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2017 Conference

del 21 al 24 de June del 2017

Tuscon, AZ

AESS 2017 Draft Conference Session Schedule

Loving them and loathing them: Conflicting attitudes towards deer management alternatives in Central Texas

sábado, el 24 de junio de 2017 a las 11:00–12:30 MDT
ENR2 S 210
Abstract

The urban and semi-urban regions of Central Texas contain the highest densities of White-tailed deer in the United States.  Although many residents enjoy living with the deer, their abundance causes numerous problems including destruction of gardens, auto accidents and decline of native vegetation.   Moreover, as a fugitive resource owned by the state, residents depend on local governments to determine which actions are permissible, both in attracting and managing deer populations.  However, managing the populations is complicated by uncertainty over the effectiveness of different management alternatives as well as widely diverging attitudes towards deer of area residents.  Therefore, solutions must be both acceptable politically with local residents as well as effective at managing the populations.  This paper presents the results of a landowner survey to assess public support for different deer management strategies available to wildlife authorities including culling, sport hunting, contraception, relocation and passive strategies such as feeding bans and promoting deer-resistant vegetation.  Although wildlife managers view culling as the most effective both in terms of cost and in reducing deer populations, survey results indicate that most respondents oppose lethal solutions.   However, the survey results also demonstrated a lack of public knowledge concerning deer management techniques.  These conflicting perspectives complicate deer management efforts and highlight the need for increased community engagement and education from wildlife managers and local governments.

Primary Contact

[photo]
Peter Beck, St. Edwards University

Presenters

[photo]
Renee Cornue, St. Edwards University
Title of paper

Loving them and loathing them: Conflicting attitudes towards deer management alternatives in Central Texas

[photo]
Peter Beck, St. Edwards University
Title of paper

Loving them and loathing them: Conflicting attitudes towards deer management alternatives in Central Texas

Co-Authors

Chair, Facilitator, Or Moderators

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