Deer Population Thriving In Northeast Tennessee

Just refer to Dan Gibbs as the hunter’s helper.

For the past 13 years, the wildlife biologist with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has worked to develop a healthy and growing deer herd in Northeast Tennessee.
From all indications, business is good for Gibbs and area sportsmen.

“The way things have progressed, I had hoped for a deer harvest of 20,000 this season in our region,” Gibbs said. “We may reach that mark next year.”

After this weekend’s annual juvenile hunt, Gibbs expects the total harvest to reach around 18,000. That figure represents the second-highest ever recorded for Northeast Tennessee.

“That’s right about the same as last year, and the numbers will go up once we get all the reports from the various checking stations,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs monitors the deer herd in the 21-county Region 4 zone from the TWRA office in Morristown.

From rural Johnson County to Greeneville, Gibbs follows the trends, compiles the stats and helps to solve problems. For example, Gibbs reports that Hawkins County was the hotbed for hunting this season with a harvest of 2,500. The tally from Sullivan County was more than 1,400.

“Some counties were way up, and none were really down,” Gibbs said. “For example, the numbers in Johnson and Carter counties rose 15-18 percent.”

Joe Byrd, an experienced whitetail hunter and host of a popular Bristol-based outdoors radio show, offered a positive review for both Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

“From all I’ve heard, it was a good deer season for hunters around the Mountain Empire,” Byrd said.
“The TWRA officials believe the numbers will tally up somewhere close to last year, and that’s remarkable considering the drought conditions that we’ve had and the lingering effect that EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease) has had on the deer herd.”

EHD is an infectious, often fatal, viral disease impacting white-tailed deer.

Though many hunters around Southwest Virginia complained of unusual deer patterns this winter, Byrd said his sources were satisfied.

“I checked with Danny Tate at Benham’s Meat Market in Bristol, Va.,” Byrd said. “He said that the number of deer he processed this year is right at 700, which is about even with last year’s numbers
“That’s a good indicator to me, but it’s not definitive because a lot of people still process their own deer.”

According to Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries numbers, a record 240,000 deer were killed in Virginia last year. Based on preliminary reports, even more deer were harvested this year.
As usual, Smyth and Bath Counties were hunting hotbeds in Southwest Virginia.

The record deer harvest in Tennessee was more than 182,000 in 2006. Gibbs said there are nearly 900,000 deer in the state.
That’s a big contrast from the early 1990’s, when the deer population in Tennessee was estimated to be less then 5,000.

“We’ve been able to raise the numbers through a combination of restoration, protection and education,” said Gibbs, who supervises several wildlife management areas for deer, bear and waterfowl. “The TWRA wildlife officers, hunters and sportsmen have all played their roles.”

And with efforts from groups Quality Deer Management Association and wildlife educators, Gibbs sees happy hunting days ahead.
That’s a favorable report for farmers haunted by crop degradation and motorists worried about deer straying on the road.

“Hunting is definitely a needed sport for several reasons,” Gibbs said.
“We’re seeing more deer and hunting opportunities in East Tennessee now, and we’re trying to get more.”

agregory@bristolnews.com (276) 645-2544