Whitetailed Deer

[Ron Scott]

RE:  NEW DEER IMPACT DOCUMENT FROM THE USFS

White-tailed Deer in Northeastern Forests:  Understanding and Assessing Impacts
USDA Forest Service, NA-IN-02-14, 31 pp.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/2014/NA-IN-02-14_WhitetailedDeerNEForestsWEB.pdf

[mesquite buckeye]

Good publication. Nice explanation of highlining and long term impacts of overbrowsing by deer. Thanks Ron. ;D

[drobertson]

thanks Ron, good study, many facts I never considered,

[chain]

Very timely publication. I'm on a white-oak thing right now, trying to figure out why we don't have more w/o seedlings, saplings, as compared to hickory, maples, gum. Deer love the w/o seedlings and the ages of two major stands of our w/o, one stand of century plus , the other a 60-70 year stand seems to coincide with deer populations of the last century. Surprised to see sassafras listed as low-preference species. And, American ginseng...highly favored by deer; could it be the whitetail is the culprit in swiping out the last patch we had?

[VT_Forestry]

Excellent read, thanks for sharing

[DMcCoy]

What you NEED are cougars, bobcats, and coyotes.  We seem to have extras around here, and the local hunters would be very happy to see you get some ....all of them.
I have never figured out why you have had too many for so many years.  Do they taste bad or what?


 

[kwendt]

 Thanks for the article....

lots of info... I was kind of startled. We have (what seems to me) rather a lot of deer on our property. So many that you cannot walk across the fields or marginal forested areas... and not see them. In the day. Loads of tracks and pellets everywhere. Yet, it seems like the back fields are almost overgrown with saplings: Birch, beech, fir, maples, spruce, apple, and raspberry canes. You'd think the birch wouldn't be taking over the fields.... cause of so many deer. Front fields are still clear, with about 15' or so of birch encroachment...

Short of fencing... what about creating wildlife areas or 'feeding grounds'... and then just fencing the apple orchard area? Would the deer still come into the fields and the areas I want to grow witch hazel, elderberries, aronia, winterberry and such? Hum... I'd think likely so.

Still... I guess there is an 'upside'... I can't wait for hunting season next year...

See picture... hopefully attached to the post... a photo of the field/forest fringe edges. You can't tell, but there's a 200' wide cut through about center of the picture, that leads to the Mid Fields', There used to be a similar cut through, over a stream and into the far Back set of fields... that whole back area is totally overgrown with saplings taller than me. You can see how the birch is taking over the fields and fast.  And for all the deer we have... no browse lines that I can see. LOTS of deer sign. Literally in the fields, during the day... while several of us were walking and talking. (Yeah, I know... and lots of field prep work coming this spring! lol).
 

 

[beenthere]

On the Home page, near the bottom (scroll down) you will find the "recipe" to post pics.

At any move that doesn't work, just give a shout back. Will help you make the next move.

Click the "Click here to add Photos to post" below this window and you should be off and running. A second window pops up and already set to upload your pics if in .jpg format.

That will put pics in your gallery.

Click on the pic you have, and then when it enlarges just SCROLL down below it to see the "add to post" options.
Before leaving a post, click the "Preview" button to make sure it is what you meant it to be.

That's all there is to it.

[kwendt]

Thank you, Beenthere! I'll go try that...

On the Home page, near the bottom (scroll down) you will find the "recipe" to post pics.

At any move that doesn't work, just give a shout back. Will help you make the next move.

Click the "Click here to add Photos to post" below this window and you should be off and running. A second window pops up and already set to upload your pics if in .jpg format.

That will put pics in your gallery.

Click on the pic you have, and then when it enlarges just SCROLL down below it to see the "add to post" options.
Before leaving a post, click the "Preview" button to make sure it is what you meant it to be.

That's all there is to it.