Tuesday, September 16, 2014

QDMA Honors Oklahoma Agency

The 56,000-member Quality Deer Management Association presented its 2014 Agency of the Year Award to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation during the regular September meeting of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Committee in Oklahoma City.

Wildlife Department Director Richard Hatcher accepted the prestigious award from J.B. Wynn, Southwest Region director for QDMA. The honor was originally announced at the organization's national convention July 24-27 in Athens, Ga.

Wynn said the award recognizes Wildlife Department employees for their hard work, dedication and support they have given to the association and to the hunters of Oklahoma.

"The agencies that have usually received this award in the past have always had a record of innovative and positive deer management techniques through positive changes through regulations and hunter education," Wynn said. "The Oklahoma Department of Conservation has not only done one of those, but they've done both of those."

The Department created the slogan "Hunters in the Know Take a Doe" in 2000, which developed understanding among hunters that doe harvest is part of deer management. As a result, the association ranked Oklahoma among the top five states in the nation for the percentage of does harvested, Wynn said.

"The Department banked on the success of those previous education efforts to steer age-structure initiatives, as well. And in 2013, the Department updated their slogan to 'Hunters in the Know ... Let Young Bucks Grow!' Has it worked? I believe it has," Wynn said.

QDMA ranked Oklahoma third nationally in the number of mature bucks harvested as a percentage of the total harvest, a 15 percent increase over the previous year.

Commission Vice Chairman John Groendyke said the recognition by QDMA reflects on the hard work and sound management by Department biologists in looking after the state's deer resource. "This shows great effort on everyone's part, from where we've been and where we are today on deer management," he said.

Erik Bartholomew, big-game biologist for the Wildlife Department, said the QDMA award is gratifying recognition of the Department's deer management program. "This honor serves not only as a pat on the back to the agency and its employees, but it also speaks to the hunters out there who are realizing that they are also helping to manage the state's deer herd when they make good harvest decisions."

Each year, QDMA works closely with state, federal and provincial agencies to further QDMA's mission of ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. Presented annually since 2003, the Agency of the Year award goes to an agency that has a record of supporting the philosophy of quality deer management and the mission of the QDMA.

Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization dedicated to ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and America's hunting heritage.

Deer hunting is the most popular type of hunting in Oklahoma, with more than 250,000 people participating each year. For more about deer hunting in Oklahoma, go online to www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/deer.htm.

Oklahoma's hunters not only enjoy the outdoor activity but also play a critical role in the conservation of Oklahoma's deer and other wildlife. The Wildlife Department receives no general state tax appropriations and is funded primarily by hunters and anglers through their purchases of hunting and fishing licenses and through excise taxes paid on certain sporting goods. To learn more, go online to www.wildlifedepartment.com.