Deer Management News This Week

Disease threatens Va. deer, moose and elk, CWD May 24, 2013 Virginia, TriCities.com
...  its spread could be impossible to stop. Chronic wasting disease ...  it is nearly impossible to contain and even harder to track, said Ed Clark, president of the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro.  "The disease is very likely to come out of that quarantine area," he said. "There has been no effective strategy in the United States to contain the disease." ...

Remove predators prior to fawning May 23, 2013 Oklahoma, Southwest Farm Press
... Deer are one of the most intensively-managed game species in Oklahoma and Texas... Removing predators such as coyotes can benefit fawn recruitment in the short term and may be necessary in areas with low deer numbers or poor habitat. On the other hand, if you fail to harvest enough does, causing herd densities to exceed the carrying capacity of your property, coyotes and other predators may actually benefit your herd by helping keep deer numbers in check...

Bill allows Sunday deer hunting with bow and arrow May 23, 2013, Connecticut, The Hour
Sunday deer hunting with a bow and arrow could soon be permitted on private land in Connecticut. The state House of Representatives voted Thursday, 107-19, to repeal a ban on such hunting as part of an effort to manage the state's deer population...

Odds will be slimmer in deer lottery, population decline May 23, 2013 North Dakota, Bismarck Tribune
... The number of deer tags available to North Dakotans for this season is 59,500, the lowest since 1983.  Of the 5,800 reduction in tags for this season, 47 percent came from hunting units in Red River Valley, said Randy Kreil, wildlife division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.  “That’s a direct result of the severe winter in the northern and eastern part of the state and its impact on the deer herd,” Kreil said...

West Caldwell, Council votes to investigate deer hunt May 23, 2013 New Jersey Hills Newspaper 
... Members of the Township Council gave their unanimous approval Tuesday night'to a municipally sponsored deer hunt ... Councilman Dominick Aiello said he is in favor of the hunt, but would like to see the plan. "Just so we have a plan in place," he said.
The mayor and council also discussed whether to  change ordinances regulating the use of rifles and cross bows in the township...

Block Island, Council suggests deer hunters only take one buck May 23, 2013 Rhode Island, Block Island Times
... “I don’t see the reason to limit it,” said First Warden Kim Gaffett, who opposed the vote. She disagreed with Blane. “Now you can take x number of does and three bucks. You’re just reducing your overall potential of deer taken by two.”  Blane argued that the hunters would hunt bucks instead of does if allowed to take more bucks....

... Hunters are passing up smaller bucks, working to keep the doe population in balance and making improvements to wildlife habitat. All this is good news for sportsmen who believe they can enjoy a more rewarding hunting experience when the deer herd is healthy and the bucks are of an older-age structure...

Hunters need to band together to save deer population May 22, 2013 South Carolina, Enquirerherald
... Although our statewide deer population exploded during the 1970s and 1980s, it has reversed and fallen steadily during the past decade, according to Ruth.  Sadly, these harvest numbers show this trend is continuing and we now have 30 percent fewer deer roaming the Palmetto State than in 2002... activities related to timber management that stimulated population growth 30 to 40 years back, but those stands of trees are now grown to a point that they don’t allow sunlight to hit the forest floor... Coyotes are decimating the deer herd ...

Mountain Lion Study On Track in North Dakota May 22, 2013 North Dakota, The Epoch Times
 ... Mountain lions have a reputation of preying on large animals like deer and elk and while that is a part of their diet, Wilckens said they fairly versatile in what they will eat.  He said they are known to also hunt smaller mammals like porcupines, beavers, raccoon and in one case, there is evidence a mountain lion killed a coyote.

Bald Head permitted for deer birth control May 21, 2013 North Carolina, Port City Daily
... Officials with the Bald Head Island Conservancy (BHIC) and a group of property owners who’ve long fought for the “immunocontraception” method hope to begin darting deer with the control drug late this year or early next... The drug for the task is called GonaCon, developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Wildlife Research Center and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

Chronic Wasting Disease in a Whitetail Deer, Caroline County, MD - May, 21



... Residents of Weston, MA have no trouble understanding that their homes were built in an area that supports a sizeable population of whitetails ... Regional surveys by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife indicated deer numbers in the area at about 20-30 whitetail per square mile. That’s a tad north of the 10 deer per square mile that the habitat can adequately sustain. [ recent U.S. Forest Service research puts the optimal deer density at 15 to 28 with forest regeneration at higher densities]

...  A long-term trend of declining populations has spurred several studies, as scientists look at predation, food supplies and energy development as possible factors.... Wildlife officials stress that the public’s understanding of the decline is critical and opportunities to have an open discussion with researchers and biologists can provide valuable insight...

UP groups awarded deer habitat improvement grants May 21, 2013 Michigan, East Village Magazine
... The projects, totaling $50,000 of DHIPI grant money, will improve deer habitat in Alger, Dickinson, Iron, Mackinac, Menominee and Ontonagon counties.  The DHIPI grant program is designed to attract and support proposals from non-government organizations interested in improving white-tailed deer habitat in the Upper Peninsula...

Bryan, Control of deer debated May 21, 2013 Ohio, The Bryan Times (subscription)
... Tom Kochert, wildlife officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said aerial thermal imaging has shown Pulaski and Center townships contain between 40 and 50 deer per square mile — one of the highest deer populations in the state... He said deer overpopulation can contribute to disease, specifically epizootic hemorrhagic disease, bovine tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease. Kochert said the latter spreads from deer to deer “like wildfire,” [new research suggests chronic wasting not strongly related to deer density] 

Rock Island, Deer Population overwhelming some RI Residents May 21, 2013 Illinois, cbs4qc.com
... in a study done by helicopter, more than 400 deer were spotted inside city limits ... Some residents, like Dave Jurmu, believe that's a problem ... "People have a difficult time with hostas. I love hostas, but that's founder for the deer." ... "I love them, they're beautiful, but there are too many of them,"

Marshalltown, City plans to continue urban deer hunt May 21, 2013 Iowa, Marshalltown Times Republican
... Twenty bow hunters purchased 44 of the 100 available licenses, and eight of the 20 reported killing a doe....  An aerial survey showed that the deer population is up from two years ago but still down from four years ago prior to the program's start...

Key Deer - May 20, 2013


Final two deer meetings to be held May 20, 2013 Vermont, WCAX
... The next hearing is Tuesday in Lyndonville. And the final hearing will be June 5 in Manchester. [Comment from reader]:  I'm not 100% sure but this meeting might actually be about the final two deer in Vermont.

... “These men came to Iowa specifically to road hunt trophy bucks during the rut,” said Deb Howe, state conservation officer for the Iowa DNR. “They did not have any licenses or tags to hunt in Iowa during the time they were here.” ...

 ... CDFW senior wildlife biologist, Greg Gerstenberg. “While this theory is still under investigation, what we do know is that the louse has impacted migratory populations of California deer which now have a low fawn survival rate ...

...  a $4.3 million general fund appropriation to the cash-strapped Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, which is almost double last year’s allocation ...  Among its many provisions, H. 101 will ...  Repeal the reimbursement for deer and bear damage to crops, livestock and bee hives, so that Fish and Wildlife will only have to pay claimants who derive at least 50 percent of their income from farming...

Ban on deer hunting is shot down May 18, 2013 Massachusetts, Boston.com
...  A proposed hunting ban in Weston’s town forests failed with a show of hands by residents packed into a standing-room-only Town Meeting ...

... Fawn:doe ratios (FDRs) remained below statewide, regional, and most unit-group 22 year means in 2012. Despite a 21% decrease in the number of SDO observers, the statewide FDR remained the same (0.86) as in 2011. Also, the number of ODW observers declined 42%, but the statewide FDR declined to 0.80 from 0.93 in 2011. Although all regional FDRs remained below 22 year means, the central forest showed a slight increase, but the western farmland had a marked decrease. Fawn:doe ratio estimates from the SDO survey were 10–30% below the 22 year SDO mean in 10 groups, but were 1–13% above the mean in three northern forest groups...

