Most hunters satisfied with whitetail management, but surveys show division

A majority of Idaho’s white-tailed deer hunters surveyed show support for current white-tailed deer management, but it’s not unanimous, and there are contrasting opinions about management in the core of Idaho’s white-tailed deer country.

That’s a summary of the hunter survey done by Idaho Fish and Game in 2018, which the department will use in part to gauge hunter preferences as it updates its white-tailed deer management plan. Results were similar compared to the last white-tailed deer survey conducted in 2003.

“We’ve seen that most whitetail hunters are satisfied with the current management, but survey results also suggest opportunities to do even better,” Wildlife Bureau Chief Scott Reinecker said.

A draft of the new white-tailed deer plan is expected to be released during winter, and there will be more opportunities for public comment. After adoption, the management plan will help guide rules and seasons for whitetail hunting over the next six years.

Nearly 8,000 white-tailed deer hunters responded to surveys with identical questions available three ways. Two surveys — mail and email — were sent randomly to hunters who have bought white-tailed deer tags in the past. The third survey was on the internet and open to whoever wanted to take it. The two random surveys showed very similar results, typical responses were within a percentage point of each other.

Random surveys (mail and email) showed 52 percent of respondents had more than 10 years’ experience hunting white-tailed deer in Idaho, and when deer hunting, 79 percent said they spend most of their time hunting whitetails.

The random surveys showed 72 percent of respondents were satisfied with their chances to harvest a white-tailed deer, 71 percent said they were satisfied with their chances to harvest a buck, and 58 percent were satisfied with their chances to harvest a mature white-tailed buck.

The majority of hunters were satisfied or very satisfied with white-tailed deer hunting in Idaho. Here's what was important to them:

Satisfied with number of days and hunting opportunities
Like to hunt in early and late November
Satisfied with chance to harvest a deer in Idaho
Satisfied with harvesting a mature buck

However, there were significant differences in responses between the random surveys and the open survey regarding attitudes about harvesting white-tailed bucks. That tells Fish and Game officials that some hunters feel strongly for and against some aspects of white-tailed deer management, and there are opportunities to meet additional desires.

What hunters harvested, where and when they like to hunt

During the 2017 season, 39 percent of respondents answered that they harvested a white-tailed deer, most of which were antlerless (44 percent) followed by medium bucks (35 percent). Small bucks (12 percent) and large bucks (9 percent) accounted for the remaining responses.

Three surveys showed slightly different results for the most common units in which respondents hunted, but in all three, Unit 10A was the most common.

Mail survey respondents (2,922): Units 10A, 1, 3, 2 and 4.
Email survey respondents (3,757): Units 10A, 1, 8A, 3, and 2.
Open internet respondents (1,057): Units 10A, 8A, 8, 11A and 5.

A slight majority hunted white-tailed deer in the same unit every year (52 percent) and 43 percent reported hunting two or three units each year.

Random surveys showed hunters were largely satisfied with number of days offered for white-tailed deer hunting (70 percent) and showed strong support for November hunts with 75 percent of respondents saying early November hunts are important and 77 percent saying late November hunts are important.

A large majority (76 percent) also said it is important for them to hunt white-tailed every year, and 50 percent also said it is important to hunt white-tailed deer at the same time and place as elk.

In response to access to private lands, 60 percent agreed or strongly agreed Fish and Game should spend more time and resources developing public access to private lands for white-tailed deer hunting.

Where hunters differed in surveys

Three different surveys showed there are many things the vast majority of white-tailed hunters agree on while also recognizing there are strong feelings by some hunters, which was seen in the open survey. Fish and Game strives to recognize the preferences of the majority of hunters without disregarding the feelings of others as it moves forward with updating its white-tailed management plan and setting the upcoming seasons.

The differences between random surveys and the open internet survey were most pronounced regarding overall hunting satisfaction and the opportunity to take a white-tailed buck, particularly large bucks. Deeper analysis of the surveys focused on hunters who hunted in the Panhandle and Clearwater regions, where 92 percent of all white-tailed deer are taken in Idaho.

In that analysis, random mail and email survey respondents were largely satisfied with their opportunity to harvest a white-tailed buck with 77 percent (mail) and 80 percent (email) agreeing. But satisfaction level dropped to 67 percent when internet respondents answered that question.

The differences became more pronounced whether they were satisfied with their chance to harvest a mature white-tailed buck with 64 and 63 percent of random mail and email respondents agreeing, but only 46 percent of internet respondents agreeing.

The split continued when asked about the overall quality of the hunting experience with random mail/email respondents saying they were either satisfied or very satisfied (73 percent and 77 percent respectively), but 60 percent of internet respondents were satisfied or very satisfied.

The differences also continued regarding whether some units should be managed for larger white-tailed bucks with 42 percent of internet respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing, with that statement, while 31 and 32 percent (mail/email) agreed or strongly agreed with that statement.

Not all whitetail hunters surveyed are satisfied

While the majority of hunters were satisfied or very satisfied with whitetail hunting in Idaho, a smaller percentage (16 percent) of random mail respondents said they were very dissatisfied with at least one aspect of it. The leading causes of dissatisfaction were: