North GA Deer Study

thumper523 · May 21, 2018

Study

AliBubba said:
Does anyone here have contacts with UGA to find out what the status is … Planned start/end dates; Expected report dates, etc.?

I was at Blue Ridge WMA yesterday and ran into two college aged guys that are doing this study. Easy to find them, they are driving a white Ford F-250 2 wheel drive, I gave them a lift back to check station after they got their truck stuck.

Timberman · May 21, 2018

^^^^lol

I’m satisfied the powers to be know the reasons for the mountain deer decline...but sadly that is only one facet of the management decision matrix applied to Appalachian public forest lands.

C.Killmaster · May 21, 2018

AliBubba said:
Does anyone here have contacts with UGA to find out what the status is … Planned start/end dates; Expected report dates, etc.?

Fire away with any questions, this is a DNR funded (via Pittman-Robertson Act) project that we've contracted with UGA to conduct. The first capture season ended with 12 does collared. Not as many as we would have liked, but it should be a decent sample size of fawns. As several have mentioned, capturing a significant number of adult females up there is exceedingly difficult. Our goal is to capture 30 per season for 3 years, so some may be recaptures in that total of 90.

AliBubba · May 21, 2018

I did some digging and was told that Dr. Gino D'Angelo @ UGA is heading the study. I will keep you posted when/if I hear back anything.

j_seph · May 22, 2018

C.Killmaster said:
Fire away with any questions, this is a DNR funded (via Pittman-Robertson Act) project that we've contracted with UGA to conduct. The first capture season ended with 12 does collared. Not as many as we would have liked, but it should be a decent sample size of fawns. As several have mentioned, capturing a significant number of adult females up there is exceedingly difficult. Our goal is to capture 30 per season for 3 years, so some may be recaptures in that total of 90.

So the study said 2 years and you say 3. Does the study not begin until all are collared?

C.Killmaster · May 22, 2018

j_seph said:
So the study said 2 years and you say 3. Does the study not begin until all are collared?

No, the study starts once the collars are deployed, they are gathering data from the start. The real critical data collection points start when fawns are captured and collared. There will be 3 field seasons of data collection, but another year or two of data analysis and publishing results. I think they got the time period wrong in the article. The first peer-reviewed publications will probably start after the first 2 years as our MS student finishes, but there will be 3 graduate students working on it over the course of the project.

C.Killmaster · May 22, 2018

Zoom much JackSprat? Gino is a great asset to have back in Georgia. We were classmates and friends at UGA during my MS and his PhD, where he helped me tremendously. He spent several years with both USDA Wildlife Services and as the Deer Project Leader, my counterpart, in Minnesota. There aren't a lot of professors that also have a background in both state and federal government. It really gives someone a great perspective for conducting research with real world management implications.

AliBubba · May 22, 2018

Seems we have the right folks and talent engaged in the study.. now let's wait and see about the results. @c.killmaster any periodic updates would be much appreciate it!

Triple C · May 22, 2018

CK...Another GA sportsman grateful to live and hunt in a state with an outstanding DNR / WRD at the helm of managing our wildlife!

C.Killmaster · May 23, 2018

AliBubba said:
Seems we have the right folks and talent engaged in the study.. now let's wait and see about the results. @c.killmaster any periodic updates would be much appreciate it!

Will do, we're getting pretty close to the fawn capture. I'll try to get some pics posted.

Possum · May 23, 2018

This is a great thing. Wish it was done years ago but still grateful the state finally seems to be taking the issue seriously. Mr. C Killmaster will have an opportunity to improve the future of deer hunting in the GA Mtns Just like some of the great men before him like Aurther Woody.

C.Killmaster · May 23, 2018

Here's some info we sent out a few months ago:
https://georgiawildlife.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/research-highlight-north-georgia-deer/

elfiii · May 23, 2018

Triple C said:
CK...Another GA sportsman grateful to live and hunt in a state with an outstanding DNR / WRD at the helm of managing our wildlife!

Amen.

AliBubba · May 23, 2018

Y'all… don't confuse effort with results..

Long Cut · May 23, 2018

Killmaster,

Not intending to hijack this thread but if coyotes are infact deemed the culprit at the end of this study, have any management plans been thought of or at least speculated?

I’ve read several different articles by the QDMA, etc stating that coyotes are extremely nomadic and will “fill gaps”where populations of coyotes decrease. Seems like managing their numbers on a large scale would be quite the task.

ripplerider · May 24, 2018

How are you going to manage their numbers? Maybe offering a substantial bounty would help but once they're established they're pretty much ineradicable, especially in heavy timber.

bany · May 24, 2018

AliBubba said:
I am one of the overseers of the Duncan Ridge Trail that borders north of Coopers Creek and CNF. I have been doing this for 10+ years and have seen many bears and yots around that area but no sign of fawn kills or carcasses.

You wouldn’t see a thing on a fawn kill,even the yearlings get pretty much totally devoured. Just from what I’ve seen.
It will be interesting to read what they come up with. Seems a whole bucket of reasons for the decline to me.

Duff · May 24, 2018

Very cool. Grateful a serious effort is being made CK. :cheers:

C.Killmaster · May 24, 2018

bany said:
You wouldn’t see a thing on a fawn kill,even the yearlings get pretty much totally devoured. Just from what I’ve seen.
It will be interesting to read what they come up with. Seems a whole bucket of reasons for the decline to me.

They can't eat the collars and they leave DNA.

C.Killmaster · May 24, 2018

Long Cut said:
Killmaster,

Not intending to hijack this thread but if coyotes are infact deemed the culprit at the end of this study, have any management plans been thought of or at least speculated?

I’ve read several different articles by the QDMA, etc stating that coyotes are extremely nomadic and will “fill gaps”where populations of coyotes decrease. Seems like managing their numbers on a large scale would be quite the task.

We already have coyote management at a large scale, no closed season and no bag limits. What we speculate is that predation is higher as a function of habitat, meaning the fawning cover is not adequate. It's unlikely to be as simple as kill more predators, get more deer. Through other research, we've found coyote predation on deer to be a complex and highly variable issue across the southeast. The situation in the mountains is that much more difficult because of habitat issues, additional fawn predators, and possible issues with hogs. The deer decline we've seen across the southern Appalachians spans multiple states despite differences in hunting regulations. Similar studies are getting started in many of those states and we've all been in discussion of this common problem.

North GA Deer Study

Senior Member

Senior Member

Georgia Deer Biologist

Senior Member

Senior Member

Georgia Deer Biologist

Georgia Deer Biologist

Senior Member

Senior Member

Georgia Deer Biologist

Banned

Georgia Deer Biologist

Admin

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Georgia Deer Biologist

Georgia Deer Biologist

Similar threads

Share this page