Farm group against new deer-hunt regulations May 18, 2013 Ohio, Columbus Dispatch
... The new regulations will reduce bag limits .... “We’ve been very liberal the last seven years, especially with our bag limits,” ODNR Director Scott Zody said. “The bag limits were readjusted to be more in line with the actual harvests that were coming in.”    The Ohio Farm Bureau stated its opposition yesterday.  “Deer cause millions of dollars in crop damage every year in Ohio, and our state is one of the highest-risk states for automobile accidents caused by deer collisions,” ...

... [Steve] Chapman, OOC and the long-established Oregon Hunters Association (OHA) all share similar goals — to improve the herds for hunters in Oregon — but Chapman says he is no longer 100 percent certain that targeting predators and pushing bills allowing hound hunting or bear baiting are the answer. The problem lies with lands lost to grazing and roads built for logging, he says, not cougars and wolves.  That’s not a popular stance to take among conservative hunting organizations that have long blamed and targeted predators...

Wolves called state's most divisive wildlife issue May 17, 2013 Washington, The Columbian
“Washington has sufficient ungulates (primarily deer, elk, moose) to support wolves through recovery and beyond,” [Nate Pamplin, assistant director] “But at times wolves will impact populations and keep them down in some areas.” He promised more research and monitoring  ... Since the first wolf pack was confirmed in 2008, at least 10 packs have formed with territories of up to 300 square miles...

Lack of cooperation is root of hunter complaint May 17, 2013 Pennsylvania, GoErie.com
Hunters have complained harshly that population estimates were propaganda. The Game Commission dreaded releasing estimates of the deer population... Harvest estimates are vital to deer management, especially to antlerless deer license allocations. Without reasonably accurate harvest estimates, determining the number of does that should be removed from the population is just guesswork... 

Deer Season Recommendations to be Presented Next Week May 17, 2013 Wisconsin, Wisconsin Ag Connection
...Department of Natural Resources officials received input from over 700 people at a series of deer hunter forums held around the state in March and through more than 13,000 responses to an online survey on deer management issues ... "We've put a high priority on hearing the public's perspective on deer management issues. ... " said Kevin Wallenfang, DNR big game ecologist...

Rural King recalls deer corn May 17, 2013 Illinois, KFVS
... Deer Corn was distributed to 63 retail stores in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan... it has the potential to be contaminated with aflatoxin...

...The estimated deer density in the park will be 49 deer per square mile (260 deer) after fawns are born this spring. Although still above the plan’s initial target level of 31-35 deer per square mile, this represents a significant reduction from the estimated 241 deer per square mile (1,277 deer) present in 2009...  National Park Service staff has documented native species seedlings that had not been just a few years ago, including maple, ash, oak, black gum, hickory, cherry, and sassafras...

Ashland's wild deer numbers on the rise May 17, 2013 Oregon, Mail Tribune
... The 65 volunteers covered 56 sections of Ashland and counted 192 deer, according to a story in the Ashland Daily Tidings.  This was up from 187 deer seen during a similar exercise in 2011...

... Deer in Oregon have had this problem for years, but it’s relatively new to California. Biologist believe it was either brought here through illegal transportation of deer, or simply deer walking over the boarder... they ask if anyone sees one of these bald deer to call them so they can check it out... 

Public Land Deer Hunting: How to Save America's Whitetail Woods May 16, 2013 New York, Outdoor Life Magazine
... Grant Woods, a renowned deer biologist ... “The unnatural idea that public lands shouldn’t be managed by man is creating deserts for many species of wildlife .. Right now preservationists are stopping logging and prescribed burns to create a static utopia. They imagine forests without man. They think anything we humans do is damaging by definition... ” ... New York’s Adirondack Park ...“There were more deer there in 1960 than there are today, as the forest was at that time growing back and providing a lot of browse for deer.”

Listening session jabs state on elk, mountain lion management May 16, 2013 South Dakota, Rapid City Journal
... Lions got their fair share of attention, with some hunters saying GF&P allowed the lion population to grow to problem levels that damage deer and elk herds. Harry Burk of Hermosa said, however, that management of the lion seemed designed to "wipe out a whole species."  Critics also challenged the agency over elk management, which they said allowed elk to virtually disappear in some parts of the Black Hills while continuing to cause trouble for landowners in other areas... 

