Deer Management News
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Staten Island deer count drops nearly 50% since start of vasectomy program May 8, 2026 New York, Staten Island Advance
... After nearly 10 years of the once-controversial vasectomy program, Parks Department data shows a 41% drop in the Island’s deer population... Staten Island’s program is unique as it focuses on vasectomies for the male deer population while the others focus on sterilizing female members. Those other programs have also been in geographies far smaller than Staten Island’s 60 square miles...
Deer Season Set, Apply Online May 8 2026 North Dakota Game and Fish
... with 39,100 licenses available to hunters, down 3,200 from last year, the lowest total in over a half century. Muzzleloader licenses were also reduced, and antlerless deer gun licenses are not available in several units... The statewide deer herd continues to recover from the lingering effects of the 2022-23 winter and epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreaks across a landscape with increasingly limited habitat...The spring mule deer survey showed western North Dakota’s population is 31% higher than last year, which is attributed to high over-winter survival. Conservative license allocations remain to support continued population rebound..,
Annual Presque Isle deer survey released May 8, 2026 Maine, The Mining Journal
... After all ten cameras had been deployed for 40 days and the data had been analyzed, researchers came to the estimate of 29 individual deer; 8 bucks and 21 does... a peak occurring in 2001 of one hundred animals... “Following the ban on feeding deer (May 2000) and the culling (January 2001), deer estimates have mostly been under 50 animals,” ...
Black bears spotted in Ohio again. Here's where, how to protect yourself May 7, 2026 Akron Beacon Journal
... Black bears, once eliminated from Ohio, are reestablishing a permanent population in the state.... The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates there are between 50 and 100 bears living in the state..,
Louisiana proposal looks to avoid critter clashes over rescued wildlife May 7, 2026 Louisiana Illuminator
... A Greensburg woman found and raised a white-tailed deer, Baby Belle, its mother had been hit by a car. The fawn was euthanized by wildlife agents ... a bill ... would establish procedures for the release of “contraband” or illegally held wildlife ... If the animal can’t be returned to the wild, either because it’s become domesticated, permanently disabled or a threat to humans, the new law would require state officials to find a zoo or facility to permanently house the animal if possible. “Euthanasia would be a last resort,” ...
Alaska wildlife agents can kill bears from helicopters in an effort to protect caribou, judge says May 6, 2026 Ottumwa Courier
... Two conservation groups, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity, sought to halt the program while their lawsuit challenging its legality plays out. But Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman said the groups had failed to show that the state acted without a reasonable basis for approving the plan...
Elk herds devastated by 2022-23 winter in NW Colorado have fully recovered May 6, 2026, Colorado Denver7
... "We’ve been adding licenses back for two years. ... Following these three mild winters, in this severe winter zone, elk populations are back at, or above, population objective." ...About 32,000 hunting licenses for elk, deer and pronghorn were cut in that part of the state in 2023 to allow the herds to recover...
Stay alert on the road as deer crashes spike in late spring, early summer May 6, 2026 Wisconsin Department of Transportation
... According to preliminary data, there were 17,795 crashes involving deer in Wisconsin in 2025, causing six fatalities and 720 injuries. Motorcyclists are at greater risk of injury in a deer crash. In 2025, 223 of the deer crashes involved a motorcycle, resulting in four fatalities and 80 serious injuries. This means 38% of motorcycle deer crash resulted in a fatality or serious injury, compared to less than 0.1% in auto or light truck deer crashes...
Arizona Builds on Leadership With Wildlife Crossings May 6, 2026 The Pew Charitable Trusts
... Species such as elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and desert bighorn sheep need connected landscapes to move between seasonal habitats for food, water, and breeding... In the past 25 years, Arizona has emerged as a national leader in the integration of wildlife crossings into transportation planning...
Elk wander to eastern South Dakota, and the state responds with unlimited hunting licenses May 5, 2026 South Dakota Searchlight
... The elk, which typically are more at home in the Black Hills and other rugged terrain of western South Dakota, are unwelcome guests in East River farm fields... Larson doesn’t dispute that crops are being harmed, but she said it may be premature to declare open season on all East River elk....
