ABSTRACT
Most big game species in North America are found in western portions of the continent that were sparsely settled by European immigrants, less desirable for agriculture, and therefore largely in public ownership. The model for managing big game species in the western United States is for habitat management to occur at low intensity on government property, most landowners to tolerate presence of the game species on private property, and state agencies to manage populations using public hunting and data from game surveys. Although this paradigm applies to white-tailed deer management in some areas (Chapter 14), a different approach has developed in many portions of the white-tailed deer’s range because much of the area is in private ownership, whitetails are relatively sedentary, and property sizes are sufciently small
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................453 Population Dynamics ............................................................................................................................. 454
Control of Population .........................................................................................................................455 Establishing Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 456 Evaluating Status of the Population .................................................................................................. 456 Adjusting a Population to Goal ......................................................................................................... 457
Reducing the Population .............................................................................................................. 457 Growing the Population ............................................................................................................... 457 Sex Ratio ...................................................................................................................................... 457 Age Structure ............................................................................................................................... 458 Culling ......................................................................................................................................... 458
Fawn Production ............................................................................................................................... 459 Adult Survival ................................................................................................................................... 459
Nutrition and Habitat Management ....................................................................................................... 460 Reducing Herbivore Density ............................................................................................................. 460 Habitat Management ......................................................................................................................... 460 Supplemental Feeding ....................................................................................................................... 461
Disease Management ............................................................................................................................. 462 Managing Genetic Potential for Antler Growth ..................................................................................... 463
Selective Harvest ............................................................................................................................... 463 Translocation of Wild Deer ............................................................................................................... 467 Pens to Control Breeding ................................................................................................................. 467 Release of Captive Stock .................................................................................................................. 468 Final Thoughts on Genetic Management ......................................................................................... 470
Putting the Pieces Together: A Case Study ............................................................................................ 472 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................474 References ...............................................................................................................................................474