Wild hogs cause lots of damage May 16, 2013 Florida, First Coast News
 ... We've actually caught some that we've harvested and found baby deer hooves inside so they are omnivores... Researchers say a conservative estimate of the cost of wild hog damage to agriculture and the environment in the U.S. currently stands at $1.5 billion dollars annually...

...  An estimated 6,000 dee are killed on Utah roads each year ... crews are installing massive culverts and 8-foot fences along 11 miles of Highway 89 just east of Kanab... The new fencing along the roadway will have posts designed to funnel deer into culverts ...

City outlines deer-thinning plan May 16, 2013 Wisconsin, The Sheboygan Press
... Domagalski said the city carried out an aerial survey in February and counted 86 deer on the north side of the city, mostly near the Pigeon River, and found 18 deer on the city’s far south side... North side residents approached the city last year complaining that deer were doing damage to their shrubs, flower beds and gardens and demanding that action be taken to thin the herd...

Legislators' fix for Ohio deer season is rejected May 16, 2013 Ohio, Columbus Dispatch
...A body of state wildlife officials narrowly shot down a proposal yesterday to change deer-hunting regulations for a second time this spring, decrying it as a veiled power grab by Republicans in the legislature. ... the council eliminated two hunting weekends in December, replacing them with two muzzleloader-only dates in October in an attempt to kill more female deer and cull the herd. It also cut the statewide bag limit in half ... 

Searching the internet to find and conserve deer information

Deer in the News

First clone of his kind turns 10 at A&M May 23, 2013 Texas, Houston Chronicle
... Keith Randall, the assistant news director for Texas A&M says that Dewey is looked after by Alice-Blue McClendon, a veternary professor at the school.  He is "spoiled rotten" according to Randall, and loves to be petted and fed, weighing all of 175 pounds.   "He lives a life of luxury, he's a grandfather, and he grows huge antlers every year," says McClendon ...

If You Care, Leave It There May 23, 2013 New York, DEC News Release
...  Finding a fawn deer lying by itself is also fairly common. Many people assume that young wildlife found alone are helpless and need assistance for their survival, however, in nearly all cases this is a mistake and typically human interaction does more damage than good. Those that see a fawn or other newborn wildlife should enjoy their encounter but keep it brief, maintain some distance and do not attempt to touch the animal...
     Most fawns are born during late May and the first half of June. While fawns are able to walk shortly after birth, they spend most of their first several days lying still. During this period a fawn is also usually left alone by the adult female (doe) except when nursing. People occasionally find a lone fawn and mistakenly assume it has been orphaned or abandoned, which is very rare. Fawns should never be picked up. If human presence is detected by the doe, the doe may delay its next visit to nurse.
     A fawn’s best chance to survive is by being raised by the adult doe. Fawns nurse three to four times a day, usually for less than 30 minutes at a time, but otherwise the doe keeps her distance. This helps reduce the chance that she will attract a predator to the fawn. The fawn’s protective coloration and ability to remain motionless all help it avoid detection by predators and people.
     By the end of its second week, a fawn begins to move about more and spend more time with the doe. It also begins to eat grass and leaves. At about ten weeks of age, fawns are no longer dependent on milk, although they continue to nurse occasionally into the fall. During August, all deer begin to grow their winter coat and fawns lose their spots during this process.

Kats Deer: My little Nikki girl. Her Mama was killed by a hunter who brought her to me. You never know what gifts God has planned for you. - May 23, 2013



Fawning all over May 33, 2013 West Virginia, Wheeling Intelligencer 
... Residents ... spotted a newborn deer nestled in the grass near the front porch ...  There was no mother deer in view for several hours ... The residents who witnessed the event knew to leave the fawn alone as the mother would eventually return. And she did. [most of the time] ...

Eh? Leave fawns alone May 21, 2013 Minnesota, Budgeteer
... Even if you don’t see the mother around, a fawn almost certainly has not been abandoned. Unlike human mothers that cling to their newborns, deer mothers often move away from fawns while feeding to avoid drawing any attention to newborns... The DNR notes that mama doe will come around every four or five hours to check on the fawn, and she is usually within earshot. .. 

