NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota biologist Bill Jensen quickly pointed out that, regardless of species (whitetails or mule deer), his state does not manage deer herds to produce trophy bucks.

"Ninety-five percent of our land acreage is under private ownership," he noted. "As a result, we manage within the tolerance levels of the private landowner in North Dakota. That's the focus here."

That said, the information he provided suggests that hunters should approach gong after a trophy in North Dakota as a kind of numbers game.

When asked where hunters should look for a trophy, Jensen answered very simply: "Deer numbers are highest in the northeast corner of the state."

The thought, then, appears to be that if you go where the most deer are, you're most likely to encounter a mature buck. For mule deer, you should focus on the Badlands region in western North Dakota.

BEST UNITS/COUNTIES FOR BIG BUCKS BY STATE
State	Whitetails	Mule Deer
Kansas	DMU 14	DMU 1
	DMU 15	DMU 2
	DMU 8	DMU 17
	DMU 10
Nebraska	Sandhills	Sandhills
	Pine Ridge	Pine Ridge
	Republican	Plains
		Upper Platte
North Dakota	2B	4A
	2G	4B
	2F1	4G
	2F2	4D
	2G	4E
		4F
South Dakota	East River Units	West River Units
	Brown Co.	Jackson Co.
	Edmunds	Butte Co.

More specifically, Jensen mentioned the "2" units in eastern North Dakota for whitetails, and the "4" units in the west for mule deer. If you're after a big whitetail, Jensen points you go to units 2B, 2C, 2F1, 2F2 and 2G. If you prefer a trophy mule deer, he said, you should head for units 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E or 4F.

With so much land privately owned, it'll serve you well to spend some time talking to landowners in the area(s) you plan to hunt. Ask about their impressions of overall deer numbers, and whether they're seeing a lot of young bucks, or any older ones.

The more information you can get, the easier it'll be for you to pinpoint places with the potential for some truly nice bucks with racks equally nice.

In quickly reviewing the preceding paragraphs, I found that something said by Kansas' Lloyd Fox really hit home. Remember his comment that any unit in the state could well produce trophy whitetails?

It seems as if that statement is in fact applicable throughout the Great Plains. Those Nebraska areas hit hard by EHD are probably the only exceptions, and even they ought to rebound before too long.

You may not agree with every decision the deer managers in your state make from year to year, but it's really tough to disagree that Fox, Hams, Jensen and Benzon have, collectively, done a good job of managing deer numbers in their respective states. Good numbers inherently lead to trophy deer.

Many of you have likely heard the buzz phrase "Quality Deer Management," as it's becoming very popular around the country, notably so in areas in which deer and/or hunter numbers are significantly higher than in the Great Plains. One of the various objections to QDM -- some more informed than others --maintains that the term's just a fancier label for trophy deer management.

That's not quite true. QDM promotes the development of the kind of healthy deer herds that are more characteristic of the Great Plains than not. And mature bucks are inherent byproducts of healthy deer herds. Trophy bucks in free-ranging herds are definite signs that the herds are in pretty good shape.

And that's probably the best news of all heading into the Great Plains' 2005 deer season.