Deer Management for Forest Landowners and Managers

Deer Management for Forest Landowners and Managers
Author: David S. DeCalesta
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2019-04-17
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1466580178

This book is designed to help landowners and forestry professionals develop, implement, and monitor programs to manage both deer and forests with emphasis on resolving deer impact issues. Chapters cover management strategies through identifying and setting goals; managing deer populations and deer impact on land; economics of forest, deer, and impact management; human dimensions of deer management; and developing and implementing integrated management plans. The book presents an integrated, quantitative approach for managing deer populations and impacts so users can manage forest resources sustainably.

Assessment of the Urban Public's Knowledge of White-tailed Deer Management in Two Texas Communities

Assessment of the Urban Public's Knowledge of White-tailed Deer Management in Two Texas Communities
Author: Jessica Lynn Alderson
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2010
Genre:
ISBN:

Urbanization throughout much of Texas has resulted in diminished wildlife habitat, resulting from fragmented landscapes. Several previous studies addressed the public0́9s attitudes concerning the most acceptable white-tailed deer management techniques in urban areas. As a departure from these studies on urban residents0́9 acceptance of alternative urban deer management strategies, this study assessed the types of information required by urban residents to more fully understand the best management practices for urban deer herds. Two Texas communities, Lakeway and Hollywood Park, were chosen for this study. Since the 1990s, urban deer herds have negatively impacted these communities through increased deer-vehicle collisions, defined browse lines throughout the community, and human-deer encounters. The current number of households in each community was determined and used to calculate the household sample size in Lakeway (N= 4,090, n = 704) and Hollywood Park (N= 1,547, n = 616). An Internet survey was developed which asked an adult resident of each selected household about his or her knowledge of factors that lead to population growth in urban white-tailed deer populations, personal encounters with an urban deer herd in the community, the types of management options he or she would choose in dealing with the urban deer herd, and why and what types of information the respondent would most like to have regarding urban deer management. Finally, demographic information was asked such as age, gender, level of education and years of residency in the neighborhood. The information derived from this study reveals the public0́9s knowledge, attitudes, actions, and expectations concerning over-abundant white-tailed deer populations in Lakeway and Hollywood Park, Texas. This information can be used to assist communities such as Lakeway and Hollywood Park, as well as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, to develop appropriate educational materials that will provide relevant, current, and accurate information about urban deer population ecology and management for the urban resident. The methods of this study will serve as a useful tool for others to develop pro-active management strategies for controlling over-abundant urban white-tailed deer populations and aid in reducing the conflict between urban deer managers and the public.

Ecological and Societal Impacts of Suburban White-tailed Deer

Ecological and Societal Impacts of Suburban White-tailed Deer
Author: Rachael Elizabeth Urbanek
Publisher:
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

Many natural resource agencies are managing white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in suburban areas and require information about deer populations, deer impacts on vegetation, and human preferences toward deer and deer management to support decision making. The author's study, based in the Chicago Metropolitan Area during 2007-2011, utilized a multi-faceted approach to investigate common obstacles in suburban deer management. In these findings, the author discusses the need for managers to examine suburban deer populations and management issues at a broader scale (i.e., countywide versus single community) and the promotion of proactive deer management in lieu of the conventional paradigm of beginning management only when deer populations have become overabundant. Discussion topics include practicality and costs of deer density estimation and herbivory monitoring techniques over multiple plant communities and numerous study sites. In addition, the author illustrates how a comprehensive human dimensions survey can identify determinants that contribute to the public's perceptions of deer density and assess the acceptability, conflict, and beliefs regarding deer management methods. Lastly, the author describes the relationship between landscape characteristics and deer density; this information can be utilized to determine suburban lands that may be prone to high deer densities and inform land management practices. The author's work provides suburban natural resource managers with techniques to identify management practices supported by their public constituents and information useful for managing deer populations.