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Maryland Hunters Harvest 81,000 Deer during 2020-2021 Season

Frederick County Leads State in Harvest Totals

Photo of buck near the woods on a fall day

Photo by Matthew Doged

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported that deer hunters harvested 81,729 deer during the combined archery, firearms, and muzzleloader seasons, from Sept. 11, 2020 through Feb. 3, 2021.

The statewide harvest included 29,242 antlered and 49,033 antlerless white-tailed deer, plus 1,500 antlered and 1,954 antlerless sika deer. The harvest was 3% higher than the 2019-2020 total of 79,457 deer.

Hunters harvested more than 8,000 deer on Sundays, comprising 10% of the total harvest. Hunting deer on Sunday is only permitted during certain weeks in 20 of Maryland’s 23 counties.

Deer hunters took advantage of the new Primitive Deer Hunt, Feb. 1 – 3, and harvested 250 deer. A significant snow and ice storm affected the hunt days, but hunters still managed to harvest 42 deer with primitive bows and 208 deer with primitive muzzleloaders.

“Our deer population continues to be an invaluable resource for thousands of Marylanders,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “Both consumptive and non-consumptive users enjoy deer, and the species generates millions of dollars in revenue for the state’s economy and for the conservation of Maryland’s other wildlife.”

The harvest in deer management Region A (Western Maryland) increased 10%, from 8,534 deer last year to 9,383 this year. Hunters in the western counties reported 5,470 antlered and 3,913 antlerless deer.

Hunters in Region B — the remainder of the state — harvested 72,346 deer, up 2% from 70,923 deer harvested last year. A total of 25,272 antlered and 47,074 antlerless deer were reported in this region.

Frederick County had the highest reported harvest again this year, with 7,342 deer reported. Carroll County followed with 6,202 deer, and Baltimore County was third with 5,356. Garrett and Washington counties rounded out the top five with 4,904 and 4,712 deer, respectively.

Counties in southern Maryland experienced significant harvest declines for the season, primarily due to an outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). EHD is common in Maryland and varies annually in location and severity. The 2020 outbreak is not expected to have long-term consequences for the local deer population.

 

Maryland Reported Antlered and Antlerless Deer Harvest 
for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 Hunting Seasons
  Antlered Antlerless Total
County 2019-20 2020-21 % Change 2019-20 2020-21 % Change 2019-20 2020-21 % Change
Allegany 1,667 1,921 15.2 1,179 1,379 17.0 2,846 3,300 16.0
Anne Arundel 966 642 -33.5 1,653 1,277 -22.7 2,619 1,919 -26.7
Baltimore 1,774 1,781 0.4 3,195 3,575 11.9 4,969 5,356 7.8
Calvert 639 468 -26.8 1,025 916 -10.6 1,664 1,384 -16.8
Caroline
    whitetail 785 884 12.6 1,797 1,894 5.4 2,582 2,778 7.6
    sika 0 0 * 1 2 * 1 2 *
Carroll 2,016 2,196 8.9 3,537 4,006 13.3 5,553 6,202 11.7
Cecil 1,226 1,227 0.1 2,468 2,530 2.5 3,694 3,757 1.7
Charles 1,349 1,074 -20.4 1,868 1,557 -16.6 3,217 2,631 -18.2
Dorchester
    whitetail 748 728 -2.7 1,203 1,327 10.3 1,951 2,055 5.3
    sika 1,405 1,337 -4.8 1,711 1,749 2.2 3,116 3,086 -1.0
Frederick 2,543 2,854 12.2 3,815 4,488 17.6 6,358 7,342 15.5
Garrett 2,733 2,873 5.1 1,874 2,031 8.4 4,607 4,904 6.4
Harford 1,224 1,209 -1.2 2,353 2,371 0.8 3,577 3,580 0.1
Howard 798 807 1.1 1,470 1,576 7.2 2,268 2,383 5.1
Kent 1,162 1,044 -10.2 2,020 2,108 4.4 3,182 3,152 -0.9
Montgomery 1,367 1,363 -0.3 2,588 2,741 5.9 3,955 4,104 3.8
Prince George’s 885 662 -25.2 1,311 963 -26.5 2,196 1,625 -26.0
Queen Anne’s 1,127 1,006 -10.7 2,248 2,321 3.2 3,375 3,327 -1.4
St. Mary’s 962 792 -17.7 1,547 1,264 -18.3 2,509 2,056 -18.1
Somerset
    whitetail 649 691 6.5 1,488 1,566 5.2 2,137 2,257 5.6
    sika 8 7 * 8 8 * 16 16 *
Talbot 717 697 -2.8 1,637 1,576 -3.7 2,354 2,273 -3.4
Washington 1,846 2,096 13.5 2,195 2,616 19.2 4,041 4,712 16.6
Wicomico
    whitetail 975 1,063 9.0 1,963 2,289 16.6 2,938 3,352 14.1
    sika 83 118 * 114 116 * 197 234 *
Worcester
    whitetail 1,075 1,164 8.3 2,343 2,662 13.6 3,418 3,826 11.9
    sika 55 38 * 61 78 * 116 116 *
Total 30,785 30,742 -0.1 48,672 50,987 4.8 79,457 81,729 2.9
*Small sample size

 


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