WHITE TAILED DEER: Deer hunting preserves ecosystems 
and feeds the hungry ... details ahead on Passport to 
Texas.
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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

White-tailed deer season kicks off the first Saturday of 
November in some parts of the state. This annual 
harvesting of deer preserves ecosystems.

"If we didn't hunt deer in Texas, deer would eat themselves out 
of house and home. And not just themselves, but all species 
that thrive on that ecosystem."

Mitch Lockwood, statewide white-tailed deer program 
leader, says there are approximately 4-million white-tailed 
deer in Texas. While hunters understand the management 
function of hunting, surprisingly few take full advantage 
of available bag limits.

"One example is that in the Texas Hill Country, where we have 
the highest concentration of deer -- where one can harvest as 
many as five deer a piece -- the average hunter in the hill 
country harvests only one point one deer. So, with a harvest of 
approximately one deer per hunter, we're not ever going to 
meet our population management goals."

Lockwood stresses the importance of adequate doe 
harvest in most areas of Texas, and encourages hunters 
to take advantage of the bag limits by putting more 
antlerless deer in the freezer. But if your freezer is full, 
there are programs to help you distribute the meat.

"Hunters for the hungry program in Texas is growing. And there 
are other programs that help hunters defer some of those 
processing costs so that hunters can donate venison to the 
needy with minimal expense."

Find more information on deer hunting and bag limits in your 
area on the Texas Parks and Wildlife web site.

That's our show ... made possible today by a grant from the 
Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program. For Texas Parks 
and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.