Ohio Wildlife Council approves hunting seasons for 2026-2027 May 4, 2026 Bay News 9
... The seasons are like last year, with the exception that only one antlered deer may be harvested, regardless of where or how it’s taken ...
CWD detected in new feedground May 4, 2026 Wyoming Fish and Game
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease on the Muddy Creek feedground... This is the fifth feedground in the state to have confirmed positive for CWD among elk... Game and Fish operates 21 feedgrounds in northwest Wyoming where supplemental winter feeding has occurred for more than a century ...
‘It’s Almost a Genocide’: Local Hunters Claim Cornell is Allowing for the Overhunting of Deer on its Land May 4, 2026 New York, Cornell Daily Sun
... Enslow said he used to hunt deer in the University-owned Mount Pleasant area, but now claims that he does not see deer there anymore... I would think that people would like to see deer, watch them [and] not kill them.” ...
Pitt County added to state deer disease surveillance area May 4, 2026 North Carolina, WCTI
... The updated designation took effect May 1 and follows a recent increase in confirmed cases of the disease in eastern North Carolina...“Thirty-three deer tested positive for CWD during the 2025–26 hunting season, bringing the total number to 67 since it was first discovered in North Carolina in 2022,” said Deer Biologist April Boggs Pope...
This Day in History: Vermont redefines deer hunting to save its herds May 4, 2026 WCAX on MSN
... On May 4, 1979, Vermont lawmakers voted to allow hunters to take antlerless deer during the regular rifle season. State biologists argued the change was necessary because an overpopulation of deer had led to many animals starving during previous winters...
Modeling chronic wasting disease transmission risk in mule deer related to habitat characteristics 2026, Wyoming, PloS one
... Results indicated that key habitat characteristics often selected by mule deer, such as proximity to secondary roads, were also associated with higher risk of testing positive for CWD, which supports the hypothesis that disease risk was correlated to patterns of habitat use by deer. We also found increased risk associated with spatial properties that were not selected-for by deer, such as areas where topography collects moisture, suggesting that prion retention mechanisms also play a role in risk...
It's Safe, but is it Good? Assessing Whether Québec's Protected Area Network Sustains High-Quality Habitat for Boreal Caribou - Natural Areas Journal, 2026
... Our findings imply that Québec′s protected area network is largely functioning as intended—limiting human disturbance and preserving natural areas. We suggest that protecting additional land within the boreal caribou distribution could be a “win–win” for the province, moving them toward their target for protected areas under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and their obligations to recover boreal caribou....
Wisconsin DNR faces budget crisis, slashing fish stocking and wildlife programs May 3, 2026 Gentleman's Pursuits on MSN
... Deer, grouse, and other species monitoring surveys are being reduced by 28 percent, which means the DNR will have less reliable data to work from when making management decisions... Chronic Wasting Disease testing will also see a 10 percent reduction, a development that should concern anyone who cares about the long-term health of the state's deer herd...
Utah Wildlife Board approves 2026 big game hunting permits May 1, 2026 Utah DNR
... The Utah Wildlife Board approved a total of 86,625 general-season deer hunting permits, which is a 6,425-permit increase from the previous year. “DWR biologists look closely at each hunting unit and individual situation when they make permit recommendations,” Wardle said. “We use the best available data and our management plans to make proactive recommendations for the herd health of our wildlife. We have seen benefits to our deer populations from habitat improvement projects, predator management and other work done to directly benefit mule deer. Our deer populations have responded positively to conditions over the last year, and changes to our statewide deer management plan have enabled us to offer more hunting opportunities for the 2026 seasons.” ..,
Why N.J. just quietly killed 94 deer in a park next to the Manhattan skyline May 1, 2026 New Jersey, NJ.com on MSN
... within a fenced-off section of Liberty State Park ... an ongoing cleanup of lead and arsenic contamination in the park...Trees and vegetation that served as the deer’s primary sources of food had been removed during the remediation and the deer were “starving,” ... state regulations prohibit relocating the animals ...
