REGIONAL— A third straight mild winter bodes well for the northern St. Louis County deer herd and, most likely, for deer hunters this fall.

With the snow down to several inches of hard crust and little snow in the forecast, it appears the winter severity index, or WSI, will finish the season well within the mild category.

Tower area assistant wildlife manager Jeremy Maslowski said the WSI around the Tower work area ranged from a low of 45 in southern parts of the region, to 104 in Isabella, where greater snow depth boosted the index reading. Maslowski, who tracks the WSI at his home at the southern tip of Lake Vermilion’s Pike Bay, said he has tallied a reading of 86 so far this season.

The WSI adds a point for every day with a subzero temperature reading and a point for every day with snow depth of 15 inches or greater. In Tower, a season-ending WSI reading of 125 is considered average.

“This definitely bodes well for the deer recovery,” said Maslowski. The deer herd took a hit from tough winters in 2013 and 2014, but largely recovered as the mild winters helped minimize deer mortality and boosted fawn production. Maslowski said the deer herd rebound is particularly noticeable to people this spring, as significant numbers of them are showing up along south-facing roadside slopes.

The evidence of the mild winter is apparent in the deer themselves, which still appear sleek and healthy. In a harsher winter, deer often appear gaunt and bony by the time late winter rolls around. But not this year, notes Maslowski. “You can still see the bulge in their bellies. They look like it’s still fall rather than late winter,” he said.

Yet another mild winter is likely to push DNR wildlife managers to liberalize the 2017 deer season. “This should be great news for hunters this fall,” according to Tower area wildlife managers. Maslowski said that discussion will begin in early April, with a decision on deer permits expected sometime in May or early June.