Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama
Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama
Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama
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damaged appendages, sloughing hooves, or any other type of physical<br />
injury should be recorded. This information proves useful and may<br />
give clues to past exposure to potentially harmful diseases for the deer<br />
herd, such as hemorrhagic disease. These notes also allow biologists or<br />
managers to exclude these deer in their analyses to prevent biasing the<br />
harvest data.<br />
Without question, data collection is one of the most beneficial<br />
and important things a hunting club or landowner can do when managing<br />
deer. This task should be viewed as an integral part of the deer<br />
management process, not a dreaded chore. Without these data, there is<br />
no way to evaluate the current condition of a deer herd or monitor its<br />
progress over time.<br />
ALABAMA’S DEER MANAGEMENT<br />
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM<br />
<strong>Alabama</strong>’s <strong>Deer</strong> <strong>Management</strong> Assistance Program (DMP) is a<br />
technical guidance program offered by the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater<br />
Fisheries. Started in 1984, this program offers landowners,<br />
hunting clubs, and others interested in managing deer on their property<br />
the opportunity to get assistance from a wildlife biologist.<br />
Participants or cooperators in the program choose a management objective<br />
and are required to collect harvest data from all deer killed on<br />
their property. These data must be submitted to their assigned biologist<br />
immediately following the hunting season. The biologist then<br />
analyzes the harvest data and prepares a report for the cooperators.<br />
This report contains the biologist’s evaluation of the past year’s harvest<br />
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