Urban Deer Management:

Challenges & Opportunities

H. Brian Underwo od , USGS-Pa tuxe nt W ild life Researc h

Ce nter, 4 26 I llic k Hall, State Un ive rsit y of Ne w Yo rk ,
Colleg e o f E nv iron me ntal Scie nce & For estry , S yracuse, N Y
1321 0
 Top ics
• The Phenomenon
• The Issues
• The Options
• The Challenges
• The Opportunities
 Dee r In O ur Mid st
• Where did “suburban” deer
come from?

• Biological Mechanism?

• What theory doesn’t tell us

THEN…
AND NOW.
 Th is is My Sto ry
(and I ’m st ic king to it )

1) Extensive land uses (including

suburbanization) have replaced intensive
land uses over the last 100 years

3) Forest cover (%) increases as land use

becomes more extensive

5) Predation risk decreases with increasing

forest cover

7) Harvest rate (%) decreases with

increasing forest cover
1900 1950

2000 2050
Morristown NHP, New Jersey
 Systems Model

Deer
+ Population − Predation Risk

Death Fraction
Birth Fraction
Forest Cover

Land Use Intensity

 Mortality Release Irruption Number of
Percent
Forest Deer
100 1200

80 1000
PF
800
60 DP
600
40
400
20 200
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Year of Simulation
Role o f R efug es & Pa rks
• Parks and Refuges played a major
role in re-establishing deer across
the Great Lakes Region

• Many refuges established in the

years following the Great
Depression

• These refuge populations became

the “sources” of deer for adjacent
lands as habitat suitability
increased
 Unsuitable

URBA
N

RURA
L
Suitable
 OD

CO
VE
FO

R
WATER
 What Theory Doesn’t Tell Us
• These are “no crash” irruptions because
food and water are not limiting…only
cover is limiting.

• Suburban/urban landscapes subsidize

deer populations through access to high
quality food resources (e.g., ag lands,
fertilized lawns, golf courses, PROW,
mast producing trees).

• Leads to overabundance in the

“ecological” sense.
 IS SUES
• Deer Vehicle Collisions
(DVCs)

• “Damage” to vegetation

• Lyme Disease
 Legend
DVC locations
DVA Locations
Open Water
Developed, Open Space
Grassland/Herbaceous
Woody Wetlands
Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands

Each year, deer-

vehicle crashes
cause more
than 200
deaths and tens
of thousands of
injuries, while
racking up $1.1
billion in
property
3 1.5 0 3 6 9 12 damages.
Kilometers
Howlett Hill, Marcellus, NY
Buckley Road
 Land
Cover
agriculture: 33.7%
forested: 25.7%
development: 18.6%
wetlands/open water:
13.8% Legend
Open Water

scrub: 6.9% Developed, Open Space

Developed, Low Intensity

field: 0.7%
Developed, Medium Intensity
Developed, High Intensity
Barren Land
Deciduous Forest
Evergreen Forest
Mixed Forest
Shrub/Scrub
Grassland/Herbaceous
Pasture/Hay
Cultivated Crops 4,600
2,300 0 4,600 9,200 13,800 18,400
Meters
Woody Wetlands
Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands
Urban – Suburban Green Space

± 0 0.5 1 2 3 4
Kilometers
Lyme Disease
Lyme
Disease is
the number
one
reported
vector-
borne
disease in
the US.
 The Opt ions
• Manage the
“impact” only
– Exclusion or
shunting

• Manage the
population
– Direct reduction
– Fertility Control
 Man ag in g Imp act
• Excluding deer from protected
areas has been the long-standing
first response to increasing
numbers

• Shunting deer impact to other, less

valuable areas has been essentially
ignored as a viable management
tool
If you build it…..
 Man ag in g Pop ul at ions I
Cleveland Metro Parks

16,581
32,285 Processing
Site/Equip Prep
Training
36,359 Equip/Supplies
15,972 Shooting Team
Security
5,000 20,250

Total cost ~ $126,447 for 288 deer ($439 per deer)

Managing White-Tailed Deer
in Suburban Environments
A Technical Guide

Anthony J. DeNicola, Kurt C. VerCauteren,

Paul D. Curtis, and Scott E. Hygnstrom
 Man ag in g Pop ulat ions II
Fertility Control
• State of the Art is still a multiple-
exposure, single shot, remotely delivered
vaccine

• Scope is about 200 females

• 90% contraception rate for 10 yr will

reduce a population by one-half

• Access is a key limiting factor

 Th e C hallen ge s
• Nuisance abatement in a
pluralistic society is divisive
business

• Some stakeholder groups feel

disenfranchised because they
don’t hold core values

• Must be absolutely transparent

process for buy-in
 Th e O pportun it ie s
• Chance to be pro-active
• Engage Regional/Local Planning
Agencies
• Work with landowner/homeowner
groups
• Generate boilerplate for local
municipalities’ planning and zoning
boards
 Concl usio ns
• Suburban/Urban deer are a
product of natural processes of
contemporary landscapes
• Deer “expanded” their range into
suitable habitats that had people
in them too
• Nuisance issues predominate
discussion of management
• Traditional options are limited
• We need to expand our sphere of
influence to “prevent” future
problems