John Flores: St. Mary deer hunting is better than many think

The 2020-21 Area 7 Deer Season will open Saturday for St. Mary Parish archers. In early October, archery season will be followed by primitive weapon and regular firearm seasons.
Though small portions of Area 5 and 9 hunt zones can be found in St. Mary Parish, Area 7 makes up the lion’s share and vast majority of huntable property, both private and public, around these parts. So, what do coastal deer hunters have to look forward to this season?
Often considered marginal habitat, the low-lying areas along St. Mary’s coastline are lush with nutritional plants that rival some of the better known upland regions of the state.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Deer Study Leader Johnathan Bordelon, said, “There are differences in plant composition and the amount of freshwater influence across Louisiana’s marshes. Marshes in portions of Iberia and St. Mary parishes have shown a greater abundance and diversity of herbaceous browse plants utilized by deer. There are DMAP clubs within St. Mary and Iberia (Area 7) that have sustained harvest rates that rival bottomland hardwood habitats.”
Bordelon went on to say that, in general, these marshes are producing a higher percentage of herbaceous plants than upland sites. Additionally, he points out the growing season is almost year-round. However, if there is an exception food-wise in the marsh it is with mast crops or acorns. Deer just don’t have as much access to hard mast in the marsh as they do in other regions of the state.
Acorns are high in carbohydrates and fats. They are also easily digested by deer, making them an important food source. Unlike the vast tracks of timber-filled land such as those found in the Kisatchie National Forest, Tensas National Wildlife Refuge, and many of the wildlife management areas along the Red, Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers with abundant varieties of oak trees, the coastal marshes are limited to the few trees along canal banks and levees.
In spite of all the good nutrition along the coastline here in St. Mary Parish, high water and flooding is always an issue, particularly over the course of the past year dating back to 2019. Starting with high water that lasted through early July, it was followed by Hurricane Barry, a category 1 (75 mph) that made landfall on Marsh Island. Essentially, the coast has been inundated with flood waters off and on for over a year.
In 2020 we subsequently had more high water this past spring and four tropical events with named storms Cristobal, Marco, Laura and Sally that have impacted our region.
Bordelon said, “The habitat is extremely vulnerable to storms and inland flooding from surge, which can temporarily knock out available resources. Upland sites are much more forgiving in comparison to such storms.”
A number of years ago, Hurricane Lili made landfall near Intracoastal City, placing all of St. Mary Parish on the worst side of the storm. Tidal surge in Vermillion Bay was 12 feet high.
At the time, I was a member of a lease near Burns Point, south of Centerville. While surveying the damage to the marsh, everything was flattened. Flag grass, cut grass, elephant ear and roseau cane looked like a mangled flat carpet. Moreover, from what I could tell, the deer feed was gone.
Somehow deer survived. In the following weeks, we noticed bare limbs where deer had stripped the few remaining willow tree leaves as high as they could reach, while standing on their hind legs. They also ate the leaves of the invasive tallow trees.
A year later, the prolific and nutritious food deer were accustomed to, returned. There was abundant marsh cow peas, alligator weed, and plenty of briars and other woody forbs important to their diet.
Sadly, the full weight of the impact of storms isn’t noticed until pretty much the following year, where recruitment is concerned. Quite often, poor nutrition leads to low lactation rates leading to lower fawn production.
Centerville resident James Aucoin has land he manages and hunts deer on around Point Marone. Just days after Laura made landfall, Aucoin went down to the property to fill his alligator tags. The first thing he noticed was how flat the marsh was from tidal surge. The second thing he noticed was how easy it was to spot a few deer.
Aucoin said, “While fishing gators I passed by one of my stands and climbed up in it just to look around. I saw two deer about 400 yards away. They were easy to spot with no tall grass to hide them. I guess we saw about 50 deer all total. We saw some fawns too. I don’t know how they made it, but they were all up on that floating marsh.”
The fact is, marsh deer are pretty resilient when it comes to survival. They are very capable swimmers. Moreover, have no qualms about swimming across bayous and canals.
Area 7 has one of the earliest ruts that usually peaks the third week in October. Subsequently, this hunt region has one of the earliest season start dates. Biologists theorize the early breeding period is possibly nature’s way of averting high mortality from flooding and tropical storms. Whether or not that is the case, in spite of these severe weather events, deer numbers have remained fairly stable for years along St. Mary’s coastline.
Once things settle down and the weather transitions to a fall pattern where we have regular cool fronts, the upcoming season should be another good one for Area 7 deer hunters.