Does Nantucket Really Have 10,000 Deer?
Jason Graziadei •
State wildlife officials have long said Nantucket has one of the largest concentrations of deer in Massachusetts. But could the population actually exceed 10,000 deer?
That would be an incredibly large population for a small, isolated geographic area, and a steep increase from previous estimates. But Martin Feehan, the deer and moose biologist for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, believes the 10,000 number could actually be the floor for the island's deer herd.
"The population is a bit complicated, but 10,000 is a reasonable floor at this point for Nantucket," Feehan told the Current. "The deer density on the island has continued to grow. Currently, the deer density estimate in areas open to hunting is now between 70 and 100 deer per square mile, post-hunt on Nantucket. A little less than half the island is actually hunted each year. Those areas have much lower densities than areas closed to hunting where densities can be expected to be about three to four times higher. From this alone there would be a floor of around 10,000 when you factor in the 800 to 1,000 deer harvested each year plus the un-reported and unrecovered deer."
In response to the increasing deer population, the state is now proposing an extended deer hunt on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard that would take place each January. A pair of public hearings on the proposal has been set for this January 23 at 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Zoom.
"Martha’s Vineyard, Elizabeth, and Nantucket Islands are facing a rapidly increasing deer population and a declining number of licensed hunters," the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife stated in its announcement of the public hearings. "Deer overabundance can lead to habitat damage, beach erosion, spread of tick-borne disease, and increased deer/vehicle collisions."
The expanded hunt would create a winter primitive firearms (such as muzzleloaders) deer season during the entire month of January.
While the numbers for this year's deer hunt on Nantucket have not yet been compiled, the past two years have seen record-setting harvests on the island. Between the youth, archery, shotgun, and primitive arms seasons, there were 879 deer harvested by hunters on Nantucket in 2023. That represented a 7 percent increase over the 824 deer taken in 2022, the previous record.
Back in 2013, an aerial survey of the island was conducted by Mount Holyoke College professor Thomas Millette, who used an aerial thermal-imaging system to produce more than 3,400 high-resolution photos and 16,000 thermal images of Nantucket. He covered roughly 20 percent of the island during the flights over the island. Millette's survey pegged Nantucket's deer population at roughly 2,000 animals, with a density of more than 40 per square mile.
A subsequent estimate by the state from just four years ago put Nantucket's deer population at approximately 50 per square mile, pegging the total number between 4,000 and 6,000 deer.
But Feehan stated there are a number of other metrics he considered when reaching the 10,000 number.
"We know the population is rising," Feehan wrote in an email. "Every harvest, and non-harvest (collisions, environmental damage, etc.) indicator shows it. Between reported harvest, estimated unreported harvest, the recovery rate, known vehicle collisions, and natural mortality rate, there would be at least 3,000 deer mortalities a year. It would simply not be feasible to see the population growth rates we see if there were much fewer than 10,000 deer. Is it possible that it’s lower than 10,000 pre-hunt? Yes. Is it possible that it's less than 7,500? No, that’s not realistically possible anymore.
"Keep in mind," Feehan added, "the deer density on the island has about doubled in areas open to hunting since the 2005 late-season hunt (~40 deer per square mile to about 80 deer per square mile) and will have gone up by an exponential factor in areas closed to hunting. There are a lot of deer out there on Nantucket, and there aren’t easy fixes to address it."
The number of deer struck by motor vehicles on Nantucket is believed to be among the highest in the state - if not the highest - although precise data is hard to come by when comparing different communities. In 2021, there were 90 deer hit by cars on the island - at least those that were reported to the Nantucket Police Department.
Nantucket physician Tim Lepore, who closely monitors the island's deer herd during the hunting season and its impact on the incidence of tick-borne diseases in humans, was a little skeptical of the possibility that there are 10,000 deer on Nantucket. But he also acknowledged Feehan's expertise in the area.
"That number, it sort of came out of the blue, but he has data looking at the health of the herd as well," Lepore said. "Let's put it this way, the deer are a little scrawny. Is that the result of reaching the extent of the feed available? We've had a number of ways of looking at the population. There used to be an algorithm from age, weight, and sex. Then people flew over at night with heat-seeking cameras. And those numbers were always 2,500 or 3,000. But he (Feehan) is the professional. I can't say I've noticed a big difference (in the number of deer), but there are a lot of deer out there. The problem, if it's that high, is having a die-off from malnutrition."
Twenty years ago, the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife allowed a special February deer hunt on Nantucket as a way to reduce the population and address the island's high incidence of tick-borne diseases. Over the six-day special hunt in February 2005, hunters killed 246 deer. Still, the initiative ended in controversy after dozens of hunters from the mainland descended on the island, prompting a public outcry over hunters on private property and other inappropriate behavior. The special hunt was promptly canceled.
Lepore, however, maintains that an additional hunt remains an effective tool to control the deer population and cut down on tick-borne diseases.
"The one in 2005 will live in infamy, but in a controlled hunt, under different circumstances, you can get that opening day effect and we could get another 400 or 500," Lepore said.
In addition to the additional month-long January hunt now being proposed with primitive arms, the state is also putting forward a handful of regulation changes to help control the deer population on Nantucket and elsewhere, including:
- Clarifying that food plots are legal to use for hunting.
- Authorizing the use of deer decoys for hunting during the archery-only season.
- Removing the daily antlerless bag limit (Season limits are still in effect).
- Authorizing the use of the Youth Deer Permit for any open deer season.
- Exempt antler shed hunting from possession permit requirements.
