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Under good range conditions the normal, healthy doe will usually have 

 two fawns per year. 



(Fish and Game Photo) 



Prior to the turn of the century deer were scarce. 

 Unrestricted hunting had reduced the herds to a low 

 level. In the 1880"s, however, conditions had begun to 

 change. Logging operations opened up timber stands 

 and allowed an increase in browse species. Fires dur- 

 ing this early logging period created interspersed 

 openings in forests, permitting brush fields to grow. 

 On the other hand the depletion of grass cover by 

 overgrazing of cattle and other causes and the con- 

 sequent reduction in fire occurrence permitted an in- 

 crease in browse vegetation in juniper, sagebrush, 

 desert shrub and woodland grass areas. 



Man Aided 



Man also aided the deer by reducing the number 

 of livestock on national forest, federal and privately 

 owned lands, leaving more reserve forage. In some 

 instances homesteaders helped when they broke up 

 vegetation types by clearing brush and trees and then 

 abandoned their sites. 



These factors set the stage for return of the deer in 

 large numbers by creating a favorable habitat. Resto- 

 ration of the herds was further aided when the State 

 instituted a "bucks only" shooting law and developed 

 an efficient force of game wardens and predator trap- 

 pers. 



Today the deer have increased to such abundance 

 that the pendulum has swung the other way; their 



natural range is not sufficient to support them in a 

 healthy condition. 



Deaths from starvation, malnutrition and related 

 diseases have been the lot of far too many deer on 

 overstocked ranges. 



Food Quality Declines 



Heavy populations over-browse the better forage 

 species. This results in a steady decline in the quality 

 of their food to the point where weaker animals suc- 

 cumb and wasteful losses occur. 



Usually fawns and older deer are the first to suc- 

 cumb. Fawns particularly are vulnerable because dur- 

 ing the first year of life their energy is spent in 

 growth and they build up little reserve of fat. Fawns, 

 being smaller, cannot reach the browse on high-limbed 

 shrubs and trees, whereas larger animals can. 



The lack of natural forage often causes other 

 troubles. Forced to look elsewhere for their food, 

 deer sometimes seek it in nearby orchards, alfalfa and 

 ha\' lands and other places, thereby causing damage 

 to the property and crops of farmers who live on the 

 fringes of deer ranges. 



Bigger Harvest Desirable 



Estimated to be well in exxess of 1,000,000 deer, 

 the California herds produce an annual crop of at least 

 200,000 animals for harvest each fall. Hunters took 

 75,602 bucks in 1954, the record year since deer tags 

 were instituted in 1927. In 1955, the bag was 71,126. 

 Despite these two high years, the average kill over 

 the last 24 years has been a meager 38,775 annually. 

 Thus the harvest has been much less than it could 

 have been, and Nature took the balance in her own 

 cruel wa\'. 



Department biologists, big game experts from the 

 Universit\' of California, from the U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service and from agencies of other states all 

 agree that under proper management hunters not only 

 can shoot 200,000 animals per year safely in California, 

 but that the annual harvest must be very close to this 

 amount if the herds are to flourish. 



Deer Policy 



The answer to the deer problem is contained in a 

 policy established in June, 1950, by the California 

 Fish and Game Commission after state-wide discus- 

 sion and approval by sportsmen, ranchers, conserva- 



"Training the trainers." First group of lop level supervisors and staff 

 officers attends a training program class. 



(Fish and Game Photo) 



