Photo by Heidi Zemach
Dr. David E. Samuel, the keynote speaker at the KWDC sportsmen appreciation banquet, penned the book, "Whitetail Advantage: Understanding Deer Behavior for Hunting Success."

Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative acknowledges area sportsmen.

By Heidi Zemach

Special to The Ridgway Record

 One hundred and five sportsmen, and donors to the Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative, were acknowledged for their contributions to managing the deer herd to balance their populations with their habitat.
KQDC’s annual Sportsmen and Donor Appreciation Banquet, held at the Warehouse Restaurant in Marshburg, featured a complimentary meal, prizes for the hunters, an update on the cooperative’s progress, which is now in its eighth year, and a discussion of deer behavior with an invited guest speaker.  
Dr. David DeCalesta, a biologist with KQDC who analyzes hunting data, presented the latest information compiled about the cooperative, which encompasses 75,000 acres of public and private lands. The forest management partners are Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Water Authority, Forest Investment Associates, Kane Hardwoods (a Collins Company) and RAM Forest Products.
Since 2001, deer density on the KQDC was reduced from 27 to 28 deer per square mile to 10 to 15 deer per square mile, which is the cooperative’s goal range, DeCalesta said. But for unplanned reasons in 2006, deer density began creeping back up. It increased by 10 percent in 2007, and by another 17 percent in 2008, resulting in increased impact to the habitat, he said.
Nevertheless, data shows that the KQDC program is working overall, DeCalesta said. Since the program started, reduced deer density has resulted in an increased “understory vegetation,” meaning more food and cover for deer, turkey, grouse, rabbits, squirrels, songbirds and other wildlife.
And with less competition for food, overall, deer quality has improved greatly since 2002, with the three–point antler restriction and the cooperative’s focus on harvesting does, he said. Bucks have gotten heavier, and antler beam diameter and antler spread have increased in fawns, yearlings 2 ½ year olds and 3 ½ year old bucks.
If foresters are able to harvest more trees and take down more fences in the future, the herd should increase at a faster rate, and the cooperative may be able to support as many as 15 to 20 deer per square mile without harming the habitat, DeCalesta noted.
Case Knives were awarded to the three hunters who brought in the heaviest buck and doe harvested on the KQDC, and the buck with the nicest antlers. Dan Baker of Titusville took a 126–pound doe, which is the biggest doe ever harvested on the KQDC. Jeff Pascarella of Bradford brought in a 177–pound buck, which is the heaviest buck ever harvested on the KQDC. Ben Toth of Harrisville brought in an 8–point buck. The buck did not feature the largest rack, but was judged to have the nicest symmetry.
Dr. David Samuel, a retired professor of Wildlife Management at West Virginia University and Conservation Editor of Bowhunter Magazine since 1971, informed the hunters about some of latest information concerning the ways in which deer hear and see things.
The information, gleaned from years of wildlife seminars he has attended, is compiled in his book, “Whitetail Advantage: Understanding Deer Behavior for Hunting Success.”
Samuel warned that while deer have poor vision and depth perception compared to humans, they do sense movement very well, so staying still while hunting is critical. Deer’s eyes do not contain cones sensitive to red and orange colors, like we do, so they can’t see those colors very well, and will not easily spot a bright orange vest. But deer’s eyes do have cones for yellows and greens, and blue, and they can also see anything blue very distinctly.
So hunters should not wear blue, yellow, or green — even if it’s in a camo pattern – or they may be spotted. Furthermore, deer are extremely sensitive to ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light is emitted by brighteners found in the materials of certain clothing to make it shiny, including hunters’ camouflage clothes, and it is also found in many common liquid detergents, Samuel said. These ultraviolet brighteners make hunters stand out distinctly to deer, no matter what colors they may be wearing, according to Samuel.
When a deer first smells any odor, such as human sweat, cologne, or cigarette smoke, and that person tries to shoot at it, the deer’s brain will form a pattern that forever tells it that smelling those odors signals danger, Samuel said.
If the first smell of a human is one that does not shoot at it, however, the deer will not be afraid of the next human it encounters. Thus, younger deer, with fewer negative smell encounters, will be less afraid of humans, and less likely to run away, than will older deer, with more smell experiences.
A hunter’s best bet, therefore, would be to minimize smells by careful washing before hunting, and by avoiding using deodorant, beer, cigarettes, or any other distinguishable smells that the deer might have already had bad associations with, Samuel said.