Non-typical Stuff | Deer Hunting & Management

The Control of Suburban Deer

Controlling Whitetail Populations

White-tailed deer populations in metropolitan areas of Texas are increasing significantly. The same thing is happening across the US. Deer populations have been increasing due to both conservation efforts and deer herd and habitat management, but in many areas a low mortality rates is the number one reason for rising population. To compound the issue,the human population of most cities in the United States is also rising.

In order to make room for the expanding human population, deer habitat is being destroyed as development of residential areas is increased. Each year these residential areas grow, spreading farther out into rural areas. Simply go for a drive in the “country” or rural, low-human population areas, on the edge of any metropolitan-urban setting and you will discover that the “country” getting further and further away!

The Adaptable Whitetail

The good news is that deer, especially whitetail, have a strong survival instinct as well as the ability to adapt to their changing environment. When their previously-forest or farmland habitat is cleared out and developed, they are pushed out temporarily. After homes are built-out and neighborhoods are completed, white-tailed deer will often return to live on the edges of these areas, in whatever suitable habitat they can find. Their previous food sources are replaced with new ones. Deer are also regularly fed by well-meaning humans.

Prior to the development of their habitat, deer would feed in the woods and fields and develop diets based on the natural foods found in their environment. After the development is complete, the whitetail will use new food sources including gardens, trees and other plants which have been planted in the new residential areas. Often, these deer stay out of sight, sleeping, eating and breeding until their population overtakes the “carrying capacity” of their new, reduced habitat.

Carrying Capacity in Suburban Areas

Carrying capacity is the quantity of animals that a given area can support, based on cover and food limitations. When the overall habitat available in an area is reduced, the carrying capacity of that area will also be reduced. It takes a very short time for an existing population of deer to exceed this carrying capacity within these new developments.

This causes problems due to the increased occurrence of deer-car accidents and other conflicts between the respective deer and human populations. These deer can become “nuisances” to the human population around them, due to limited space. That’s the time when the deer population control options start getting discussed. In these cases, cultural carrying capacity is more important than actual environmental carrying capacity.

Methods for Controlling Deer

There are several methods for controlling overabundant deer populations. Options which are considered, when deer population control becomes necessary are as follows: 1) Deer contraception, 2) Trapping and relocation of deer, 3) Removal of deer from the population by hiring sharp-shooters to shoot the deer, and 4) Removal of deer through bowhunting.

Contraception has never been shown to work in a free-ranging deer herd. It’s also expensive to try. Trapping and sharpshooting are also relatively expensive because the methods involve contractors for hire. In all the above situations, the costs of control is directly related to the amount of time ($/hour) someone has to spend carrying out the operation, plus the costs of supplies.

Trapping and relocation can be effective but is also high cost and very time consuming. Most metro city councils, parks departments and home owners associations have very small, if any, budgets for deer population control efforts. The use of sharp-shooters can be effective but, again, the cost will be high and the idea of high-powered firearms being used near residential areas is not popular with residents.

It has been shown through various studies that hunting is a cost-effective means for reducing suburban deer populations when compared with other tactics. In most cases, bowhunting is the method of choice for reducing the herd. The real cost savings come from not having to pay someone to remove or handle deer. Insteads hunting is merely allowed, promoted.

Birth Control in Deer

Deer contraception is conducted by trapping female deer (most of the time), sedating them and placing a contraceptive implant under their skin. These deer won’t become pregnant for a fixed amount of time until the implant becomes ineffective. This tactic has been proven to be high-cost and low effect because the majority of the female deer in an area need to be trapped and the cost of the drugs and the cost of trapping the deer are both high.

Others have tried to sterilize male deer through castration. Whether males or females have been treated, no contraception or sterilization project has succeeded in reducing a free-ranging deer population. Due to the survival instincts of the deer, it is difficult to trap a large enough portion of the deer population to make brith control an effective population control tactic.

