By KEVIN NEVERS

Hunters took fewer deer this year in the two-phase cull at Indiana Dunes State Park (IDSP) than they did last year.

IDSP Property Manager Brandt Baughman told the Chesterton Tribune today that a total of 63 deer was harvested over the four days of the hunt, compared to 84 in 2006.

A day-by-day running tally:

•Nov. 26: 31 deer, 79 hunters.

•Nov. 27: eight deer, 48 hunters.

•Dec. 10: 22 deer, 79 hunters.

•Dec. 11: two deer, 24 hunters.

Of the 63 deer harvested, 16 were bucks and 47 were does.

The drop-off in numbers between the first phase and the second, as well as between the first day of a phase and the second, is normal.

Baughman did note that the total might well have been higher had it not been for the abysmal weather on the last day, Dec. 11, when freezing rain chased off all but the hardiest of hunters. “As far as hunting conditions go, it was a worst-case scenario,” he said.

There was no cull in 2005 but in 2004 a total of 48 was harvested and in 2003 a total of 65.

The whole point of the cull, Baughman explained, is to maintain the ecological balance of IDSP. “Basically the carrying capacity of the park would be anything—depending on who you talked to—from 15 to 60 deer,” he said. “That’s the range. But anyone who’s spent any amount of time in the park knows that we exceed that, and any time the deer population gets out of balance is puts a lot of stress on the rest of the resources. The deer tend to go for native plants and that makes the invasives thrive, because the deer aren’t as attracted to them.”

In the last 54 weeks, Baughman added, fully 148 deer have been taken at IDSP, well above even the most liberal estimate of the park’s carrying capacity.

“And there are still more out there,” he said. “I’ve seen quite a few in the last few days.”

Posted 12/14/2007