the young bucks to grow to 2 1/2 years old and older, while increasing the numbers of does harvested in these counties.

"In terms of adult buck harvest," Hansen said, "we are seeing the results we wanted. However, we have not seen an increase in doe harvest in the northern pilot counties."

The central pilot counties have seen an 11 percent increase in doe harvest from 2003 through 2006. Doe harvest remains high in those northern pilot counties, but is hasn't increased as well as the MDC had wanted.

Although the program wasn't implemented until 2004, the MDC looks at harvest records from 2003 also while measuring the success of the pilot program. The 2003 year is known as a "pre-treatment" year.

"After 2007, we will look at the overall results of the Pilot Antler Restriction program and decide whether or not we want to continue with it," Hansen said. "We will probably have more public meetings on the subject and share with the public what we have learned -- then, with their help, decide whether or not we want to expand or contract the pilot program."

CONSERVATIVE HARVEST REGS ON PUBLIC LANDS
Two years ago, the MDC began a program to restore the numbers of deer on public lands to a higher level. The pressure that these areas receive, especially during the firearms season, really took a toll on the deer population on them.

"We had a lot of our public use areas under statewide regs," Hansen said. "We've become more restrictive on many of these areas so that the deer numbers will get back to where they belong."

At first, hunters were reluctant to accept the changes, but after careful consideration many are glad that the MDC has taken steps to micro-manage these public lands for the better.

"Our public lands are so much different than our private lands in terms of the heavy hunting pressure they receive," Hansen said. "Our restrictions were put in place to bring deer numbers up on these public use areas, while still providing a lot of deer hunting opportunities."

The MDC will continue to monitor the situation at these public-use areas carefully over about seven more years. This long-term study will census hunters and landowners on how they feel about deer numbers in those areas.

DISEASE
The two deer diseases that Missourians have to worry about are epizoötic hemorrhagic disease and chronic wasting disease. EHD is currently affecting deer populations in Missouri; CWD has yet to be found here.

Epizoötic Hemorrhagic Disease
Each year, some deer probably die in Missouri from EHD, but not really enough even to be noticed. However, in years that experience severe drought conditions such as were endured in the summer of 2006, the disease is much more prevalent.

"We had quite a bit of an EHD outbreak in 2006," Hansen said. "About 10 or 12 counties were hit pretty hard, but the hardest hit areas were just north and west of Springfield, and southwest of Springfield."

The southwestern 1/8 of Missouri was hit pretty hard by EHD last year. This disease is fatal, and deer numbers in these areas will be noticeably down in 2007.

"The hardest hit counties were Vernon, Barry, Cedar, Polk, Hickory, Benton, and St. Clair," Hansen said. "There will probably big local impacts on the number of deer that died from EHD last year."

EHD is a very spotty disease in terms of where it shows up. Although the above-mentioned counties have all reported outbreaks of the deadly disease last year, the effects of it can be very localized within each county. Some portions of Pike County were also hit with the disease last year