Maine deer hunters killed a third fewer deer this year than last year, according to preliminary figures released by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on Thursday. The early estimates had the deer kill as the lowest since 1994, when 24,683 were taken.

DIF&W deer study leader Gerry Lavigne said several factors affected the number of deer taken, most notably the impact of last year’s harsh winter on deer mortality, low hunter effort and poor hunting conditions.

Last year, 36,885 deer were killed during the fall season. This year, DIF&W biologists estimate the deer kill will be somewhere in the mid 20,000s, which will be 20 percent lower than they expected.

DIF&W biologists examined 6,000 deer and tagging station operators collected other data. That information was used to compile the preliminary harvest figures.

Lavigne said regional biologists also filed reports each week on their day-to-day impressions of hunter effort, although he said this is the most difficult factor to assess.

After driving 1,000 miles each week to inspect deer, Lavigne said his impression was that hunting pressure was down the entire month.

“This is the type of thing that the more experience you have, the better you are at guessing relative effort. I drive the same road the same time of day during the hunting hours,” Lavigne said. “This year it was lackluster. There was a strong showing on Thanksgiving and the Friday after, but the Saturday after it dropped off again.”

Lavigne said the above-average temperatures definitely were not good for hunter enthusiasm or for deer movement. The lack of snow didn’t help produce optimum hunting conditions, either. Hunters like cold temperatures and snow on the ground because deer move more and their tracks are visible.

“Snow increases hunter effort, and that never materialized,” Lavigne said.

The timing of the season also didn’t help.

Starting Oct. 27, the season was one of the earliest, and most of it came before the rut, when deer are breeding and most active.

Last year, hunters registered a record number of antlered bucks, killing 21,422, and the 36,885 total deer taken was up from 31,473 in 1999.

In the future, Lavigne said biologists will be able to tabulate hunter effort with a new deer hunter survey.

For two years now DIF&W has given deer hunters a survey similar to one used in New Hampshire, inquiring about moose sightings and asking about hunting effort.

“Once this type of survey gets off the ground,” Lavigne said, “we’ll have an objective picture of the changing hunting pressure around each district.”

Lavigne said the deer kill this year was lower statewide, but especially in central and southern Maine, where he had expected it to be higher because of the numbers of deer in those areas.

There also was a decrease in the number of yearling deer relative to the number of older bucks and does. Yearlings, deer born in the summer of 2000, are the most susceptible to severe winter conditions.

In addition, younger bucks between the ages of 21/2 and 41/2 years showed poorer antler development, a sign of a severe winter.

After last season, DIF&W estimated the herd at 292,000, down from 330,000 the previous year. However, Lavigne said there was no other estimate made after that, so the effects of last winter on the size of the herd has not been estimated – and will not be until the final data from tagging stations is calculated sometime in February.

According to DIF&W biologists, last winter was one of the most severe in 30 years, with only the winter of 1982 proving to be of greater severity.

Deirdre Fleming covers outdoor sports and recreation for the NEWS. She can be reached at 990-8250 or at dfleming@bangordailynews.net.