Photo by Ralph Hensley.

As I sat down to write this article, it occurred to me that I had yet to report on my harvest card for the previous deer season. Logging on to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' Web site, I found the card and clicked a couple of buttons to complete my report.

It took me less than 60 seconds to complete the card and send it on its way -- mainly because all I had to report was a zero. No fresh venison occupies space in my freezer this year. (I wasn't really worried, since I carried over a good supply from last year.) I didn't have a good shot at a doe this past season, and the only "shooter" buck I saw was out of range for my muzzleloader. Thus, my season was spent watching small bucks, a few turkeys, and lots of birds and squirrels.

What about that Deer Tag Harvest Card I carried around with me during this past season? Since I didn't harvest a deer, was it really necessary that I report this fact to state officials?

"Yes," explained Emile LeBlanc, Deer Management Assistance Program coordinator for the LDWF. "We need information from those cards as much as we do cards from successful hunters. This helps us with our overall database, which sets the stage for the next phase that goes into effect for the 2007-08 hunting season. Beginning this coming season, we'll implement a tagging system that hunters will be mandated to use."

LeBlanc said that each hunter will receive a set of tags attached to his hunting license. Hunters over age 60 and those with lifetime licenses will also have to have the tags in their possession; they'll have to furnish proof of age or possession of a lifetime hunting license to pick up their tags.

"Hunters must have in their possession the license with three-doe, three-buck tags attached," LeBlanc explained. "Once a deer is harvested, the deer is to be immediately tagged with the appropriate tag. Another requirement is to call the toll-free number on your license to report your kill and receive a confirmation number to write onto your license in the space provided. Tags must remain attached to the license until used; loose tags are illegal and cannot be used.

"I realize this new system will take some getting accustomed to, but the data we will be able to collect from tag reporting will give us much more and better data then we've had in the past."

After the update on these significant license and tagging changes set for the upcoming deer season, we asked LeBlanc to comment on the state of Louisiana's deer herd, and on what hunters can expect once they hit the woods this fall and winter.

"Overall, our deer herd is pretty stable. There are populations of deer in practically every spot in the state that can support them," he said. "We have come up with a new model to more accurately assess just how many deer we have in Louisiana. In the past, we relied mostly on estimates, and have said for a number of years that we believe our deer population to be around 1 million. Using the new model, that figure is more in the neighborhood of 750,000 deer. The annual harvest seems to be around 255,000."

Have today's Louisiana deer hunters become more accustomed to shooting does than were those hunters of a few decades ago?

"I believe we can see a definite trend of hunters becoming educated to the fact that we must harvest does to take the pressure off yearling bucks," said LeBlanc. "It is important in deer management to allow as many bucks as possible to move up into the next age-bracket. Hunters are probably killing a few more bucks than does today, but overall, the situation is a lot better than the days when does were considered 'sacred cows,' and hunters wouldn't hesitate to shoot a spike or forkhorn instead of taking a fat doe,"

The implementation of the hunter harvest card system used this past season and of the tagging system upcoming this fall has obviously affected the numbers of hunters who have chosen to stay with the state's two programs, which have allowed the taking of antlerless deer throughout the season.

DMAP allows hunters owning or leasing lands of at least 500 contiguous acres to receive antlerless deer tags to be used anytime during the season. The Landowner Assistance Deer Tag program allows hunters on much smaller acreage to receive antlerless deer tags to be used throughout the season. The principal difference between the two programs is that DMAP requires that more intensive records be kept of weight, antler measurements, lactation of female deer and jawbone removal for aging, whereas LADT requirements are much less restrictive.

We asked LeBlanc, who is responsible for managing these programs, how the current harvest card system and the one involving tagging to be mandated for the upcoming season will affect DMAP and LADT.