Deer Density in Pennsylvania

1
Deer Density in Pennsylvania

• Marcie Langford, Emily Magoc, Michael Puchany,
  Shane Murphy, Richard Whitlock III

2
PAs Deer Population

• Benefits PAs economy
• Adds more than 665 million annually due to
  hunting
• Increases aesthetic value

• 1.4 million deer inhabit PAs 67 counties

Derived from hunting statistics reflects
hunting population, not total population
3
Annual Costs to PA

• 80 million in damage from deer/car collisions
• 75 million in forestry damage
• 70 million in wildlife-related agricultural
  damage
• Harms biodiversity

4
Factors of Population Increase

• Only 2-3 years for a deer population to double
• Antler Restrictions
• Problematic
• Weapon Regulations
• Why?

• Game commission solutions
• Deer management areas
• License revamping

5
PA Sprawl

• 1960-1990
• Metropolitan growth 13
• Developed land growth 81
• 50 of farmland lost since 1950

6
PA Sprawl Continued

• Effects
• Excessive land consumption
• Fragmented open spaces/wildlife habitats
• Loss of productive farmland/forestland
• Wide gaps between developments
• Landowners sell land to developers who destroy
  natural habitats
• Higher densities of deer

7
Consequences of Sprawl

• Suburbs
• More deer/human interaction
• Deer lose their instinct to run
• Posting of private landshigher concentrations of
  deer
• Hunters forced to leave prime locations
• Displacement of hunters
• Uneven distribution of deer herds

• Denser deer populationsless small/young
  vegetation
• Deer thrive in edge habitats
• Wooded areas joining developed lots
• Lack of natural predators
• Humans in charge of deer population
• Vector-borne diseases

8
Solutions

• Change hunting laws
• Focus on existent effects of sprawl
• Rapidly increasing deer population