IDAHO, USA — Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) has published the harvesting statistics for 2023, showing the full story on elk, mule deer, and whitetail deer harvesting.
Monday's news release said IDFG expected a "less than stellar" mule deer harvest in 2023, due mostly to the severe winter than preceded fall of 2023. With last fall's harvest stats available, the full story shows that one of the worst eastern Idaho winters on record effected harvesting.
Warm fall weather with little rain and snow often creates poor hunting conditions, according to Idaho Fish and Game.
The statewide elk harvest dropped nearly 2,400 animals compared to 2022. However, white-tailed deer harvesting had a slight increase - the first one in four years - showing that herds of whitetail may be recovering from a "large disease die-off in 2021."
“It was kind of a screwy year,” said Toby Boudreau, Deer and Elk Coordinator at Idaho Fish and Game. “I think everyone expected the mule deer harvest to drop significantly, but we’re hopeful the mild winter will speed up their recovery, or at minimum, get it off to a good start.”
As the news release stated, the elk harvest is a "bit of a head-scratcher." IDFG heard comments from experienced hunters, sharing that they weren't seeing elk in their usual hunting spots during the fall, and these hunters suspected weather was the big player in why.
“We’re fairly confident the dip in the statewide harvest does not reflect a dip in the elk population, but it may take another year to see that,” Boudreau said.
Also, due to radio-collared elk, IDFG was able to monitor where certain herds were living and it appears that they stayed on the summer range for a longer period of time than other years. IDFG adds that it was due to this lack of movement that they were prevented from conducting one of their planned elk surveys.
Harvest highs and lows
According to IDFG, 2023 would have been the 10th year in a row for elk harvesting to reach the 20,000 mark, but that's now how it happened. Elk hunters in Idaho took home 18,568 elk in 2023, an almost 11% drop in harvesting compared to 2022. That indicates that of the 87,864 elk hunters, only 21% of those hunters successfully harvested an elk.
Mule deer hunting also saw a drop in 2023, which was expected by IDFG. The 2023 year saw a decrease of 22% in total mule deer harvest, which is also the seventh-consecutive year below the 10-year average, Idaho Fish and Game said.
White-tailed deer saw a bump in the positive direction in 2023 after years of disease hurting these herds. In 2022, the numbers showed that hunters harvested 19,182 deer, and that number jumped up to 19,828 in 2023. Hopefully, this increase in harvesting shows recovery amongst whitetail herds.
Elk
According to IDFG, the numbers below reflect elk harvesting:
- Total elk harvest in 2023: 18,568
- 2022 harvest total: 20,952
- Overall hunter success rate: 21%
- Antlered: 11,363
- Antlerless: 7,205
- Taken during general hunts: 11,719 (17% success rate)
- Taken during controlled hunts: 6,849 (23% success rate)
IDFG also points out that statewide, elk populations have been stable enough, and were not impacted by winter as badly as the mule deer or pronghorn. Hunting numbers were almost identical to that of 2022, yet controlled hunting success dropped from an average of 41% all the way to 23% in 2023.
Mule deer
According to IDFG, the numbers below reflect mule deer harvesting:
- Total mule deer harvest in 2023: 18,329
- 2022 harvest total: 23,588
- Overall hunter success rate: 25%
- Antlered: 15,245
- Antlerless: 3,083
- Taken during general hunts: 13,267 (21% success rate)
- Taken during controlled hunts:5,062 (46% success rate)
IDFG said that leading up to the 2023 mule deer hunting season, officials knew hunting would be tough due to one of the worst winters on record in eastern Idaho.
The agency reports about a 22% decline in from the previous year for mule deer harvesting. That marks the first time in mule deer harvests been below the 20,000 mark in over 12 years.
Hunters themselves came out less last year, totaling 74,503 during 2023, a 6% drop.
IDFG said the bottom line of mule deer harvesting is this: mule deer herds got hit hard in southern Idaho, but they can recover. A few more mild winters can accelerate that recovery. Hunters will need to practice patience, but recovery of these herds is coming.
White-tailed deer
According to IDFG, the numbers below reflect white-tailed deer harvesting:
- Total white-tailed deer harvest in 2023: 19,828
- 2022 harvest total: 19,182
- Overall hunter success rate: 40.3%
- Antlered: 13,741
- Antlerless: 6,088
- Taken during general hunts: 18,548 (38% success rate)
- Taken during controlled hunts: 1,281 (40% success rate)
White-tailed deer were the success story of the 2023 harvest season. There was an increase in harvesting of whitetails for the first time since 2019. According to IDFG, there was about a 40% success rate in bagging a deer. Heading into 2023, overall harvest numbers for whitetails increased from 19,182 to 19,828.
In 2021, epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) damaged the Clearwater region's whitetail herds, killing an estimated 6,000-10,000 deer that year. IDFG reminds hunters that it takes time for animals to rebound. Boudreau forecasted "another 2-3 years" before Clearwater's whitetail herds would be recovered.
Outside of the Clearwater area, IDFG white-tailed deer population is looking good.
Idaho Fish and Game asked the public to be mindful of snowmelts and spring conditions around deer. The deer are "energetically stressed" from last winter's conditions and the effects on their bodies.
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