Deer Permits go on Sale and Summer Deer Survey Opens August 1

Published on Tuesday, July 30, 2024

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announces that deer permits for legal regulated hunting, including the “All Outdoors” package, will go on sale Thursday, August 1. All licenses and permits can be found online at DEM's Rhode Island Outdoors (RIO) online system at www.RIO.ri.gov and at local sales agents. In addition, DEM’s annual Summer Deer Survey opens on Thursday, August 1.

Deer permits are sold as antlered or antlerless deer permits. Hunters must have the appropriate deer permit in their possession to legally hunt and harvest any deer. The cost of each deer permit for residents is $13.00 online or $13.50 at a sales agent; for non-residents, the cost is $26.50 online or $27.50 at a sales agent. The cost for the resident “All Outdoors” package (five antlerless and two antlered deer permits) is $78 online or $81 at a sales agent. There is an enhanced access fee applied to purchases at sales agent locations that are used to offset the administrative costs to bill, track, and account transactions at sales agent locations and support system development, operation, support, and maintenance.

To view the current deer hunting rules and regulations such as tagging and reporting requirements, hunters can pick up a copy of the 2024-25 Hunting and Trapping Regulation Guide at local sales agents. The regulations guide can also be found online here. For more information about Rhode Island’s hunting and fishing licensing system RIO, click here. DEM’s annual Deer, Deer Harvest and Deer Hunter Summary serves as a guide for future management decisions to maintain a healthy deer population. All reports can be found on the DEM's Division of Fish & Wildlife's (DFW) Wildlife Conservation and Research webpage.

For the fifth year in a row, DEM is encouraging all members of the public to participate in a summer deer survey, which is a community science initiative designed to monitor deer during the summer months. All live deer sightings can be reported from Aug. 1-Sept. 30. This information is helpful in determining the number of fawns that survive after common causes of mortality such as predators, weather, and deer vehicle collisions are considered. This data will help DFW biologists obtain fawn-to-doe ratios and an index of reproductive rates through time, informing sustainable management of the state's deer population.

To participate in this year's survey, the public can submit their reports via Survey123, an online survey platform that also hosts DFW's Herp Observer and Wild Turkey Brood Survey. The Survey123 smartphone app allows users to record observations on the go. Participants will need to download the Survey123 app prior to opening the survey link. Observations also can be submitted on a computer. To report observations via Survey123, please use the following link on your smartphone or computer: https://arcg.is/1SCKWi0.

Tips to remember during the Deer Survey:

• Record deer observed from dawn to dusk (when headlights are not used for driving).
• Record all deer you see.
• Do not include multiple observations if you are sure the same deer is being seen repeatedly.
• Do not include trail camera counts in your observations.
• Fawns don’t always have spots in September. They have a short snout compared to adults (see below).

Hunting has a long tradition in RI, supporting family customs, providing locally sourced meat, connecting people with nature, and attracting tourism to the state. DEM works to protect and enhance wildlife habitat in Rhode Island forests and management areas to ensure healthier, more diverse, and abundant wildlife populations. White-tailed deer are a common sight in Rhode Island. Regulated hunting has proven to be the most cost-effective, efficient, and successful method of controlling deer populations, which in turn ensures that the population remains in balance with ecological and social factors. DFW runs a robust deer program, offering opportunities for hunters to harvest deer across the state with lengthy season, liberal bag limits, and extensive access to public lands. DFW biologists seek to balance deer hunting opportunities with maintaining a healthy deer population and reducing negative impacts associated with overpopulated deer, including agricultural crop losses, nuisance complaints from residents, and especially deer vehicle collisions.

DEM supports deer hunting through DFW’s Hunter Education Program. Safety training is required by law in Rhode Island for beginner hunters and to date, more than 40,000 people have completed a hunter safety course, helping to reduce related accidents in the state and elsewhere. A complete schedule of hunter educational offerings is available online here.

Licensed hunters are law-abiding, respectful stewards of our natural resources and according to the recent Rhode Island Hunter Sentiment Survey, most hunters hunt for food rather than trophies. In addition to the sport of hunting and spending time in the outdoors, harvested deer are a great source of local, free-range, organic meat that hunters, their families, and friends consume in a variety of wild game recipes. RI’s 2023-24 deer hunting season yielded over 49 tons of consumable venison, equivalent to almost 200,000 meals. Hunting deer is a traditional use of this natural resource and meat from harvested deer is not wasted but is often frozen and consumed throughout the year. By harvesting wild game, hunters reduce reliance on factory-farmed meat that often travels thousands of food miles to the grocery store. DEM’s enforced seasons, rules, regulations all aim to reduce and manage deer populations rather than eliminate them. Hunters remove a portion of the population, which alleviates competition for resources. During winter, food resources are scarce which can lead to starvation when there's an overpopulation of deer. Additionally, deer hunting season does not coincide with the animals raising their young.

Hunters provide funding for wildlife conservation through their purchase of firearms and ammunition through the Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration Program, and through the purchase of their state hunting licenses and permits. These funds are distributed to each state by the federal government and used to conserve land, manage habitat, restore wildlife populations, and much more. In 2023 alone, Rhode Island received $7,176,940 in funding for wildlife restoration from this program. Hunters and anglers purchase around 70,000 licenses, permits, stamps, and tags each year and contribute more than $235 million to Rhode Island's economy. With the help of hunters, DEM has protected thousands of acres for wildlife in RI, continued our research and monitoring efforts for both game and non-game birds and mammals, established a strong research partnership with University of Rhode Island, and continue to provide hunter education and wildlife outreach opportunities for the public. Without the contribution of legal and responsible hunters, DEM would not be able to conserve and protect our state's wildlife.

Follow DEM on Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM), Facebook, or Instagram (@rhodeisland.dem and @ri.fishandwildlife) for timely updates. Follow DFW on Facebook and Instagram (@ri.fishandwildlife) to stay up to date on news, events and volunteer opportunities. You can also subscribe to DFW’s monthly newsletter here. Sign up here to receive the latest press releases, news, and events from DEM's Public Affairs Office to your inbox.