As the autumn progresses to colder weather and completion of the harvest, HUNTING SEASON becomes a popular pastime in the Finger Lakes. TAProots Vineyard is not open to the public, like the State Park lands adjoining it, but we do encourage friends and neighbors to hunt our land. Keuka Bluff supports several types of game, including white-tailed deer, wild turkey, cotton-tail rabbit, red fox, coyote, and black bear. A few weeks ago, an apparent New York State record black bear (603 pounds!) was bagged a couple of miles south of the vineyard. However, the reason to encourage hunting is totally to manage the oversized and damaging deer herd on the Bluff. At dusk or on motion- cameras at night, it is routine to view 10-15 deer in our fields and orchards. One of the largest costs in the vineyard is deer damage mitigation, including deer fencing, solar-powered electric fencing, netting of grapes and berries, cages around newly planted trees, wrapping and caging larger fruit and nut trees to prevent girdling by bucks rubbing off velvet from their antlers, and “blue tubes” to prevent browsing of buds off newly planted grape vines. This year, a large field’s soil is being improved by planting rutabagas and other root crops, attracting even additional deer. The hunting season begins with bow-and-arrow season in late September, a youth hunting day, and hunting days limited to guns using black gunpowder, with the main rifle season ten days around Thanksgiving. We have encouraged use of blinds and stands up in trees. So far, two trophy bucks have been harvested even before the main season, as a way to reduce the herd’s size to limit damage to the orchards and vineyards.
TAProots
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