Deer Check Station

 

MILFORD – The Milford Experimental Forest (MEF), DCNR Bureau of Forestry, and Pike County Branch of Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) are operating a voluntary deer check station for a sixth year to collect valuable data for a study of deer health and their habitat in Pike County.

The check station is located at the intersection of Route 6 and Schocopee Road one mile west of Milford and one mile east of the I-84 and Route 6 interchange.

Check station hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday Nov. 28 through 30, and both Saturdays of the deer rifle season, Dec. 3 and 10.

Hunters are encouraged to bring both bucks and does to the check station during the hours of operation.

Information to be collected includes dressed weight, age, antler dimensions, and location where a deer was harvested. Statistics on data collected in 2004 will be available at the check station.

Hunters interested in donating a second or third deer to the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program to provide meat to food banks in Pike County can get more information at the check station or call the HSH Pike and Monroe County Coordinator John Crerand at 570-686-7611.

MEF director Peter Pinchot explained that the Experimental Forest is a project of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation on 1,400 acres that adjoin the Grey Towers National Historic Landmark in Milford.

Pinchot said the purpose of the voluntary check station is to collect as much information as possible about the health, age, and size of deer in Pike County before they reach the meat processors.

The data will help the Pennsylvania Game Commission develop the best strategies for managing the local deer population.

Buck antler dimensions will be measured and doe will be checked to see if they lactated this year. An incisor will be pulled and sent to a laboratory for accurate aging and will not harm a deer if a hunter chooses to have it mounted.

Last year, 84 deer were checked at the station. The largest buck weighed 152 pounds and was 3.5 years old. The largest doe was a 4.5-year-old that weighed 120 pounds.

The check station is part of a QDMA study to determine the relationship between the deer herd and the forest habitat in Pike County.

QDMA's goal is to develop strategies to restore forest habitat health and improve the health of the deer herd.

Any questions concerning the check station can be directed to Pinchot or Josh Flad at the MEF, 570-296-9313.