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An Overview of Virginia’s Deer Management Program

Learn about Virginia's deer management program, including population and habitat status, management goals, economic impact, deer damage demands, deer kill permits, and site-specific management programs.

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An Overview of Virginia’s Deer Management Program

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  1. An Overview of Virginia’s Deer Management Program Image pertaining to presentation goes here. The Virginia White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus Matt KnoxDeer Project Coordinator matt.knox@dgif.virginia.gov

  2. Deer Population Status • 1931 25,000 • 1938 50,000 • 1950 150,000 • 1970 215,000 • 1980 422,000 • 1990 970,000 • 2000 940,000 • 2010 900,000

  3. Deer Habitat Status Land Cover of Virginia. Sources VPI-CMI VDGIF Fish and Wildlife Information Services -4/00 39,504 square miles of land area in Virginia 37,819 estimated deer habitat (96%)

  4. Deer Management Plans Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) to represent the interests of all citizens.

  5. Deer Management Plan • Population Goal • Habitat Goal • Damage Goal • Recreation Goal Each goal area contains specific objectives and strategies. Mission Statement: Sustainably manage white-tailed deer as a wild, free-roaming public resource to serve the needs and interests of all citizens of the Commonwealth.

  6. Cultural Carrying Capacity versus Biological Carrying Capacity Tourists/Hikers Deer Hunters Farmers Commuters • CCC is defined as the number of deer that can coexist compatibly with humans. CCC is a function of humans’ tolerance of deer and their effects. CCC can vary widely between and within communities. • BCC is defined as the maximum number of deer that a habitat can sustain over time. BCC CCC 0 Competing Values

  7. Economic Impact of Deer Hunting • Estimated at more than $500 million annually

  8. Deer Damage Demands • Agriculture Damage • Urban Damage • Deer-vehicle collisions • Disease concerns Deer Kill Permits

  9. Check Stations, Telephone, and Internet • Started in 1947 • Actual known minimum count • 8 million deer • 2004 phone check in initiated • 2007 Internet check in initiated • 2017 Smart phone app. • ~83% check by phone/Internet

  10. Deer Kill Virginia deer kill 1947-present

  11. Virginia’s Deer Management Model • Deer management in Virginia is predicated on the fact that herd density and health are best controlled by regulation antlerless deer harvest levels. Management objectives are accomplished by increasing or decreasing the number of either-sex deer hunting days during the general firearms deer season. Harvest Sex Ratio: Hayne-Gwynn Method

  12. Regulated Deer Hunting • Although there are a number of techniques for managing deer populations in different circumstances, tradition, management efficiency, and cost effectiveness necessitate the use of hunting as the primary deer population management strategy for free-ranging deer across most of Virginia. Deer hunting is a viable, cost-efficient management tool that not only maintains a healthy deer resource, but also diminishes deer crop damage levels, deer-vehicle collision rates, and deer ecosystem-impacts.

  13. Site Specific Deer Management Programs • DCAP Damage Control Assistance Program • DMAP Deer Management Assistance Program • DPOP Deer Population Reduction Program • Out of Season Deer Kill Permits (§29.1-529) • Urban Archery (designated counties, cities, and towns) • Earn A Buck (designated counties and all cities and towns) • APR (seven counties)

  14. DOD Areas (> 30 sites)

  15. Deer Management in NOVA • 1991 initiated bonus deer permits • Mid 1990’s created DPOP • 1999 bonus deer permits made antlerless only • 1999 held first managed hunts • 2000 along with FRPA developed pilot archery program • 2001 first archery hunts held • 2002 urban archery season initiated • 2004 increased tags on big game license from 4 to 6 • 2006 late antlerless only NOVA firearms initiated (1 month) • 2008 early September antlerless only NOVA archery initiated • 2008 NOVA late firearms extended to three months • 2008 earn a buck (EAB) initiated • 2009 bonus tags increased from 2 to 6 • 2011 unlimited daily bag limit • 2011 issued 4,300 DPOP tags to 22 properties in the Fairfax County Management Program. • 2013 early September antlerless only changed to firearms • 2013 EAB changed from 1:1 to 2:1 • 2013 late April antlerless only archery initiated 8 month long deer season Unlimited antlerless daily and season bag limits

  16. Biological Deer Database • The Department gets biological data (age, weight, antler data, etc.) from 10-15,000 deer annually. Since 1988, this database contains over 18,100 datasets and nearly 600,000 deer. Quantico (36 years and ~26,500 deer)

  17. Hunter Surveys • 1968, 1978, 1983, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015. Statewide. Total All Weapons Success Rate (%)

  18. Bow Hunter Survey • Annually since 1998. Deer Observed per Hour

  19. Stabilize Deer Plan Requirements • defined deer management units, • a measure of current deer management status, • a population management objective, • a strategy to attain the objective, and • a method to monitor deer population response (i.e., success or failure). Increase Reduce 95 Counties 38 Cities 190 Towns Deer Management Options

  20. Deer Population Objective Increase population Stabilize population Reduce population Deer Population Management Objectives Private land deer population management objective by management unit. Objectives taken from Deer Management Plan (http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/deer/management-plan/ )

  21. Management Unit Status Down 46%

  22. Increase population Stabilize population Reduce population 2017 Ten Year Trend Ten Year Trend Deer Population Objective Northern Mountain Northern Piedmont Deer Population 10 Year Trend Increasing population index Declining population index Tidewater Units without an arrow are stable Southern Mountain Southern Piedmont Figure 1. 2017 private land deer population status by management unit (10 year trend). Objectives taken from Deer Management Plan (http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/deer/management-plan/ )

  23. The Mothership

  24. The Mothership The Mothership Access Database Demonstration

  25. The Future of Deer Management Decline in Deer Hunters Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

  26. Licensed Deer Hunter Numbers We have lost approximately 1/3 of our licensed deer hunters over the past 25 years.

  27. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) • North America • 25 states • 2 Canadian provinces

  28. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) • Over 13,000 samples collected from Virginia since 2002 • Initial detection in Frederick County in 2009 • CWD Containment Area: Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren, and Clarke counties • Samples collected via: hunter-harvest, road-kill, cooperating processors, clinical suspects • 2009 – 2017: • 38 positive deer • 35 in Frederick County • 3 in Northern Shenandoah County

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