Raster maps of relative risk of chronic wasting disease transmission based on environmental covariates for the South Converse Mule Deer Herd, Converse County 2026 Wyoming, US Geological Survey
These spatial layers were created to provide estimates of relative risk of a mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) contracting chronic wasting disease (CWD) based on environmental properties of habitat visited by the deer. We modeled relative risk of disease transmission using location data from GPS-collared mule deer in Wyoming that were CWD-tested annually, and used generalized linear models (GLMs) to model the probability a deer contracted CWD within a one year time span contingent on environmental properties extracted from GPS use points....
The price of a mild winter April 30, 2026 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... From December through March, temperatures across the Cowboy State averaged between 5-10 degrees F higher than the 30-year average. Here in the Big Horn Basin it was at least 10 degrees warmer over the period ... Lacking the snowpack to grow vegetation, which deer rely on coming out of winter and into birthing season, can cause multiple problems, especially for fawns, he said. The forecasted dry summer climate will also increase wildlife diseases ..,
Bighorns mountain lion harvest bucks statewide trend April 30, 2026 Wyoming, Buffalo Bulletin
... As of press time, 270 mountain lions have been harvested statewide during the 2025-26 season so far, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department trophy hunting data. The department’s most recent three-year mountain lion mortality report compiled for 2022 through 2024 notes that, on average, 345 mountain lions are harvested each season...
Evidence of reproducing cougar population in Minnesota April 30, 2026 MN DNR
... For the first time in more than 100 years, evidence of cougars reproducing in Minnesota was documented in video captured by the University of Minnesota’s Voyageurs Wolf Project. The videos, shared with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources by the project researchers, show a female cougar with three large kittens...
Game and Fish habitat treatments boost vital winter range for mule deer April 30, 2026 Wyoming Game and Fish - Wyo.Gov
.... Mountain mahogany is a cornerstone of Wyoming’s landscape, providing high-protein browse crucial to the survival of big game, particularly during the harsh winter months. However, much of the state's mountain mahogany stands are aging, leading to a decline in nutritional quality ...
Mule Deer Foundation Awarded $320000 from California Department of Fish and Wildlife to Support Wildlife Corridors and Sagebrush Restoration in Modoc County April 30, 2026 California, The Outdoor Wire
...The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) has been awarded up to $320,265 through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's (CDFW) Restoration Grant Program: Nature Based Solutions – Wildlife Corridors to implement a large-scale juniper reduction project within the Modoc National Forest of northeastern California...
Game and Fish habitat treatments boost vital winter range for mule deer April 30, 2026 Wyoming Game and Fish - Wyo.Gov
.... Mountain mahogany is a cornerstone of Wyoming’s landscape, providing high-protein browse crucial to the survival of big game, particularly during the harsh winter months. However, much of the state's mountain mahogany stands are aging, leading to a decline in nutritional quality ...
Idaho Bans Cellular Trail Cameras on Public Land, Hunting Deer and Elk with Thermals, and More April 29, 2026 Idaho, Yahoo
... Idaho restricts hunting technology, including cellular trail cameras, drones, and thermals, for big game and upland birds for part of the year. Exceptions for predator management allow the use of technology for mountain lions, wolves, and recovering wounded game, making enforcement of the new law challenging...
Video Below: Oak Bay funds its own contraception program for local urban deer. April 29, 2026 Britiish Columbia
It was an experimental program aimed at reducing the urban deer population. It ran from 2019 to 2022 in several municipalities, including Oak Bay. And the population declined as a result. Provincial funding to continue the program ran out. As Mary Griffin reports Oak Bay has decided it's going ahead with the program.
Island deer population fared well despite harsh winter weather conditions April 29, 2026 Ontario, The Manitoulin Expositor
... Mr. Anderson said, “the key for deer and what kills deer is 90 days plus of constant depths of 20 inches of snow on the ground. How we likely escaped a large die-off of deer this winter is that we didn’t see large depths of snow until the third week of January. We also saw four separate freezing rains from Central Manitoulin to Western Manitoulin and crust formed on the snow likely for about three weeks, so they were able to stay on top of the snow,” ...
