DNREC Fish and Wildlife’s Interactive Game Harvest Dashboard shows totals for all game harvesting, including deer and wild turkey, visually mapped across Delaware’s 18 hunting zones.
DNREC officials say this encourages hunters and the public to explore the state’s hunting and harvesting data in greater detail.
“It was just a kind of way to get everybody together on one page in what’s going on here. I’ve seen other states do it, [they] were able to make this data visual. So, I can say numbers all day long, and most people kinda get cross-eyed and go ‘Okay, I’m bored with that’. But, they want to see these things visually.” said DNREC Deer Biologist Sam Millman.
Deer harvesting numbers this year were down 11% from last year, but still trending upward over the last five years, according to Millman.
This year's total,16,746 deer, including 11,907 antlerless deer and 4,839 antlered deer, still ranks among the top five years the state has seen since the modern hunting season model was introduced in 1954.
Sussex County again led total harvest numbers with around 8,500 total deer taken, Kent County’s zone 7 contributed around 1,400.
Millman says these numbers are an important tool for hunters, informing where to plan outings. More harvesting in a given area likely indicates a higher chance of a successful hunt.
DNREC officials say the tool will be annually updated with new numbers and refined with additional features.