San Juan Islands, Fawn season: four tips to help them along the way May 20, 2013 Wasington, Islands' Sounder
... The Black-tailed Deer we have here on the San Juans mostly give birth to their fawns in May, so right now is the peak of fawn season.... Keep dogs under control...  Drive carefully... Do Not Disturb ... If you find a fawn that is injured or weak please call Wolf Hollow at 378-5000 ...

Fallow deer draws reader response May 20, 2013 Ohio, Bucyrus Telegraph Forum
... here is John's message:  “Just wanted to know if anyone in the Crawford-Richland area raise fallow deer,” Niedermeier said. “Three of them just showed up at my dad's farm in Crawford County over the weekend. They are very friendly and have been hanging out in his yard." ...

...  National Geographic photographer Joe Riis ...documenting the migration of Wyoming's pronghorn antelopes.  The antelopes have been making the 200km trek _ one of the longest among land mammals _ every autumn from the state's Grand Teton National Park to their winter habitat in the Upper Green River Valley, returning in the spring.  The migration has been taking place for some 6,000 years, but as development has expanded, the antelope now face man-made hurdles, such as fences, roads and housing developments...

... A Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer was caught poaching a trophy deer in October, but the state agency tried to keep the poaching incident from becoming public, a six-week CALL7 Investigation found...

Two Easy Steps Discourage Deer May 15, 2013 Ohio, Community Common
... the battle to protect ornamental plants from deer and rabbit browsing is winnable... Step One. Installing PlantSaver with new plants or adding it to existing plants will not work until the Bitrix is absorbed ... Step Two, a plant food tablet containing 6-8-8 fertilizer, a wide array of soil mycorrhizae, and one percent Denatonium. Called PlantSaver, this small pill can be easily pressed two inches deep in the root zone of any ornamental plant...

Deer Pictures - May 16, 2013



Deer rescue caught on video May 15, 2013 Colorado,
KKTV 11 News
... The deer was wrapped in wiring from a tomato cage ... Wildlife officials told Jordan the animal may have not survived if Nikole Jordan hadn't stepped in...

Wildlife ranger fined for poaching mule deer May 15, 2013 Colorado, Colorado Springs Gazette
... A Colorado Parks and Wildlife ranger has been fined and demoted for using artificial light while poaching a trophy mule deer after legal hunting hours last October. Trinidad Lake State Park ranger Travis McKay was cited in October ...

Deer Survives Smashing Through Bus Window - May, 2013


Deer gets on, off city bus May 15, 2013 Pennsylvania, The Tribune-Democrat
... CamTran spokesman Josh Yoder said the bus was carrying one female passenger when the deer crashed through the windshield of it. "The driver immediately stopped the bus," Yoder said. "He opened the door and the deer just walked off the bus." ... [video above]

Deer Captures Bobcat - May, 2013



Watch for the Trailing Deer May 14, 2013 New Jersey, Atlantic Highlands Herald
... When you drive in rural or suburban areas where deer sometimes cross the roads, you learn to watch for the trailing deer. Deer often travel in small packs, so when you see one cross the road, there's likely to be more...

Oh, Deer! Crew Frees Trapped Animal May 14, 2013 Missouri, Electric Co-op Today
  ... “They were checking for cave-ins and they found a deer in the ditch about the time we pulled up,” said Rob Hirst, a Co-Mo line foreman ... “Once we freed the sides he came out and took off on a dead run,” Hirst said. “He lost quite a bit of hair on his hind legs from where he was wedged in,” but otherwise appeared fine from what they could see before the deer vanished...

WADA Drops Deer Antler Velvet from Banned List  May 13, 2013 Florida, Natural Products INSIDER
... The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) dropped deer antler velvet from its list of banned substances after admitting the supplement has been wrongly accused. Deer antler velvet, a substance used in Chinese medicine for more than 2000 years ...

