A study of whitetail reproductive characteristics indicates that fawn production in WMUs 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D -- most of the Southwest Region -- is among the best in Pennsylvania. This indicates that the deer population is in good health.

The 2006-07 harvest in WMU 2A was 25,100 total deer, a decrease of 11 percent from the previous year. In WMU 2B, the harvest of 22,300 total deer was a 13-percent increase. In WMU 2C, the harvest of 21,100 deer matched the harvest from the year before. And in WMU 2D, the total harvest of 31,300 deer was a 2-percent decline.

An antlerless license allocation for WMU 2B of 68,000, the same as the previous year, is intended to decrease the population. The WMU 2A allocation is 60,000 tags, an increase of 5,000 over last year. The allocations for WMU 2C and WMU 2D are the same as last year's. The goal, again, is to stabilize the deer population in these latter three wildlife management units.

Southwest Region deer hunters are advised to start scouting now for places to hunt in Allegheny, Westmoreland or Washington counties.

NORTHWEST REGION
"If I wanted to kill a deer, I'd head to Erie or Crawford county game lands where there's a lot of vegetation on the ground," said Pat Anderson, a Northwest Region Land Management supervisor.

Habitat in the Northwest Region is varied. To the west is gently rolling land caused by glaciation and now largely agricultural. To the east, the land is more rugged and mostly forested. There is rolling farmland in WMUs 1B and 1A. In WMU 2D, there is fairly rugged terrain, but with more development and farmland.

Last year, hunters took 18,800 deer from WMU 1B -- a 10 percent increase over the year before. In WMU 1A, the total harvest was 19,000 deer, an increase of less than 1 percent. The WMU 2F harvest was 15,200 total deer, a 6 percent increase.

License sales have been dropping, however. In 2005, general hunting license sales fell below 1 million for the first time in many years.

Antlerless allocations have been set at 42,000 in WMU 1A, 30,000 in WMU 1B, 56,000 in WMU 2D and 28,000 in WMU 2F, all to stabilize the deer population.

WMU 2F is largely made up of the Allegheny National Forest. This includes portions of Forest and Warren counties.

It's generally agreed that deer numbers have dropped on the ANF, yet the U.S. Forest Service can usually point to areas that still have too many deer.

The Allegheny National Forest contains more than 500,000 acres of public land, attracting hunters from a broad area.

Check the forest's Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r9/Allegheny for maps and more information.

Northwest Region deer hunters are advised to focus on WMU 1A or WMU 1B.

NORTH-CENTRAL REGION
The North-Central Region is similar to WMU 2F, in that it's composed of the Allegheny Highlands -- a heavily forested area of rugged hills famous among deer hunters as Pennsylvania's "Big Woods."

This region still attracts many traveling hunters because of the tradition and adventure associated with a week of deer hunting in the Big Woods.

Total deer harvests were up all over the North-Central Region last year, when 13,300 deer were harvested in WMU 3A, for a 5 percent increase.

In WMU 2G, 11,800 deer were taken (for a 5 percent increase), 15,200 in WMU 2E (10 percent increase) and in WMU 4D, the total harvest of 16,700 was a 19 percent increase.

Antlerless allocations are 29,000 in WMU 3A (identical to last year), 26,000 in WMU 2G (an increase of 7,000 over last year), 21,000 for WMU 2E (same as the year before) and 40,000 in WMU 4D (also the same as the previous year).

All are intended to stabilize the population trend.

Our suggestion for deer hunters of the North-Central Region is to hunt away from the roads and scout for mast crops.

SOUTH-CENTRAL REGION
Hunters may feel encouraged that total deer harvests increased across the South-Central Region.