The PA Deer Management Plan That Self-destructed

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In 2000 the DMP was simply to reduce the herd by 5%/yr. until we reached the deer density goals in DPFSM that were established in 1980.Then in 2002 the PGC added ARs to improve the buck age structure and increase breeding rates and productivity. In 2003 they implemented the new WMUs and measured deer density in DPSM , based on the old deer density goals based solely on the carrying capacity of forested acreage. Then ,in 2003 or 2004 the PGC changed the entire plan and based the goals on herd health,forest health and deer /human conflicts as determined by CACs.

But, after 10 years of herd reduction and numerous changes in the plan there has been no significant improvement in forest health, herd health and the CACs have been discontinued. Also, the concurrent seasons have been restricted in numerous WMUs while antlerless allocations have been increased in those WMUs. The PGC has also abandoned the previous method used to determine herd health because there was no direct correlation between herd health and forest health,which contradicts what we were told when the PGC was selling the plan. In addition, the audit stated the the method the PGC was using to determine forest heath was flawed and did not accurately represent the true health of our forests.

So, everything the PGC has presented over the last 10 years has been challenged, changed or abandoned by the PGC and we now have a plan that no one knows what criteria the PGC is using to determine antlerless allocations .