Harvesting on the horizon as Granite Shoals deer population booms
White-tailed deer are a common sight on a drive through Granite Shoals, which could have a severe overabundance of the animals, according to recent population counts. File photo
The city of Granite Shoals might be home to almost four times the maximum number of white-tailed deer considered suitable for a healthy population. This is according to the results of 2024 surveys conducted by the Granite Shoals Wildlife Advisory Committee.
To curb the overabundance of bucks and does in the city limits, the committee is laying the groundwork for a harvesting program that could go into effect in 2025.
The city committee was formed in 2015 to manage Granite Shoals’ deer population. Part of that effort is conducting surveys through a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department program that allows the animals to be harvested outside of the normal hunting tag system.
The committee counted 2,027 total deer in surveys done on three separate Mondays in August, the highest recorded since surveys began in 2015. The previous high was 1,551 in 2023.
“I think there are that many more deer,” committee Chair Peter Hutnick told DailyTrib.com. “We haven’t had a harvesting program for years. The only deer that have been taken out of the herd have been the ones hit by cars.”
The Wildlife Advisory Committee ceased harvesting after the COVID-19 pandemic due to a lack of participation. Prior to that, committee members and volunteers used crossbows to kill deer at designated city sites to thin the herd.
The committee plans to reinstate the harvesting program during the 2025-26 deer season after another round of surveys are completed in August 2025.
WHY HARVEST?
City leaders are concerned a dense deer population will lead to more animal-vehicle accidents, destruction of property, and the spread of disease.
“My biggest concern is widespread disease and deer getting hit by cars, and I would like it if they’d stop eating my plants,” Hutnick said.
He draws upon his experience as a hunter education instructor for the state of Texas. His opinion is backed up by TPWD assessments of deer overpopulation in suburban areas.
“In many areas of the state, deer population densities have exceeded the land’s ability to sustain them,” reads a 2006 TPWD report. “In other areas, deer densities have exceeded society’s ability to tolerate them.These unnaturally high deer densities can present significant ecological, social, and economic problems for a variety of stakeholders.”
The 2,057 total deer surveyed in Granite Shoals in 2024 averages out to 675 animals spotted a day. With the survey covering 1,737 acres, this comes out to about 2.57 acres per deer.
According to the TPWD, the effective carrying capacity, or the number of animals that can be supported in a given area, is 50 acres per deer on the low end and 10 acres per deer on the high end.
This means Granite Shoals could be harboring roughly 3.89 times the maximum number of deer sustainable per acre.
Granite Shoals residents can have their say on the city’s harvesting plan during a town hall planned sometime in March. Visit the city’s website for more information when available.
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Granite Shoals Wildlife Committee contacted my non profit Texas Crossbow Hunters Club concerning this issue, and we were willing to help carefully thin the population, but the amount of red tape they continued to add to our project, it was ridiculous, but if we could sit down together and discuss what needs to be done and have a good plan that would please a majority, we are still willing to help. Our hunting club has a team of the best crossbow hunters/shooters that exists in the world. We have been doing wild boar removal for a large ranch with a childrens home for 13 years and everyone continues to be happy as there have never been any type of issues with our work. It consists of 98% retired folks who have done this most of their lives, for competition.