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EHD in south central part of the state consensus/observations

Falldreams

Falldreams

Well-Known Member
Not to rehash last years unfortunate EHD and the feelings that accompany the sad situation. But I am very curious of people’s observations and experiences during last years 2019-20 hunting seasons. Due to several unforeseen factors and those curveballs that life throws us we are in the process of a relocation from where we live in NE Iowa (Allamakee county) down to the south central part of the state. We have a house and small acreage in central Clarke county that we are moving to. With both of our work situations we were having to look at either the SW part of the state or more central. Long story short it ends up that home will be in Clarke county. Unless a guy has been hibernating for the past year it’s common knowledge of the EHD that erupted once again last year in that part of the state. Where do things seem to stand overall for that region of the state that will now be home......opinions/experiences/observations. And Happy Fathers Day to all you dad’s out there!
 
Boy it would be tough to leave allamakee county. Good luck! I have no idea on Clarke county deer population


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Depends on what part of Clarke. Some parts lost north of 80% of their deer. Some parts barely hit. Ehd aside, population numbers were high.... too high.
 
IowaBowHunter1983 said:
Depends on what part of Clarke. Some parts lost north of 80% of their deer. Some parts barely hit. Ehd aside, population numbers were high.... too high.
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Yeah that’s exactly what I have gathered as well in regards to the totality of the deer losses due to the ehd. Will be living in central Clarke county and hunting some within that county. With relocating there fairly late into the year (early July), I will for sure be spending a great deal of time pounding miles of the public grounds this summer and fall/winter in Lucas, Decatur and Ringgold counties as well being that we will be living so close to those areas. I enjoy putting in the work equally as much as the actual act of having bow in hand and hunting. However not being intimately familiar with that part of the state and being aware of the ehd situation of last year, I have naturally been curious as to what I’m moving into for a deer herd.
 
Kaleb said:
Boy it would be tough to leave allamakee county. Good luck! I have no idea on Clarke county deer population


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Thank you! Yes you would be right, it IS tough leaving the Allamakee county area. There’s many things we enjoy here including the solid deer hunting and the overall beauty of the area. People who have never been up this way are amazed at what it’s like here. Having the mighty Mississippi literally outside my door sure isn’t a bad thing either. But things are always changing in life and we are embracing the move and future.
 
Falldreams said:
Yeah that’s exactly what I have gathered as well in regards to the totality of the deer losses due to the ehd. Will be living in central Clarke county and hunting some within that county. With relocating there fairly late into the year (early July), I will for sure be spending a great deal of time pounding miles of the public grounds this summer and fall/winter in Lucas, Decatur and Ringgold counties as well being that we will be living so close to those areas. I enjoy putting in the work equally as much as the actual act of having bow in hand and hunting. However not being intimately familiar with that part of the state and being aware of the ehd situation of last year, I have naturally been curious as to what I’m moving into for a deer herd.
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welcome to gods country. Clarke got hammered East of the interstate. Liberty highway to Lucas county/Warren county was the epicenter. Like others have said, depending on deer density, some farms got hammered/others not so much. Assuming we don’t get hammered again, you’ll be able to find some deer to chase I’m sure!
 
FWIW, I just spoke with a guy in the last few days that has land in NW Monroe County and he reported that they lost 80%'ish of all the bucks over 3 years old to EHD last summer. Yikes. He reported a very high deer density prior to that too. So it sounds like the dead zone stretched over into Monroe too.
 
Daver said:
FWIW, I just spoke with a guy in the last few days that has land in NW Monroe County and he reported that they lost 80%'ish of all the bucks over 3 years old to EHD last summer. Yikes. He reported a very high deer density prior to that too. So it sounds like the dead zone stretched over into Monroe too.
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Disturbing to say the least and sure does make ya feel helpless to it all
 
YtailFreak said:
There has been a few confirmed cases already this year in Warren, Clarke, and Decatur. Not good boys, not good.
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did you hear this second hand from outdoors dan? I have never heard of cases this early.....I’m not buying it.
 
Daver said:
FWIW, I just spoke with a guy in the last few days that has land in NW Monroe County and he reported that they lost 80%'ish of all the bucks over 3 years old to EHD last summer. Yikes. He reported a very high deer density prior to that too. So it sounds like the dead zone stretched over into Monroe too.
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My farm is in that area and we definitely got hammered, I’d say at least 80% of the deer in general not just bucks. Buddy of mine hunted first week of November and wife hunted 2nd gun, think they saw a total of about 15 deer. Only seen one adult doe during that week in November, same week last year I was seeing 20-40 deer a day. Numbers were out of control, hopefully this was just a correction that was badly needed.
 
Lucas county got hammered last year harder than reported by the DNR. We found over 20 dead deer on our properties we gun hunt and the other groups were saying the same. Finding more dead than they saw. UGGH going to be a few years to replace the age group we lost.
 
Booner said:
did you hear this second hand from outdoors dan? I have never heard of cases this early.....I’m not buying it.
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I heard the same from a DNR officer at a meeting Monday. No specifics on location, but it is back.
 
Rjack said:
I heard the same from a DNR officer at a meeting Monday. No specifics on location, but it is back.
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It’s never gone away. I’ve found deer every year since 2015 in southern tier county’s dead from EHD. Some years worse than others, 2019 being the worst I’d personally experienced since moving to Clarke County.
 
It’s here to stay until herd builds more immunity. Going back in memory.... The strain from last year was a new strain of EHD/BT that had not been seen up here or seen often. It was extremely fast killing. Little to no resistance to it. Almost certainly brought in from cattle from down south transported here.
Happens every year. Wet, dry, etc. my worst year was 2015 and tons of rain. Still find ehd deaths yearly & still find the ones that die in winter/spring from the secondary infections that occur from hooves cracking after they survived ehd. It’s a frigin bummer & mess. I believe it’s 8 strains of ehd/BT they have documented up here now in last 40-50 years. It’s a newer disease up here for sure, 100%. The strains are new & then no resistance. Will build resistance over time. Hopefully worst is behind us but pockets of outbreaks will be happening again.

be my dream or miracle wish to have farms with no cattle for hundred miles & all stone & rock based creeks and ponds. ;).

Side note.... IMO or experience.... places that got wiped out will clearly start recovering for next few years & what deer u got- chances of getting “wiped out” again are slim to none. Probably resistance in those hard hit areas. I personally saw 70-80%+ wipe outs in Pockets of Madison, Monroe, Decatur, warren & Clarke. For example... my buddies place west of bevington in Madison.... he found like 20-30 does & 5-8 bucks on one walk last year that had recently died. It didn’t stop there.... Kept going into September & the last tally, countless, I don’t know but he hardly had any deer left. Had to be 80%+ dead. But- 3-4 years from now, he likely & hopefully have some good deer again. Another guy in warren had a “big farm”.... during shed season, he was up to like 60+ dead bucks. I was like “did u find any sheds at all?!?” He did find some so always some that make it.
 
Does anyone have a report where the DNR is estimating the total number dead due to EHD? All I have seen is the map which has a disclaimer - "The county mortality reports help serve as an index to outbreak intensity & do not represent a total mortality estimate."

Van Buren shows 24. Did you call in all 50 you found?
 
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