CWD, Officials lose hope as highly contagious zombie deer disease ravages herds April 28, 2026 Illinois, Yahoo
... chronic wasting disease, it has spread for decades, steadily infiltrating wildlife populations... In Illinois, wildlife officials recently ended a long-running culling program after determining it could no longer slow the spread...
Application period for Michigan elk hunt opens Friday April 28, 2026 State of Michigan
... The NRC also decreased the number of state-issued elk licenses to 200 (compared to 260 offered in prior years) based on a recommendation from DNR personnel to help stabilize the elk herd in the northern Lower Peninsula. A DNR aerial survey in early 2026 estimated the elk herd at 733 animals with a confidence interval of plus/minus 247, meaning the population could range between about 486 and 980 animals. That estimate generally falls within the DNR’s management goal of 500-900 animals established in the agency’s elk conservation and management plan...
This fast-spreading disease is being called the 'biggest threat' to deer. It's getting closer to CT April 28, 2026 Connecticut, Hartford Courant
... “We have been testing for it since 2003, collecting anywhere from a couple hundred samples to over 400 samples per year. At this point, we have collected over 10,000 samples that have all been negative... “This past year, we had a couple hunters harvest deer in Pennsylvania and brought it back to Connecticut to be butchered. That is illegal and has been for a long time now...
Drone-Assisted Deer Hunt Sparks Legal Case and Debate in Indiana April 27, 2026 Ksst Radio
... The case centers on a massive 17-point buck nicknamed the “Nucor Monarch ... . Drone flight logs, photos, and video obtained during the investigation showed the animal had been monitored extensively. Under Indiana law, using drones to track wildlife within 14 days of hunting season is prohibited...
Oregon overhauls Eastern Oregon deer hunting system as mule deer numbers drop April 27, 2026 Central Oregon Daily
... Eastern Oregon deer wildlife management units are being replaced by deer hunt areas aligned with herd ranges. "When those things were drawn up in the 50s, they were for deer. They were for elk. That really just didn't account for biology. They were a way to distribute hunters to the landscape,” ODFW Mule Deer Coordinator Josh Smith said...
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Deer in the News
State wants to know who shot this Oregon doe with a crossbow May 6, 2026 Oregon Live
... state Department of Fish and Wildlife workers were able to tranquilize the deer and remove an arrow from its neck, officials said. The second arrow, in the head, had apparently fallen out on its own. Both arrows appeared to be fired from a crossbow ...
Farmington Hills' beloved all-white albino deer struck, killed by car April 5, 2026 Michigan, USA TODAY
... The "unique deer captured the hearts of many community members," according to a Facebook post by the City of Farmington Hills on Tuesday, May 5, confirming the deer's death.
The case of Rudy the 'rescued' deer argued at trial. Its whereabouts remain a mystery. April 30, 2026 New Jersey, NJ.com
... Lowe admitted to having a deer and showed it to Riviello as it was in an animal stall. She told the story of how she rescued it in 2019 after it walked onto her farm, she found its mother dead nearby... Oxley testified about the permitting process for possessing wildlife, and said the state is currently not issuing any permits for deer due to chronic wasting disease ...
Forest the deer's future now unclear after FWC removal in Volusia April 30 2026 Florida, Yahoo
... The FWC report ... said he kept Forest longer than the allowed rehabilitation period and fed hot dogs to his deer ... Roddenberry said he will fight the FWC's allegations. He added that he did not feed hot dogs to deer and spent thousands caring for Forest... The FWC took Forest and two other deer at the property ...
Family Raised an Orphaned Fawn, She Left and Walked Back Home After 6 Months April 29, 2026 Tennessee, Yahoo
... a tiny, orphaned fawn whose mother had been killed in an accident... About six months ago, Moose left one night, and the Grahams thought they’d never see her again... [video below]
Orphaned as a fawn, Forest the deer will move to Deltona sanctuary April 28, 2026 Florida, AOL.com
... Deltona nonprofit 101 Paws and Claws is raising funds to take in Forest, a white-tailed deer that can't be released into the wild ... Forest has suffered multiple injuries, including a broken leg as a fawn. He was orphaned as a fawn...