Controlling Deer and Mitigating Risk

Managing deer numbers means having a goal and mitigating risk. The potential for accidents is not a risk that most city councils and parks departments, not to mention the local residents, are willing to take, regardless of the chosen control method. Again, bowhunting has been proven to be a safe and effective way for the deer population to be reduced. Also, the cost to the city councils and parks departments is minimal.

The deer which are harvested are either taken home by the hunters themselves or donated to local food banks, providing much needed, inexpensive protein for those in need. The hunters involved in these highly organized hunts are volunteers who donate their time. The opportunity to be in the woods is payment enough for them.

Organization of such take of deer (hunting) becomes increasingly important as non-traditional deer habitat increases and deer-population control measures become necessary. Management of deer herds involves removing some of the deer from areas where deer numbers exceed the overall carrying capacity. This reduction increases the health of the remaining deer population and reduce the occurrence of deer herd disease and winter-kill. Hunting is the safest and most economical way to reduce the overall deer population in a given area, but it must first be accepted and then implemented wisely.

Remembering Justin Hurst

From the time he was a teenager guiding goose hunters on the Texas coastal prairies, probably even before then, Justin Hurst was subconsciously preparing himself to make a difference in natural resource conservation. Those who knew him say he seemed to approach life with that goal in mind. Although his journey was cut short when he lost his life in the line of duty on his 34th birthday, March 17, 2007, Hurst had already made his mark on the Texas landscape. And, the impacts he had on the state’s wildlife resources, as well as on his family, friends, coworkers, and even adversaries, serve as his legacy.

“Game Warden Justin Hurst personified all of what Texas Parks and Wildlife represents,” Col. Peter Flores, TPWD Law Enforcement Division Director, says. “He cared for wildlife, he was a pillar of his community, and he cared deeply for his family and was a faithful public servant. His death is a great loss to the people of Texas.”

Hurst started his career with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as a biologist in August 1995 specializing in waterfowl management along the mid-coast. Fellow wildlife biologist Matt Nelson remembers joining TPWD at the same time as Hurst.

“He went to Peach Point (Wildlife Management Area) and I went to Mad Island (WMA), both of us worked on the central coast wetlands project,” Nelson recalls. “We had numerous research projects going on at the same time and spent most weeks together; fish sampling, working up alligators and mottled ducks. A lot of late nights together running around the marsh in air boats. Justin was very enthusiastic, dedicated towards the resource and approached everything full-bore.”

At Peach Point WMA, Hurst was able to submerse himself in his passion for waterfowl and the marsh habitat. For six years, he built a reputation as a wildlife biologist who understood the resource and conservation.

“He got it,” offers Dave Morrison, TPWD waterfowl program leader. “He understood the importance of resource management and conservation and could relate that to others. He was a heckuva biologist.”

That’s why it came as such a surprise when he announced plans to become a game warden.

“No one within the project saw that coming,” says Nelson. “He never mentioned anything to us, and then out of the blue he said he planned on going to the game warden academy. He’ll always be a biologist to us. The thing about Justin, whatever he put his mind to, he’d do it well. We lost a good biologist.”

Hurst became a part of the 48th Texas Game Warden Academy and graduated in August of 2002. While at the academy, Hurst shared his knowledge about waterfowl with fellow cadets and actually taught duck identification techniques. Some of his classmates referred to Hurst as the “Super Cadet” because of his diligence and drive.

After graduation, Hurst served about a year in Brazos County when a game warden slot became open in Wharton County. Hurst met with then TPWD Law Enforcement Division Director Col. James Stinebaugh personally to make his case for a transfer.

Stinebaugh says the decision to transfer Hurst was a no-brainer, but admits it did cause a rumbling in the ranks at the time.

“Typically, we required at least two years experience before letting a warden put in for a transfer, but it just made perfect sense to put Justin back down there because we needed someone who knew waterfowl in that position,” Stinebaugh says. “I took some heat for that move, but it was the right move.”

