Yep Cardeer, I'm going to bring up CWD. Just did a pretty extensive review paper on the subject, and not very comforting. The disease was confined pretty well for 30 years, but within the past 10 has started to rapidly spread eastward.
Not too worried about the deer-human transmission, which has yet to be confirmed. However, there is some evidence that it may be transmitted to sheep and cows. If it mutates, we may end up with our own version of Mad Cow disease. The beef farmers in this country would be devasted---the farmers in the UK have never recovered.
The prion protein is also heat resistant up to about 450 degrees C---remember that water boils at 100. The prions are very resistant and apparently very resilient, with long dormancy periods. With the source of transmission still a mystery, feeding areas are highly discouraged. An infected deer today may transmit a prion to a deer in the same feeding yard 5 years from now---that is a scary thought.
Once CWD gets here, feeding will fuel the spread. And unfortunately, the reintroduction of elk to some Eastern states may have increased the spread of the disease to our region of the country.
Sad part about CWD is we don't have enough case history to logically or statistically compute whether CWD CAN be transmitted to humans. Even worse, most infected deer appear to be healthy for at least 2-3 years after infection. Here in the Northeast, hell we're lucky if we see many 3.5 year old bucks---how are we going to know we're eating contaminated meat??
BUT if you must feed, set out some deer blocks. They're relatively cheap and contain all the inert minerals, vitamins and a good energy source. You can spread out 4-5 in the winter, thereby somewhat de-concentrating the feeding areas. Local hardware/farm supply/Walmart stores should have a few varieties from which to choose.
Try to stay away from corn or hay, unless you can place in a trough-type feeder with a cover to protect from the wetness. If you really want to, you can build one pretty inexpensively with a sheet of 3/4 plywood and handful of 2x4s.
Easiest thing to do is just put out some bird feeders. Trust me, they'll find 'em in the winter <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>.
S&R