The saga of Rudy, a rescued deer NJ is trying to take away from the only life he’s ever known April 25, 2026 NJ.com on MSN
... As her legal bills mount, Lowe created a GoFundMe earlier this month. “Did you know you could go to jail for saving an animal’s life?” she led off. “For years, I quietly cared for Rudy, giving him a safe and loving home. But last year, someone reported me for keeping a deer, and I’ve spent the past year and a half in and out of court. The case is still ongoing, and the legal bills are piling up...
Lawrenceville woman to stand trial over rescued deer kept on farm April 24, 2026 New Jersey The Jersey Vindicator
... Lowe found the baby’s dead mother lying in the forest that day and called the Mercer County Wildlife Center to ask for help. But workers there were less than interested... “let nature take its course.” ... The fawn would die ...
This Nashville country singer rescued a baby deer. Now they’re family April 16, 2026 Tennessee, Yahoo
... Abby Anderson, a singer-songwriter hailing from Southlake, Texas, is going viral for having an unexpected best friend. On April 15, the 29-year-old artist posted a video on Instagram sharing the story behind her relationship with a deer named Moose...
Biologists Surprised At How Healthy Three-And-A-Half Legged Elk Appeared To Be April 7, 2026 Montana, Cowboy State Daily
... the hearty appearance of the bull, and the cleanliness of the complete sever just below this bull's front left knee leaves us totally gobsmacked and wondrously puzzled ... The elk, which appeared to be at least five years old, was missing the lower half of its left front leg, right below the femur...
Deer in distress killed by environmental police in Lakeville April 6, 2026 Nemasket Week
... a deer with its head trapped inside of a plastic barrel ... It is not clear why the deer was killed instead of tranquilized and freed from the container. The Massachusetts Environmental Police did not comment on why the animal was shot...
Community and wildlife experts respond after video shows driver running over injured deer April 1, 2026 Wisconsin, NBC26
... "The deer may have been in an accident it may have been injured, it could have been a survivable injury. Not after the second time or the third time or the fourth time," Theys said... For some in the community, the video was too much to watch...
Environmental police search Lakeville for deer in distress March 30, 2026 Massachusetts, Nemasket Week
... A deer with its head trapped inside of a plastic barrel has been spotted in Lakeville ... head is completely trapped inside of a clear plastic container... “If it can't be found it will have a slow, painful death because of its inability to eat or drink,” ...
Video Below: Fire crews rescued a deer stuck on the ice on Cheshire Lake on Friday. March 29, 2026 Massachusetts
Poconos man killed 2 deer out of season, near townhouses ‘for fun,’ wardens say March 24, 2026 Pennsylvania, PennLive
... He allegedly killed the deer last Thursday and Friday by firing multiple times in the direction of the entrance to the Village at Camelback private townhouse development ... he documented the kill in text messages and videos sent to multiple recipients ...
Mountain lion kills a deer in Belmont: Early Tuesday morning March 21, 2026 California, San Mateo Daily Journal
... about 4:45 a.m. March 17 when a mountain lion jumped a running deer and tumbled to the ground on Makropoulos’ lawn. Within 15 minutes the deer was dead ... Mountain lion sightings aren’t infrequent in San Mateo County ...
Video Below: The deer was able to rest when the tide went down, according to the fire department. The deer walked away when the tide went back down. March 17, 2026 Maine
Fossil found in Toronto subway identified as an extinct deer from the Ice Age March 15, 2026 Canada, Earth.com
... Comparisons with ROM samples did not link the fossil to caribou, moose, elk, or living deer elsewhere in the collections. Instead, the fossil sat close to the branch that later split into white-tailed deer and mule deer... The new paper argues that this deer likely favored open ground, then lost that setting when dense woodland spread across the region...
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