Hurst’s supervisor, Capt. Rex Mayes, says he knew well ahead of time he would eventually see Justin Hurst working in his district some day and is glad the colonel broke from tradition. “I remember meeting him for the first time when he was still in the academy,” Mayes recalls. “He said he wanted to come to my district because we had the bay that he loved so much. I remember when he left my office that first time; it was a rude awakening for me because I was seeing for the first time a new breed of game wardens, the whiz kids.”

Game wardens who worked in the field with Hurst remember him most for his preparedness, dedication and respect for others; even those individuals he issued citations to for game law violations.

Hurst is survived by his wife, Amanda, and son, Kyle Hunter, age 4 months, his parents, Allen and Pat Hurst of Bryan, a brother, Greg Hurst of Denver, Colorado, and in-laws, Larry and Jeanie Wilcox of Denton, Texas.

Memorial fund donations may be made to Operation Game Thief, c/o Justin Hurst Memorial Fund, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX, 78744. The Houston 100 Club is also accepting donations for the family at: 100 Club Survivor’s Fund 1233 West Loop South, Suite 1250, Houston, TX 77027-9107.

Cajun Boudin Recipe

Recipe:

2 lb Pork meat, 30 % fat (Pork Butt works well)
1 1/2 lb Pork liver
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Black pepper
1 large Onion, finely chopped
3 Green onions, chopped
12 cups Cooked rice
2 tablespoons Cajun spice
1 Lot sausage casing

Place meat in enough water to cover and season with salt and pepper. Cook until meat falls apart. Remove meat and reserve some of broth. Grind meat, onion, and green onions. Mix the ground meat mixture with the Cajun spice, rice and enough broth to make a moist mixture. Taste mixture and adjust seasoning. Using a sausage stuffer, stuff the mixture into sausage casing.

Refrigerate or freeze.

Deer Over Abundance in Wisconsion

Deer are certainly an important and enjoyable part of the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and other conservancy areas throughout the City of Middleton, Wisconsion. Indeed, deer are wonderful, beautiful, wild animals which people seem to love to watch and feed. White-tailed deer are also an important part of an even greater plan, an ecosystem more complex than we can ever imagine. So what happens we deer overpopulate their habitat?

As agricultural lands disappear and our urban areas continu to grow, the telltale signs of an overpopulated and un-balanced urban deer herd will be exhibited everywhere through the loss of native plant species (trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants), damage to private residential vegetation (trees, shrubs and herbaceous shrubs), and an increased number of car-kill deer accidents within associated suburban and urban areas.

Maureen Rowe, DNR , a Wildlife Biologist for the Dane County Area, sums it up best by stating:

"The deer herds within management units 76 and 76M, are severely over populated. Scientific studies document that current deer population levels threaten microhabitat, severely impacting native flora and fauna."

Hunting for Shed Deer Antlers

Hunters hunting for shed deer antlers has become a big event in recent years. People search for antler sheds for various reasons and some of those folks are not even hunters. Some want to find shed deer antlers to make various items out of… lamps, knives, etc. And then there are those that are serious about finding shed antlers for buck tracking and management purposes.

Hunting for Sheds

Finding shed antlers (especially both sides) allows the finder to rough-score the bucks to get a good idea of current and future quality. In addition, finding a particular buck’s antlers can let you know if he’s made it through the winter or if he’s still in the area. Also, finding numerous shed antlers over years on a particular piece of property allows you to gain knowledge regarding the areas that bucks are frequenting.

Finding a Buck’s Shed Antlers

So, where are the best places to look? The basics are simple. Look for shed antlers in winter food sources, in bedding areas and along trails in between these two areas. These are the best locations to run across a shed, but timing is of the greatest importance. Start too early in the season and you’ll find nothing. Starting too late means antlers will either be partially or entirely eaten by small mammals and other rodents or vegetation will be well-grown, making antlers even more difficult to find.

So when?

Of course, antler drop varies by region and even likely even within parts of your state. I recommend keeping an eye on the deer herd or using a game camera to document when bucks are losing their head-gear in your area. Then it’s just a matter of getting out there and putting in some time. Good luck!