A key legislative committee unanimously approved a major overhaul of the state’s deer hunting rules on Thursday.
The deer rule update, which still needs final approval from the state’s Fish and Wildlife Board, would go into effect for the 2020 hunting season.
The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules also approved updates to the state’s bear hunting rules, which were a point of contention between animal rights advocates and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The number of hunters in Vermont has been on the decline for decades, but no significant changes to deer hunting rules apart from youth seasons have occurred since the 1980s.
Louis Porter, commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, told committee members that the size of the state’s deer herd has been on the rise in recent years, despite a downtick last year due to the harsh winter.
In an effort to encourage hunters to take more does, the total number of deer a hunter can take per season will increase from three to four under the new rule, while the bag limit for bucks will decrease to one. There will also be two new hunting seasons: an antlerless season for muzzleloaders and a novice season for new adult hunters.
Deer hunters, as well as turkey, moose and bear hunters, of all ages will now be allowed to hunt with crossbows in an effort to encourage archery hunting, which is better suited for suburban areas where deer have proliferated. Archery season will also be extended.
“In short form, what we’re trying to do here is ensure we can manage a deer population and deer herd which has changed significantly over the decades in terms of where it is, and the numbers, and also provide hunters with the opportunities they want in relationship to hunting deer,” said Porter.
The department is also considering establishing “special suburban and urban archery zones” in Greater Burlington, Barre-Montpelier and St. Johnsbury, among other places, he added.
“We need to engage with the municipalities before going there. But we do think in the future we’re going to have places, including places right around here,” said Porter, gesturing to the woods behind the Statehouse, “where the suburban deer population needs to be managed more aggressively.”
While the changes to deer hunting rules were broader in scope, a bear rule update generated a more heated discussion.
One of the three proposed changes was to clarify that bear hound hunters who had already taken a bear could go on a hound hunt so long as they did not take another animal, which Porter said has been a long-standing practice.
Mark Scott, wildlife director for the department, said hounds are “a great tool” for managing the bear population as they can discourage nuisance bears from getting too close to people. Hound hunters, who last year killed 98 of the 683 bears taken last season, are also more likely to take males over females, which can help manage the population, he said.
Vermont’s bear population is three times as high as it was in the ’80s — and the number of human-bear conflicts has been on the rise. Porter said that the increase in conflicts also stems from people have been “cavalier” about accidentally feeding bears.
Catherine Gjessing, general counsel for the department, said it had received 170 comments on the bear rules.
“There’s been significant opposition to the use of hounds for bear hunting,” Porter acknowledged, while reiterating that the department believes it to be an important management tool.
Brenna Galdenzi, director of Protect our Wildlife, and Barry Londeree, Vermont state director for the Humane Society, raised concerns at the meeting that the department had not adequately notified the public that the Fish and Wildlife Board was reviewing changes to bear regulations. The department’s promotion of public hearings made it sound as though the board were solely making changes to deer rules, said Galdenzi.
“Bear hound hunting is a highly contentious, very divisive practice, not just among our members, but among landowners and even other hunters,” she said.
Porter countered that the department had gone above and beyond its legal obligations for outreach.
“I would say, yes, our hearing notices did focus on the deer rule, because the vast majority of the important changes … are related to deer,” he added.
Galdenzi said the rule allows hunters to run their dogs on a bears for the full season.
“So essentially, bears have about one and a half months on our landscapes when they’re not in their winter slumber when they’re not being harassed by humans with their hounds,” said Galdenzi, referring to the summer hound training period and fall hunting season.
Multiple committee members asked questions about how close bear hound hunters have to be to their dogs.
“I’ve had people express concerns that hounds go through their property,” said Rep. Robin Chesnut-Tangerman, P/D-Middletown Springs, and committee chair.
Porter said that while there are times when hounds could be a “significant distance” from the hunter, hunters use GPS collars to keep track of their pack. Gjessling added that hunters spend a lot of money training dogs to only go after bears.
Rep. Linda Myers, R-Essex, made a motion to approve the rule, saying that the portion around hound hunting simply clarifies something that has already being done.
“I understand people objecting to it,” she said. “But those people who are objecting to it, I think … are the people who are objecting to bear hunting in general.”
The committee ultimately approved the bear management rule.
