State biologist outlines new deer regulations and January "primitive" season for Nantucket

Martin Fehan, deer and moose biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, told the Nantucket Select Board on Sept. 10 that the agency has adopted a regulation package intended to increase deer harvest and reduce ecological and public‑health harms on islands such as Nantucket. Fehan said the package, passed by the Fish and Wildlife Board and promulgated in May 2025, includes a new January ‘‘winter primitive’’ season for Wildlife Management Zones 13 and 14 (which cover Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket), a clarification that standing crops and normal agricultural practices do not constitute baiting, authorization of deer decoys during archery seasons, removal of a daily antlerless possession limit, and expanded use of the youth deer permit. The changes are intended, Fehan said, to boost hunter success and reduce deer abundance where…