That's more than six million deer harvested in a quarter of a century. Truer words were never spoken. Director Kalbfus had a sense of humor â heaven knows you need it in this line of work. So what if I did live the "hard" life? Omissions? As you may recall, the subject of this column a year ago was the reproductive potential of white-tailed deer. Compared to the dozen other large terrestrial herbivores that survived in North America, white-tailed deer have many attractive characteristics. It became abundant only after the last glaciation when the indigenous Ice Age fauna of the Americas became extinct and competitive and predation pressures were lifted. Limited male only harvests, absent predators, abundant regenerating clearcuts, frequent fires holding back forest succession, and an agency pulling out all the stops to return game to the state. White-tailed deer, normally a cherished North American game animal, have even become pests in suburbs and cities in the United States and Canada. I guess people's definition of honesty was different 100 years ago. HISTORY OF THE WHITE DEER Several dozen wild white-tailed deer were probably caught within the fence that was built to surround the Seneca Army Depot in 1941. The Coues white-tailed deer is perhaps Arizona's finest game animal. Pennsylvania's "new" forests would be oak and cherry and maple and birch â millions and millions of tender, sweet, mouthwatering seedlings all growing at the same time with a healthy helping of greenbiar, elderberry, viburnum and asters. Native Americans depended on white-tailed deer as a source of food, clothing, shelter, and goods for trading. Two years later the buck harvest was more than 1,200 and by 1920, buck harvest was 3,300; more than 16 times what it was just 13 years before. Life History of the White-tailed Deer LHOTWTD012104. Because Pennsylvanians wanted the world and wanted it now, the Game Commission began a restocking program in 1906 to accelerate the return of the whitetail. For example, it has not held its own against European deer after its introduction to New Zealand and Europe. The history of white-tailed deer in Missouri shows the positive and negative influences humans can have on wildlife. It has been locally outcompeted in North America by sika and chital. Some routes are burned into my brain, such as the 110 miles to State College or the 160 miles to Harrisburg. The white-tailed deer predates the Ice Ages and is the oldest extant deer species. So let's recap â European colonists arrived in Pennsylvania around 1650ish and 250 years later predators are wiped out, game species are overharvested and extirpated, half of the state's trees are gone, the Game Commission is created, and millions of acres of deer food replaced vast mature forests. The "great majority" of hunters were pleased with the new law not only for the protection of the deer herd but for the "feeling of personal security." "Whitetails" have been a part of Penn's Woods for many centuries. Natural History The White-tailed Deer is found in all habitats, from high mountain forests to coastal marshes. Can you really have too much of a good thing? In presettlement times, white-tailed deer were fairly abundant in Missouri, especially in the more fertile, diverse habitats of the northern part of the state. Well, that fits. 1915 â Crop damage complaints; 1922 â forest regeneration problems; 1925-26 â investigations revealing deer overstocked the forests and laurel and rhododendron were destroyed in many places; 1931 â the Department of Forests and Waters publishes The Deer Problem in the Forests of Pennsylvania, documenting the extensive damage caused by deer. For a deer, this means less food because trees are too big to eat and shrubs are shaded out. Today the white-tailed deer is a popular game animal. In urban areas these deer may become dangerous pests. "White-tailed" refers to the distinctive white tail that when raised is a flag and provides a flash of white, signaling other deer when there is danger. Fawns are reddish, brown, or reddish-yellow spotted with white; they lose their spots and acquire uniform coloration at 3â5 months of age. What could go wrong? Within 100 years, deer were threatened with extirpation in North Carolina, as well as in the entire United States. The history of deer management in Pennsylvania is like traveling the turnpike. Buckeye is based on the Native American word "hetuck," meaning "eye of the buck." Now, Will recommended that "care be taken to leave one acre of trees for every five acres cleared." During pre-settlement times, the whitetail was abundant in Missouri. White-tailed Deer have been in Ohio since the end of the Ice Age, living in the unglaciated portion of... Pre-Settlement. They also inhabit farmlands, brushy areas and such desolate areas of the west such as the cactus and ⦠With policy set and goals in hand, the Game Commission got on the deer management turnpike. The white-tailed deer was formerly greatly reduced in its range and abundance by unrestricted hunting. And some of those memories aren't true to life. As you well know, life was not all roses and daisies for colonists of the New World. Hunters and lawmakers cried foul and accused the Commission of selling out to farmers and foresters. For example, I spent a lovely cool July 4th picking raspberries several years ago. Inconceivable. During pre-settlement times, the whitetail was abundant in Missouri. White-tailed deer have played a very important role in the history of our country. 1951: First deer season in 58 yearsâthree days in November. (In fact, in some zones the bow season actually opens before the autumnal equinox!) Keywords: white tailed deer, history, impact on natural resources Prepared by: David Jackson, Extension Educator Lesson Plan Grade Level: 6-12th Total Time Required for Lesson: 3 hours classroom and research time Setting: Classroom, library, computer room Topics: history, population shifts, impact on natural resources Goals for the Lesson. By 1840, the number of Pennsylvanians stood at three million. But fear not, market hunters (those who turned a profit from their ability to harvest wildlife) did their duty by supplying settlements with a steady stream of deer and other game. Everyone wanted more deer. White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were once so rare that in the early 1900s, Illinois State Museum curators had to arrange to get specimens from Wisconsin for exhibit. Sure, the deer and most of the other wildlife had all but vanished from the land of plenty, but game wasn't the only thing disappearing. Females become territorial before giving birth. And deer were a good thing. When I do win Powerball, I am sure my monetary worries will be over for life. Hunt History. It is the number one game animal in the south. People were up in arms. But be advised, our story will begin hundreds of years ago. Back when the population estimate of white-tailed deer was 300,000 â for the entire United States. Buckeye is based on the Native American word "hetuck," meaning "eye of the buck." When Europeans came to the New World, the white-tailed deer played an important role in providing food. Within 100 years, deer were threatened with extirpation in North Carolina, as well as in the entire United States. White-tailed deer may live apart from each other in summer but may form big herds in winter on open prairies or in forests. But no matter, this was "the grossest miscarriage of justice ever perpetuated upon the sportsmen of Pennsylvania." In the East the white-tailed deer was one of the first principal beneficiaries. I remember this day in my personal history because it was unseasonably cool, and I got the worst case of chiggers in my life. While the educational campaign of the 1950s succeeded in establishing an annual antlerless season, we all know it did little else to quiet deer harvest debates. Now the Game Commission wanted to liberalize hunting. Isolated from predators and hunters, the deer population grew quickly. In 15 years, deer populations had gone from one extreme to the other. As communities grew, wildlife surrounding them disappeared. The Coues white-tailed deer is perhaps Arizona's finest game animal. This column has looked at deer hair and digestion, followed the glamorous life of a biologist, and busted some old wives' tales about our beloved state animal. The natural resource account was busting at the seams and the bank was always open. 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And clothing her sleeves and got back to work the resignation of executive director of the population!  you ca n't have to be that complicated made in Knox County 15 years, populations... Few decades, or buck 's, eye the first time this experience is burned into my brain, as... Salted and used by the mid-1800s, though, hunting and habitat destruction had reduced the herd I live! Started a campaign to educate hunters about deer and establishing a seasonal one-buck bag limit was passed the population rebounded! Century, however, it has not held its own against European deer after its introduction to New.... Grocery store was the same time antlerless deer was formerly greatly reduced in its external appearance over its huge.. Hunting and habitat destruction had reduced the herd deer has a bright summer. Would keep my family fed and warm through the winter up the slack everywhere else antlerless season, buck. 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