Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

Key to this educational process is defining and explaining the
various deer management options available to deer hunters. Within
these options, the benefits and potential drawbacks of each approach
must be addressed. Reasonable goals and realistic expectations also
must be established in order to achieve management success and hunter
satisfaction. Deer management endeavors that fail are generally
the result of unreasonable and/or unrealistic goals and expectations,
not some inherent flaw in the management approach.
In Alabama, there are three general management options available to
the deer hunter/manager—traditional (restoration) deer management,
quality deer management and trophy deer management.
TRADITIONAL DEER MANAGEMENT
Traditional deer management is practiced in many areas of Alabama.
This approach also can be referred to as restoration deer
management (RDM; Woods 1999a). This type of management helped
restore the abundant deer populations we enjoy today. After deer were
restocked throughout the state and as the resulting populations began
to grow, RDM was used to provide recreational buck-only hunting while
protecting reproductive output through the prohibition of doe harvest.
Through RDM, deer herds were allowed to expand while still providing
hunting opportunities.
Hunters involved in early post-stocking hunts can certainly attest
to “the good ol’ days” when large antlered, heavy-bodied bucks were
taken regularly. The reasons for such harvests are no mystery. These
newly established populations had access to an abundance of nutritious
forage, total deer numbers were low, and buck age structure was well
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