"New Hampshire’s estimated 2006 deer hunter harvest of 11,745 deer was the highest in recent years and, when verified, will likely be the highest kill since 1997. This represents an 11 percent increase from the 2005 deer season. It is also noteworthy that the 2006 harvest was the second highest deer harvest in 38 years, since 1968," Kent stated. New Hampshire has an estimated population of about 85,000 deer.

"It was a good year for deer hunters," Gustafson said. "We had expected that the 2006 harvest would again increase from 2005’s, as our deer populations continue to increase after some severe winters in recent past. The increase in harvest for 2006 is the third year in a row that the kill has gone up and reflects Fish and Game’s attempts to meet the deer population management objectives in much of the state by encouraging deer population growth, which was helped out by recently mild winters."

Gustafson, also mentioned that the final numbers from the 2006 hunting season, including detailed analysis of the sex, age and distribution on a Wildlife Management Unit basis, will be available in the 2006 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, which will

Whitetail deer in Waterville Valley, NH.

be published in late March or early April of 2007. The successful 2006 deer hunting season is also a reminder that hunters spend more than $71 million dollars in New Hampshire in hunting-related expenses, providing an important boost to the state’s economy.

Yes, deer populations are indeed good. We’ve even had several this year, not only in our back yard, but at the top of Danis Park Road and Route 114. I recall an incident that happened many years ago, while I was fly-fishing the Contoocook River. A young deer came out of the woods and stood but a few feet away from me. It drank water from the river, looked up at me and then nonchalantly walked back into the woods and disappeared. It reminded me of a the poem my longtime friend and school chum wrote many years ago and I’d like to share it with our readers. It is about the challenge of a native American hunter versus a crafty deer.

YOUNG SPIKEHORN
by John Stevens


Young Spikehorn was a yearling buck,
Who roamed the great north woods.
Young Eagle was a hunter,
Who traded skins for goods.
T’was back in days when tribes were free,
And worked the land at will,
Some stalked their prey for many moons,
To make just one sure kill.
Young Eagle’s step could not be heard,
And still he kept his pace.
His arms now ached, his legs were soar,
And sweat ran down his face.
He’d stalked Young Spikehorn five full days,
And thought the end was near.
He slowed his pace and turned his head,
And cupped his hand to hear.
He heard a noise off to the west,
His heart began to pound.
His legs moved very carefully,
So as to make no sound.
Young Eagle was quite happy,
He felt his hunt was through.
And from his raw-hide quiver,
An arrow length he drew.
Not forty arrow-lengths away,
Young Spikehorn quenched his thirst.
But Young Eagle hadn’t seen him yet,
Young Spikehorn saw him first.

To all our readers, have a happy, healthy and active New year.

Bob Harris can be reached via e-mail at: outwriter2@aol.com