With the beginning of the 2000-2001 hunting season just six days away, Maury Bedford, the acting manager of the St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge, thinks it important to let area hunters know about two new regulations governing the harvest of deer during the hunting season.

&uot;We’ve gone to a mandatory deer check system,&uot; Bedford said. &uot;All deer that are harvested on the refuge must be checked in at the mandatory deer check stations — the Sibley Unit (on Pintail Road) and the Cloverdale Unit (located off Bourke Road).

&uot;The mandatory deer stations are self-clearing, which means they (hunters) are required to make necessary measurements and record the data,&uot; he said.

The other new regulation to go into effect at the start of hunting season on Sept. 30 is a tagging system for antlered deer.

&uot;All bucks that are harvested on the refuge must possess these tags, which must be affixed to the deer prior to the removal of the deer from the location from which they were harvested,&uot; Bedford said.

The tags are to be permanently attached to the animal and must be completely closed. Antlerless deer are not required to be tagged.

Failure to properly tag antlered deer will result in immediate forfeiture of the animal, a citation and possible forfeiture of the hunter’s annual public use permit, and all remaining tags assigned to that hunter.

Using another person’s tag or allowing another person to use a tag are also infractions that could have similar consequences.

&uot;We’re trying to get better biological data on the deer herd at the refuge,&uot; Bedford said. &uot;It lets us know if we’re harvesting too many or too few deer, which gives us a better understanding of overall deer herds and appropriate management decisions to ensure healthy deer herds.&uot;

For more information about the tagging system or the hunting dates, please contact (601) 442-6696 before hunting on the St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge.