[onehorse]

We've had several posts recently about the conditions of the herds in Vermont and Pennsylvania. Some of them are good news and some not. Back in the 60s and 70s Vermont was crawling with deer. But even then, the wildlife biologists were forecasting a crash in numbers at some point in the future. Although there were lots of factors contributing to this prediction, the main one was changing vegetation - second growth from abandoned farms, which was the biggest contributing factor to the explosion of deer population, in the first place, was developing into more mature forests which meant less food available for the deer. At that time, those biologists wanted to initiate an antlerless season to reduce the numbers of deer to a sustainable level, but their hands were tied because the deer herd was controlled by the state legislature and not the Fish and Game Dept. Personally, I never thought that was a very enlightened idea. Control of the deer was in the hands of guys who maybe would be in the woods a few days a year, if at all, instead of the professionals who had made a career out of studying the needs of wildlife. For whatever reason(s), ultimately, as we have read, that state's herd has crashed. So, my question is this: who controls deer on your state, and do you think they are doing a good job? ( I'd just like to add that given the politics, various optinions and emotions associated with wildlife management, that's not a job I'd want to touch with a ten foot pole! Whatever you personally think about those guys, let's acknowledge that they have a tough job at best.)