When the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission started its Urban Archery deer season program in 2007, a handful of towns signed up — Elkin was first — while many others and major cities in North Carolina turned up their noses.
But with the spread of whitetails into every nook and cranny in the state, towns are being forced to choose whether they love the “cute” factor over the spread of deer ticks, Lyme disease and deer-vehicle crashes.
Despite a reported hunter harvest of around 170,000, disease taking perhaps 10,000 more and deer-vehicle crashes claiming around 20,000 more, the annual mortality in North Carolina’s deer herd is around 16 percent of the statewide herd of 1.25 million, yet we are still up to our ears in deer.
From four towns in 2007, 44 signed up and participated in the 2013 Urban Archery Season.
For the 2014-15 season, the season dates are Jan. 10-Feb. 14, 2015.
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