Successful deer hunting season at NAS Meridian
Published 12:15 pm Wednesday, February 10, 2021
- Photo by JP BeaudouinJeff Mangrum, PWD Meridian Environmental wildlife biologist, takes a sample for Chronic Waste Disease (CWD) from a deer. Thanks to an active hunting program on base, the sampling program helps reduce the spread of CWD across the county and across the state. NAS Meridian works with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks in tracking CWD across two counties. To date, the season has surpassed last year's deer count with over 70 deer harvested on the installation.
Deer hunting for the 2020-2021 season ended in east-central Mississippi and on NAS Meridian Jan. 31. Hunters harvested a total of 71 deer on NAS Meridian during the season, compared to 48 deer the previous hunting season.
According to hunters, the season yielded better quality bucks than in recent years. In particular, during the weekend of the special Disabled Veterans’ Hunt, participants harvested eight deer, four of which would be considered high-quality bucks by most hunters.
The hunting program supports NAS Meridian’s mission by reducing the risk of collisions between deer and ground vehicles or aircraft. In addition, the hunting program contributes to Mississippi’s deer management objectives through its long-term participation in the state’s Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP). Through DMAP, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks receives valuable biological data to support its efforts to manage deer populations in the state. NAS Meridian is proud to continue providing management data to Mississippi’s natural resources agency through this year’s bumper harvest.
