Deer hunting season on Martha’s Vineyard will be extended an extra month this year as state officials hope to cull the expanding deer herd that is fueling the rise of tick-borne illnesses on the Island. 

The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has stretched the season, which normally runs from October until just before the new year, through January 31. The change comes as the Island continues to have the highest rate of Lyme disease in the country, and watches cases of alpha-gal syndrome skyrocket.

A favorite food of ticks, deer have no natural enemies on the Island, resulting in an estimated population of about 55 deer per square mile. The figure is far above the state average and the state’s goal is to decrease the population to about 12 to 18 deer per square mile.

Martin Feehan, a deer and moose biologist for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said the January season aims to give hunters on the Vineyard and neighboring Elizabeth Islands an opportunity to harvest more deer. 

Deer are the favored food for the Island's ticks.

Ray Ewing

Deer are the favored food for the Island's ticks.

Ray Ewing

“It’s one of many different things that we’re working on for the Islands, but this will effectively give [folks] an extra four weeks of hunting,” Mr. Feehan said. 

Though deer hunting seasons have been extended throughout Massachusetts in years past, this is the longest extension in a single regulatory change, and the first time deer hunting has continued into the new year. Mr. Feehan said the January season is not classified as an extension on paper, so hunters will have to obtain a new license to participate.

The season officially begins with archery, which runs from Oct. 6 through Nov. 29. Shotgun season follows from Dec. 1 through Dec. 13. Primitive firearms are from Dec. 15 through Dec. 31. The January extension will only include archery and primitive firearms.

Hunting is permitted Monday through Saturday, from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset.

The state is also backing other incentives on the Island, such as expanding its share-the-harvest program. Any hunters who donate a full deer to either Island Grown Initiative or the Martha’s Vineyard Hunt Club will receive a replacement antler-less permit. The state will help cover processing costs for partial donations.

Youth Deer Hunt day takes place this Saturday, Sept. 27. Previously youth permits were only allowed during that day, but can now be used all season long.

Deer decoys, or artificial replicas of deer used to attract real deer to a specific area, are now permitted, but only during the archery season. Mr. Feehan said it can be a different way to attract deer compared to deer-based lures, such as urine and chemicals, which a pending regulation would ban next year.

“It’s just a healthy way of attracting deer and increasing harvest,” Mr. Feehan said.

Patrick Roden-Reynolds, the Island’s tick biologist who operates the Agricultural Society’s deer locker, welcomed the changes in regulations for this year, saying that hunting is currently the best tool available to stop the spread of tick-borne diseases. 

“Adult deer ticks and adult lone star ticks primarily feed on deer and reproduce while they’re on the host...” Mr. Roden-Reynolds said. “That’s what supports the tick abundances and the absurd numbers of ticks we keep experiencing year-after-year.”

One deer can support hundreds of ticks while small mammals such as the white-footed mouse and shrews, can only host a couple dozen, he said. It’s important to pay attention to the small mammals, Mr. Roden-Reynolds said, because that’s where ticks get the infections, but targeting deer is more effective to manage the overall problem.

Dukes County had more than 300 cases of Lyme in 2023.

Ray Ewing

Dukes County had more than 300 cases of Lyme in 2023.

Ray Ewing

Though hunting is a solution to stopping the spread, at the same time Mr. Roden-Reynolds said ticks are dissuading people from hunting.

“I think people might be a little nervous to get out there in the woods,” he said.

Many hunters are concerned about the rise of alpha-gal, a syndrome derived from the lone-star tick that can make people allergic to red meat. Mr. Roden-Reynolds, who in addition to tracking ticks is also a hunter, treats all his clothing and gear with permethrin, a tick repellent.

“I was scouting out, putting up tree stands last weekend kind of crawling through the brush over my head [and] knocking stuff out of the way,” he said. “I’m all okay — no tick bites at all. [I was] suited-up securely, all-tucked in and wearing some gaiters. Dressing appropriately still works.” 

He said permethrin is the only practical way to enjoy the outdoors and repel ticks, but many hunters don’t use it because they worry the smell will detract deer.

“Hunters are nervous [about] using the permethrin product and coating all their clothing and gear because they don’t want to smell bad,” he said. “But permethrin is colorless and odorless, so it really shouldn’t affect the hunt at all besides giving you tick prevention.”

The ability to attract off-Island hunters is also on the state’s radar. Mr. Feehan said that the state won’t extend the mainland seasons until next year in an effort to make Island hunting attractive in January due to its solitary status. 

“The hope would be that we would get [more] off-Island hunters wanting to come in for the first year, to have a larger pulse, because of the fact that there wouldn’t be any hunting available on the mainland during that time,” he said.

Nelson Sigelman, an avid Island hunter, said while the extended season will offer an opportunity for hunters to continue at a time of year when there’s not much happening on-Island, he is skeptical that it will entice off-Island hunters. 

“There are a lot of barriers to that,” Mr. Sigelman said. “First of all, there is the cost of coming over here and then renting a place if they don’t have a place to stay. So it’s going to be interesting to see how attractive that is.”

Despite the threat of ticks and the illnesses they carry, and whether hunters arrive from the mainland or not, Island hunters are excited for the upcoming season.

Mr. Sigelman said he knows many hunters who have contracted alpha-gal, but still go out and hunt. Though they can’t eat the venison they harvest, they give it away to family members and friends.

“Most of the people I know who hunt, do it because they love being outdoors,” he said. “The harvesting of the deer is the bonus part, but they’re part of that Island outdoor tradition.”