New York's deer hunters produced a third straight year of increased deer harvests across this diverse state in 2008, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. After a record-breaking harvest in 2002 of over 300,000 deer, New York's annual harvest dropped significantly during the next three years, but was in line with what state biologists expected. In 2006, the harvest increased slightly, taking a larger jump forward in 2007, and continued a slower rebound in 2008.

Here's a look at what happened across the state last year, and what 2009 may bring for Empire State deer hunters:

2008 HARVEST
Hunters harvested approximately 223,000 deer in the 2008 season, a 2 percent increase over the previous season, according to Pete Grannis, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) commissioner.

Harvest numbers increased slightly in every category: bucks, antlerless deer, muzzleloading and bowhunting. However, the increases were smaller than the 5 to 10 percent increase the DEC projected, largely because of bad weather. (Continued)

Archery hunters took 32,366 deer, muzzleloaders took 17,838, and firearms hunters took the remaining 172,775.

New York's total 2008 deer take included 105,747 bucks and 117,232 antlerless deer (adult females and fawns).

The majority of New York's deer harvest typically occurs during the first week of the Southern Zone regular season. Because of wet, windy and snowy conditions, the opening week harvest was down about 30 percent from 2007. Conditions improved through the season, eventually allowing hunters to surpass the 2007 totals, despite the earlier bad weather.

The goal of the DEC's deer management program is to maintain deer numbers at levels that meet local interests and habitat conditions, while also providing quality hunting opportunities for the state's 500,000 deer hunters.

TOP FIVE IN 2008
Steuben County returned to the top spot in 2008 with 13,572 deer, followed by Allegheny County with 9,355. Cattaragus County had the highest deer take back in 2006, but came in third last year with 9,284. Chautauqua (7,664) and Orange counties (7,371) rounded out the top five.

These five counties are typically among the top counties year after year, and that makes them a great bet for 2009 as well.

The DEC breaks the state into nine regions, each consisting of multiple wildlife management units. The state manages deer and deer harvests by WMU.

Here's what our regional biologists had to say about last fall's results and prospects for the coming season:

WESTERN NEW YORK
Western New York includes regions 7, 8 and 9 (and their corresponding WMUs). Deer hunting during the 2004 and 2005 seasons saw significant reductions in almost all counties and WMUs, but demonstrated a very slight increase in 2006 and then a better rebound in 2007. These WMUs boast some of the highest deer densities and buck densities in the state.

Western New York hunters killed 132,928 deer, or about 60 percent of the statewide count.

Region 9's Cattaraugus and Allegany each produced roughly 9,300 deer each, and were among the top three harvest counties in the state.

Region 9 wildlife managers generally recommend wildlife management units 9H, 9P and 9J, which traditionally have the highest harvests in the region. Units 9M and 9Y typically have the highest deer kill per square mile in the region.

This region accounts for four of the top 10 counties in the state in total deer harvest.

Public hunting areas in the region include the Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area in WMU 9P, which stretches across the border between Allegany and Livingston counties west of Dansville, the Keaney Swamp WMA in the town of Birdsall, and nearly 29,000 acres of state forests.