QDMA Articles

By: Kip Adams

Quality Deer Management (QDM) practices gain acceptance and increase in popularity on a daily basis across much of the U.S. Today’s hunters are more knowledgeable than ever before on deer biology, management, habitat improvement and all around stewardship. Millions of acres of public and private land across the country are being managed under QDM guidelines. These changes are good for deer herds (and other wildlife), forest habitat, hunters and our hunting culture. However, are these changes good for rural economies? Using Pennsylvania as an example, let’s look at past and present day deer hunting and estimate their impacts on rural economies.

Historically, Pennsylvania was widely known for its high deer populations, vast expanse of public lands, and a short, high-intensity deer season. The state has had an archery season since 1929 and a flintlock season since 1974 but the bulk of the deer harvest traditionally occurred during the two week buck season followed by a two or three day doe season.

The “big woods” of northern Pennsylvania were a popular hunting destination. Hunters from throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states flooded into the northern region on Thanksgiving weekend in anticipation of opening day on the following Monday. Some hunters stayed and hunted the entire week but most hunted 1-2 days and returned to work. Many traveled back to the area to hunt the following Saturday, and some even returned to hunt the last day of buck season on the next Saturday and may have stayed to hunt doe on Monday and Tuesday (and Wednesday in some years).

High deer populations and a lot of hunters created an excitement in the air and local businesses capitalized on it. Hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, bars, sporting goods stores, gas stations, and others looked forward to buck season and the influx of sportsmen’s dollars.

Modern day Pennsylvania is a different picture. Buck and doe seasons run concurrently and during the two week gun season there aren’t as many hunters flocking to the “big woods”. Has the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s attempt to balance the deer herd with the habitat devastated local economies? Has a more QDM-based management approach killed rural businesses? At first glance it is easy to point a finger at the changes to the deer season and place blame for fewer hunters traveling to northern Pennsylvania, but a closer look may reveal an entirely different picture.

In the past, a lot of hunters traveled to rural areas an average of 1-3 times during the deer season (opening weekend, first Saturday, and second Saturday/doe season). These hunters put a lot of dollars in local economies during their visits, but their visits were few in number and short in duration. The change in today’s hunting regulations and culture toward QDM involves year around participation by many. Today’s QDM practitioners often spend multiple days, weekends or weeks at their camp or hunting property enhancing habitat, collecting data on the deer herd, viewing deer and hunting. More and more of today’s hunters are seeing their role as hunter and manager and are embracing the concept. Today’s hunters spend money on lime, fertilizer, seed, fuel, equipment, equipment maintenance, consulting forester and biologist fees, groceries, lodging, etc. and that’s all prior to the hunting season.

Today’s hunting seasons are more numerous with liberalized bag limits and many hunters take advantage of these by making multiple trips to their hunting destinations. Today there are fewer hunters traveling on the weekend before opening day in Pennsylvania, but those hunters travel many times during the year.

QDM critics are quick to respond that the extra travel associated with habitat and food plot work may help rural economies surrounded by private land, but not areas dominated by public land because sportsmen have few opportunities to improve public habitat. I disagree; the QDMA and many other conservation organizations assist with habitat improvement projects and food plots on public lands in cooperation with state and federal agencies. There are nearly always projects to get involved with for interested sportsmen.

There is also the value associated with a well managed deer herd. Deer herds in balance with their habitats are typically healthier than overabundant herds. In general, healthier deer have higher body weights, increased reproduction and improved antler growth. Combine this with a better age structure for the buck population and you have older bucks with larger antlers available for harvest. Most rural economies aren’t going to suffer from an increased number of older, larger antlered bucks. Very few hunters – even meat only hunters – will ever pass on the opportunity to harvest a large antlered buck.

There are many examples of local economies benefiting from well managed deer herds. The Midwest is among the top whitetail destinations in the world. Ask those rural businesses if they’d prefer to have overabundant deer herds that are unable to express their body or antler growth potential? Hunters aren’t traveling to Illinois, Iowa or Wisconsin to shoot undersized does and yearling bucks.

Today’s deer hunting and hunting culture is different from 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Today’s average hunter is far more involved in year around deer management programs and spends more time prior to and during the hunting season(s) in the woods or on the property he/she hunts. Rural businesses may not get a big lump sum of money in deer season, but I’ll argue they get a larger sum of money spread throughout the year.

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.