"Information is somewhat limited right now because we haven't established Citizen Advisory Committees in every unit. But we have all three of those measures in place in the south-central part of the state.

"We've had a number of units in that area where we've completed the Citizen Advisory process. They've recommended increasing the herd, and we have agreed to do that.

"For example, WMUs 5A, 4B and 4E are three units where we're recommending increases in the deer population based on our measures of deer health and forest habitat health, as well as what the people have told us," he noted.

"I would say deer numbers are lower in those areas than what they could be and as a result, we're recommending a herd increase."

All three of those wildlife management units rank toward the bottom in total deer harvest. WMU 5A is number 21 out of the 22 wildlife management units. WMU 4B ranks 20th, and WMU 4E ranks 15th.

WMU 5A had a total harvest of 6,200 deer for the 2007-08 hunting seasons. Only 1,000 of those were antlered deer. A total harvest of 5,400 deer was posted the previous year.

Unlike several other WMUs, 5A actually showed an increase of 15 percent -- an impressive figure, even for a WMU with typically low deer harvests.

WMU 5A lies in the south-central part of the Commonwealth, a physiographic unit known as the Piedmont. It's an area with moderate human densities, a medium to high amount of public land and low to medium forest cover, with most of that forest on public land.

There are only three state game lands (SGLs No. 169, No. 249 and No. 305), but Micheaux State Forest dominates the center of the unit.

Interestingly, a little more than 27 percent of the deer tagged in this unit were taken during the archery or the muzzleloader seasons.

This may indicate that hunting during periods of reduced pressure may be a huge advantage.

WMU 4B lies immediately north from WMU 5A, but it is quite different. Human densities run from low to high in various sections. It is ridge-and-valley topography and is moderately forested, with the public land consisting primarily of 16 state game lands. The valleys tend to be agricultural, with rugged ridges where the state game lands lie.

Deer feed in the agricultural valleys at night and then retreat to the forested ridges for shelter. Hunting can be surprisingly good here, but it is challenging because hunters must get up high before the deer do.

The total harvest here last year was 8,000, including 4,500 antlerless deer -- a relatively low percentage indicating a pretty good buck potential.

The harvest total was a drop of 31 percent from the year before, which explains why an increase in deer numbers is desired.

To a large extent, the WMUs' state game lands offer minimal access. There are few access points, and then hunters must walk along the ridgetops. Most of the deer will be hiding along the sides of the ridges in dense cover, where a stealthy approach is difficult.