QDMA Articles

By: Kip Adams

In early 2006, the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) unveiled their exciting new REACH program. REACH is an aggressive national education and outreach program that will benefit hunters, landowners and deer managers in several ways. REACH is the acronym for Research, Educate, Advocate, Certify and Hunt. The program specifically addresses all of QDMA’s core mission elements and was developed with input from QDMA members, state agency personnel, conservation leaders and QDMA National Board members. QDMA’s goals for the program are ambitious and they will directly benefit all QDMA members. Here is a brief synopsis of each element of REACH.

Research – QDMA will expand its role in designing, influencing, conducting and funding research on practical projects impacting white-tailed deer biology, ecology, management and hunting. QDMA will fund a minimum of three whitetail research projects on Quality Deer Management annually. QDMA’s stance on deer management issues is based on good science and good science comes from research. The first major accomplishment with this element of REACH occurred in May 2006 when QDMA announced they had secured a $50,000 grant for a cooperative project between the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Penn State University and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Educate – QDMA will expand educational opportunities and activities on deer management and habitat improvement for QDMA members, natural resource professionals and the general public. QDMA will continue conducting seminars, workshops and shortcourses and will also provide web-based information, Podcasts, new books, charts, DVDs and posters.

Three exciting new educational items include QDMA’s landmark food plot book, Quality Food Plots: Your Guide to Better Deer and Better Deer Hunting, which is expected to be available in early summer. This book is over 300 pages and will be a “must have” for food plot enthusiasts.

The second item is an educational package titled Living with White-Tailed Deer. This package has been in the works for a few years and it was recently given to QDMA to complete and distribute. It includes two versions, one for high schools and one for communities. The high school version is intended for grades 9-12 and is designed to teach students the process urban and suburban communities deal with when they have a deer problem. This is an excellent teaching tool that correlates to National Education Standards and has received The Wildlife Society’s Conservation Education Award. The community version is intended for urban and suburban communities experiencing problems with overabundant deer. It explains and discusses the options available to solve their problems. This package educates stakeholders on the realities of urban and suburban deer management and will help communities experiencing problems and state agencies when dealing with urban and suburban deer issues. Living with White-Tailed Deer should be available by late summer.

The third item is Cyber Deer. Cyber Deer is a computer-generated program that allows a user to rotate a deer 360 degrees horizontally and vertically (to change the angle of arrow/bullet entry and exit) and allows you to “shoot” the deer. A line shows the angle of the shot’s entry and exit and you can then remove the animal’s skin, skeleton and organs to view what organ(s) the shot hit. This was developed by Deer Management Partnerships, a nonprofit group in New York and it is by far the best shot-placement teaching tool in the country. It will hopefully be a part of every hunter education course in the future. Cyber Deer should be available by late fall.

Advocate – QDMA will increase its involvement in whitetail hunting and management issues at the state and federal levels. Education and Outreach Directors will serve as liaisons between QDMA members/Branches and their respective state and federal agencies. This will strengthen QDMA’s ties with our members, state and federal agencies, conservation organizations and other stakeholders.

QDMA was active in many states in early 2006 as we were asked to provide written or verbal comments on many legislative bills and proposed deer management actions. QDMA supported some and opposed some, and our position was always based on the best available science.

Certify – QDMA members have repeatedly asked for personal and property certification programs. These new programs will provide recognition to members who have attained an increased level of knowledge of Quality Deer Management and habitat improvement. The result will be more knowledgeable hunters and improved habitat and deer herds. These programs will be officially announced later this year.

Hunt – QDMA will launch a national mentored youth hunting program. The program provides a framework to unite mentors and youth and is designed to create new long-term hunters. The program incorporates multiple recreational pursuits and is superior to “one time” events designed to expose (vs. mentor) newcomers to the sport. This program is the official QDMA Mentored Youth Hunting Program and is strongly recommended for adoption by QDMA Branches, QDMA members and any individual or group interested in recruiting new hunters. It emphasizes the development of woods skills, wildlife knowledge, hunter safety and shooting skills. Small game and white-tailed deer hunting are both integral parts of the program. Skills are learned and discussed throughout the calendar year and may be reinforced in subsequent years. This is an excellent program that will begin combating the declining youth recruitment rates across the country.

The QDMA has two directors of education and outreach that oversee the REACH program. Kip Adams covers the northern United States and effective July 1, Joe Hamilton will cover the southern United States. Joe is no stranger to QDMA members or natural resource professionals, he has nearly 30 years of experience as a wildlife biologist and is the founder of the QDMA.

Every element of REACH is exciting and all are extremely important. REACH will strengthen QDMA’s position as the nation’s leading whitetail conservation organization. The program is funded by private and corporate donations and its success will be a direct result of support from members and corporate donors around the country.

Kip’s Korner is written by Kip Adams, a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Northern Director of Education and Outreach for the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). The QDMA is an international nonprofit wildlife conservation organization dedicated to ethical hunting, sound deer management and preservation of the deer-hunting heritage. The QDMA can be reached at 1-800-209-DEER or www.QDMA.com.

This article was taken directly from a previous issue of Quality Whitetails, the bi-monthly journal of the QDMA. The $30 annual membership to QDMA includes a subscription to this acclaimed publication. For information on joining QDMA, click here.