Deer population up between 2013 and 2016 on Mitkof Island

Between 2013 and 2016, the deer population on Mitkof Island was on an upward trend, according to Stephen Bethune, Unit 4 area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game based in Sitka.

It is difficult for ADF&G to survey the exact number of deer on Mitkof Island, so it tracks population trends over a several year period, according to Bethune. To determine the trends, ADF&G uses deer pellet surveys, hunter harvest rates and aerial surveys. Between 2004 and 2008, the deer population on Mitkof Island was on a downward trend, but between 2013 and 2016, the deer population sho...