Vijay Singh and Golf's Deer-Antler Mess May 13, 2013 New Yorker (blog)
... Deer-antler spray was big news once already this year: in a long article published just before the Super Bowl, Sports Illustrated reported that the Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis may have used the spray ... , Singh, who’s won some sixty-seven million dollars on the P.G.A. Tour in the course of a long, workmanlike career, admitted to antlering up. He was using the spray “every day,” 

Amanda and the Deer Puppies - May, 2013



White-tailed deer is second-largest ever taken by a hunter May 13, 2013 Indiana, Pete Thomas Outdoor
... An Indiana hunter is now officially in the Boone and Crockett Club record books as having taken the second-largest white-tailed deer known...

Spring sightings reveal glorious magic of antlers May 12, 2013 Montana, Billings Gazette
... Deer antlers can grow more than an inch every day, making them the fastest-growing living tissue we know... Research indicates that antler growth is a function mainly of heredity ... environmental factors also influence antler development. For instance, if a buck’s extremities are damaged, there’s a chance that damage can express itself as an antler mutation...

Deer aren't mean, they're just curious May 12, 2013 Texas, Herald Zeitung
... deer are inclined to pull up anything new that is planted. They are curious animals. They also seem to especially like plants directly from the nursery. These plants have been well watered and are growing rapidly so are full of moisture ...

Marylanders Reminded to Keep Fawns Wild May 11, 2013 Maryland, Southern Maryland News Net
... With late spring being the prime birthing time for white-tailed deer, the ...  While young deer often appear to be orphaned, in most cases the doe is nearby protecting and feeding their offspring as needed...

Friendly Deer - May 12, 2013



... One big change here the past couple of years, is fire remediation efforts in places like Trail Canyon here. A lot of the smaller trees and underbrush has been cleared away to provide less fuel. That also allows some of these grasses to grow in greater abundance, which makes for pretty good grazing, if you're a deer.The deer go where the eating is good. For the moment, that's low in the canyon...

Oh Deer! Woodland Creature DIY Projects May 8, 2013 Arizona, Nevada County Picayune 
... Will the deer trend ever get played out? For years already, hipsters have been screen printing deer onto everything, from living room couch pillows to T-shirts ... Buck and Doe Flower Pots: Paint buck and doe on ceramic or clay flower pots for instant style and fun...

Weird Buck Won't Shed His Antler May 8, 2013 Texas, Quality Deer Management 
 ... This buck isn’t the first to hold onto an old antler while growing new ones. In fact, the condition has a name: Doppelkopf. It’s a German word that means “double set,” and it’s a condition documented in numerous species of deer but rarely in whitetails...

... filed suit Wednesday against the PGA Tour over the doping allegations involving deer antler spray. Singh was initially sanctioned by the Tour after admitting to using the substance, then was cleared of wrongdoing last week ...

Cayuga Heights deer get national exposure on PBS May 7, 2013 New York, Elmira Star-Gazette
... Deer from the Village of Cayuga Heights are a central element of “The Private Life of Deer,” which debuts at 8 p.m. Wednesday on the network’s NATURE documentary series... The film focuses on why deer thrive in suburban areas, and where they go and what they do when typically out of sight.... [The show mentions the large increase in the deer population in the past 100 years, but around 1913 the deer populations in the U.S. had been decimated.  Conservation and deer relocation programs were being initiated in many parts of the U.S. after this period to restore the deer herd.  Western New York, where the show was filmed, is one of the areas that does currently have a high deer population.  See the decline of deer populations in the U.S.]

Man could face criminal charges for hitting deer May 7, 2013 Wisconsin, WISN Milwaukee
... The video, shot from the nearby We Energies building, shows the truck coming to a stop in front of a group of deer, flashing its lights, backing up, then accelerating down the road and hitting one of them ... [see video below]

Man accused of shooting at deer from Walmart lot May 1, 2013



Those darn deer! How to repel the garden gluttons May 7, 2013 Oregon, Bend Bulletin
... Hang bars of soap near trees or shrubs ... Create a homemade repellent spray by mixing one part whole eggs to four parts water. (To avoid clogging your sprayer, remove the chalaza, the membranous white cord attached to the yolk.) ... Rotate repellents, either commercial or homemade... a motion-activated sprinkler ...