Once again, it's time to gather up all your maps and notes from last year's hunt and sit down with your hunting partner to plan this year's outing.

Hunter Stan Weeks took this fine buck in a 2007 high-country hunt. Photo by Jason Sutcliffe.

Anyone who tried to cross the Cascades last winter has a clear understanding of the accumulation of snow at higher elevations. But the district biologists who reported to Scott McCorquodale, statewide deer and elk specialist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that the deer herds are generally faring well.

In most winter forage areas, the snow fell a few inches at a time and then melted off, allowing the deer access to feed before the next snow.

However, loss of habitat and widespread use of herbicides as a forest management practice are long-term concerns.

Last season's harvest was within a few percentage points of the 10-year average. The management objectives remain at a post-hunt buck-to-doe ratio of 15-to-100, with higher ratios in some limited-entry game management units.

The mule deer harvest numbers are down a bit, most likely due to the infestation of lice that caused hair-loss syndrome in the Region 3 herds.

DON'T GET FIRED UP Wildfires are always a threat to man, beast and the environment. Often, they ultimately work out to help deer by reducing the canopy and allowing sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor, but sometimes the effects of wildfires are damaging and long-reaching. The jury is still out on the long-term results of the Blue Mountain and Hanford Reach fires of the past few years. Hunters should always exercise care with campfires and make sure fires are dead out before breaking camp. For hunters who smoke in camp, field-stripping and properly disposing of every cigarette or cigar butt is an absolute necessity. You can check current statewide wildfire conditions at the state Web site, www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEduction/Pages/Home.aspx.

Blacktail numbers are up a bit. Overall, whitetails now make up almost 40 percent of the total harvest.

Modern-firearms hunters tagged a deer roughly 24 percent of the time. Muzzleloaders did slightly better, and archers did the best of all.

The following region-by-region breakdown -- based on interviews with WDFW game biologists, hunters, outfitters and the 2007 Deer Status and Trend Report -- will get into the nitty-gritty details to help you in planning your hunt.

REGION 6, Olympic Peninsula
South Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula counties make up this region, where deer hunting takes a back seat to steelheading as a favorite outdoor pursuit. The current game management plan is materially unchanged from past years. Any antlered deer may be taken in any GMU except 636, 654 and 681, which have a 2-point-or-better antler minimum.

Hunter success again fell a bit in 2006 from the high of 2004. But it still came in at 19 percent in the general deer season. The harvest rate decline actually demonstrates the quirks of statistics: More animals were taken during the last reporting season -- but there were simply more hunters working the region.

Hunters enjoyed special-permit seasons in the Satsop (GMU 651), Capitol Peak (GMU 663), Skookumchuck (GMU 667) and Wynoochee (GMU 648). These areas provide a high-quality, late-season hunt. Permit holders reported success rates exceeding 60 percent. This November, special-permit season allows hunters to work through the rut, which typically means a higher percentage of trophy-sized animals being taken.

For stay-at-home Westside hunters, this would be a good option.

For big numbers, Skookumchuck, Satsop and Mashel put the most deer on the table, year in and year out. Two areas that don't produce big numbers, but offer the region's best overall success rates, are Kitsap (GMU 633) and Copalis (GMU 642).

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Long Island (GMU 699). The few hunters who worked that area came back empty-handed.

REGION 5, Lower Columbia
Headquartered in Vancouver, Region 5 ranges along the Columbia River east through Klickitat County and north to Lewis County. In 2006, overall hunter success dropped to 16 percent, which was lower than the region's 10-year average.

Even though more hunters opted for Region 5, total harvest numbers were the second-lowest since 1997.