58 R. C. Pais, W. C. McComb, and J. Phillips 



The release of deer into areas of high-quality habitat may reduce 

 dispersal and increase the probability of successful stocking (Pais 1987). 

 The existence in eastern Kentucky of a computerized Geographic 

 Information System (GIS) based on maps and remotely sensed data 

 allowed us to characterize the habitat within home ranges of white- 

 tailed deer. We know of no~data on size or habitat characteristics of 

 home ranges of these deer in eastern Kentucky prior to this study. 



In this study we proposed to compare the size of home ranges of 

 resident and relocated does in eastern Kentucky, to characterize the 

 features of the home ranges according to GIS categories, to compare the 

 relative abundance of these features on actual and randomly available 

 home ranges for resident and relocated does, and to characterize areas 

 that should be considered as future release sites. 



STUDY AREA AND METHODS 



The trapping site of the white-tailed deer that were to be relocated 

 was the Ballard County Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in western 

 Kentucky. Ballard Co. topography ranges from flat to moderately 

 rolling, with a maximum relief of 55 m. The natural forest type in the 

 WMA, which is adjacent to the Ohio River, is bottomland hardwood. 

 Millet {Echinochloa walteri), soybeans (Glycine max), and corn (Zea 

 mays) have been planted to attract waterfowl. Estimated density of 

 white-tailed deer on the WMA in 1986 was 1/1.5 ha according to the 

 DPOP2 deer population model for microcomputers (Phillips 1985). 



The release sites were in Knott Co., Ky., in the central Cumberland 

 Plateau. Local relief of 200-350 m is common. Cliffs occur on surface 

 mines and highway road-cuts. Approximately 80% of the county is 

 forested, 10% is reclaimed or active surface mines, and 10% is bottom- 

 land with little agricultural land present. Roads and houses occur 

 primarily in bottomlands. The forest type is mixed mesophytic, with 

 most stands 40 to 60 years old. 



Resident white-tailed deer came from the University of Kentucky's 

 Robinson Forest in Breathitt Co. and Knott Co. Robinson Forest is 

 similar in topography and vegetation to the release sites in Knott Co., 

 but there has been no surface mining and it has been closed to the 

 public for 10 years. 



Knott Co. was closed to hunting during the period of deer stocking 

 in 1983-85 but was opened to regular statewide seasons in the fall of 

 1985. Prior to the deer releases in 1983, Knott Co. supported <1 

 deer/ 600 ha according to the DPOP2 model (Phillips 1985). 



During 1983-85, 485 deer were relocated to Knott Co.; they were 

 generally moved in lots of 25. For this study, which was conducted in 

 1984-85, radio-collared relocated does were released during 1985 in 



