As for available permits, Nebraska, like many other states around the country, provides for unlimited archery and muzzleloader tags. But for the traditional firearms season this year, there will be 53,100 firearms permits and 21,550 Season-Choice Antlerless permits.

"2005 should see an excellent season," Hams said. "Our harvest the past eight years has ranged from 52,000 to 60,000 -- and they represent the highest harvest years on record. Our 2004 harvest was 56,311."

This season, Hams added, should be similar; he expects roughly half of the bucks taken again to be at least 2 years old.

Hams called Nebraska's mule deer population "stable" and noted that the 2004 mule deer buck harvest was 6,800. "Deer density follows precipitation and river corridors. Southeast Nebraska has the highest precipitation and deer density of all deer management units. The Missouri and Platte River corridors have the highest deer densities, followed by wooded areas in southeast Nebraska and the Pine Ridge in northwest Nebraska."

No significant changes are anticipated for any of the state's 18 major deer management units, Hams reported. Six days will be added to the January antlerless season, however. And Nebraska has increased the percentage of either-sex permits in seven DMUs. There also will be 2,300 additional Season-Choice Antlerless permits.

SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota Biologist Ted Benzon used one sentence to say plenty as the firearms deer season approaches: "License numbers will increase again for the 2005 season." That, he added, is in the wake of the state's record 2004 harvest.

Heading into this season, he said, South Dakota is home to approximately 210,000 whitetails and 75,000 mule deer. These are not the numbers you'll see in other states, but it definitely suggests a healthy population.

And that will mean healthy permit numbers. Some examples (note that all state permits are available only by lottery drawing):

In the Black Hills Region, the state has 5,000 resident and 400 non-resident buck tags, and 2,200 resident and 176 non-resident doe tags.

In the West River region, there are 4,495 one-tag and 23,085 two-tag licenses for residents, and 361 one-tag and 1,848 two-tag licenses for non-residents. The one-tag licenses are for any deer; the two-tag permits include one for any deer and one for any antlerless deer.

The Black Hills season will run Nov. 1-30. At press time, the dates for the West River and East River regions were: West River, Oct. 1-9, Nov. 17 to Dec. 4, and Jan. 1-8; East River, Nov. 19 to Dec. 11 and Jan. 1-8.

Benzon noted that last year's record harvest was directly attributable to an "increase in licenses to bring population numbers down." He also noted that 48 percent of the average buck harvest was deer that were at least 2 years old.