the most common solution is to attempt reduction of 

 populations through harvest, preferably during the regular 

 hunting seasons. Many types of damage, such as to seed 

 alfalfa or pasture, are more dispersed and do not lend 

 themselves to solutions such as fencing or repellents. 



It has become increasingly recognized that many damage 

 problems are chronic and are not necessarily related to 

 population level. In many cases, drought draws deer or other 

 wildlife into the few remaining areas of green forage or to 

 haystacks. This occurs regardless of population level and may 

 involve only a few animals that cause significant damage or 

 the perception of damage. Generalized reductions in deer 

 populations across broad areas do not necessarily stop damage. 

 For some situations where large numbers of deer are not 

 causing the problem, selective local killing by Department 

 personnel of the few deer causing the problem may be the most 

 effective solution. 



We should also recognize that in areas of variable 

 environment, many agricultural areas contain the best natural 

 habitat and the best, most dependable sources of high quality 

 forage. Depredation problems in those areas will be chronic. 

 For more than 50 years, we have been encouraging modes of 

 operation and improved land management practices by 

 agriculturists that benefit wildlife. In many cases, 

 improvement has been substantial and deer and other wildlife 

 have benefitted even when increasing wildlife population was 

 not a goal or even desirable to the landowner-manager. Thus, 

 we must recognize that many depredation problems will be 

 chronic and will not be solved by generalized population 

 reductions. Instead, efforts must concentrate on long-term 

 solutions such as permanent stackyards, properly designed 

 fences, and where hunting is allowed, possibly some level of 

 monetary reimbursement or purposeful habitat alterations to 

 reduce deer occurrence. 



Predicting Fawn Survival 



Advance knowledge of recruitment rates could help deer 

 managers more closely match hunting regulations to population 

 trend. For the Missouri River Breaks study area, we developed 

 a regression equation that accurately predicted fawn survival 

 from data collected by the end of May, just prior to birth. 

 Temperature during May and precipitation during July-May 

 (Chapters 3 and 5) predicted fawn survival during 21 of 27 

 years for which data were available. Although level of fawn 

 survival wasn't accurately predicted during 6 years, trend was 

 accurately predicted. Our success in predicting trend and 

 level of fawn survival indicates that similar potential exists 

 for predicting fawn survival in other areas. Wood et al . 

 (1989) indicated that similar factors influenced fawn survival 



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