Washington sees new low in deer harvest numbers, Idaho above average

Washington’s 2017 deer harvest was the lowest it’s been in more than 20 years, according to recently released Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife harvest report.

Hunters harvested 26,537 deer, when counting special and general permits. A total of 106,977 Washingtonians received deer licenses.

The state’s 54,638 licensed elk hunters harvested a total of 5,465 elk.

This is the lowest harvest number since 1997, according to WDFW’s online records.

In Idaho the total deer and elk harvest was above average, although the mule deer harvest was lower than normal, according to an Idaho Department of Fish and Game news release.

IDFG attributed the drop in mule deer harvest partially to last year’s difficult winter.

Hunters harvested 22,751 elk. The 10-year average is just less than 20,000. In 2017, hunters harvested 51,998 deer. The 10-year average is just more than 50,000.