A white-tailed buck goes on alert while making his way through the West Texas countryside. Deer in much of Texas are trying to recover from a long summer of drought conditions. Russell Smith / gosanangelo.comBy John Gill, Special to Scripps Texas Newspapers
24 September 2011

Mother Nature is still tossing curve balls at wildlife and hunters.First, she came with a withering statewide drought and then she hurled widespread wildfires, some that are still burning in the Lone Star State. Allan Cain, biologist and project leader for whitetail deer at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, predicts the approaching deer season will be a test for animals and hunters alike. “Deer, particularly fawns, are struggling to stay alive and hunters won’t find as many heavy horned bucks this season,” Cain said. “We’ve had close to one year of hot and dry conditions.” It’s estimated that Texas whitetail herds still number between 3.6 and 4 million animals, more than any other state. Hunters shouldn’t find a shortage of deer this season because herds have been so large for the past years. Texas, for the past five years, has seen good years of fawn production and some not so great, but overall herd strength remains high, he said. “If this drought continues I’m concerned about the carrying capacity of range lane,” Cain said. “In order to cope with this situation, I’m urging hunters to fill all the tags on their license.” Steve Nelle in San Angelo has a focus on West Texas and says hunters and landowner definitely should be selective with this year’s harvest. “It’s all a matter of keeping a healthy balance with deer populations,” he said. “I can look to past years of fawn production and make predictions. The year 2007 was a successful year for reproduction, 2008 and 2009 were not good; 2010-2011 will not be productive times. Unless we see some drought relief, the 2012 fawn crop is likely to be poor as well.” […] West Texas hunters are likely see the effects of being hit with that double whammy. This drought and wildfires have caused some shifts in deer herds that weren’t contained by high-fences, Nelle said. “As a whole, Texas deer herds are stressed,” he said. “The exact mix of deer to be harvested, doe, bucks or spikes should be determined by the landowner or a trained Texas biologist.” […]

TEXAS HUNTING & FISHING 2011: Drought, wildfires taking toll on deer