Deer Overpopulation

I have noticed recently that, after being educated on the matter that the general public seems to have a misconception that there isn’t as many deer as there used to be. The truth is that there are more deer than there ever was. It is estimated that around the time when European settlers first arrived in Wisconsin, there were about 4 persquare kilometer and as low as 2 per square kilometer. After Massive logging operations in the late 1800’s more edge habitat was opened up for whitetail deer because of all the clearcut, and open areas. This allowed the whitetail deer populations to rise. Right after World War 2, populations were around 14 per square kilometer, and they are currently as high as 9 per square kilometer. To put that into a national perspective, in the early 1900’s there were 500,000 Whitetail deer in the United States, and now their population is 20 million and rising. I think it is important for us, as land managers, as well as the DNR and the forest service to educate people on this matter, because the truth is most people think there is much LESS deer than there used to be in the early 1900’s which is the exact opposite of the truth. Quite frankly, before I was educated on the matter, I would have agreed with them on the issue. One would assume, without knowing any better, that with less forest acreage, there should be less deer, but that just isn’t true.

I think that this issue needs to be remedied with a little bit of PR work and public education. This could easily be done by simply sending registered hunters pamphlets in the mail about the issue, so they know what the truth is, statistically and logically. People in the hunter’s safety program should also be educated on this issue; there is no reason why it shouldn’t be common knowledge to the public. Pamphlets should also be handed out at registration stations, and places that sell deer tags. Kiosks can be set up at popular hiking areas and camping areas to also educate the non-hunting public on this issue as well.

Not only do I think that the public should be educated about the deer populations in Wisconsin and the U.S. and Wisconsin, but something needs to be done to control it. The fact that there is 40 times the amount of deer there was in the early 1900’s is just ridiculous. I understand that as a society we enjoy hunting, but this problem could potentially destroy or be very detrimental to forest ecosystems. Not only that, but there are hundreds if not thousands of car accidents a year as a result of deer overpopulation. Something needs to be done. Either year-round hunting or longer hunting seasons are a good option to help control the deer populations. Year round hunting is already occurring on the Menominee reservation in northern Wisconsin, and there populations are at lower, healthier, and more sustainable levels. I understand that we want to make sure that there are enough deer for us but we have to realize that deer overpopulation negatively effects too many species and has to be controlled.