White-Tailed Deer in the Southern. Forest Habitat ProceedZzg~of n Symposiam at Nacogdoches, Texas March 25-26, 1969 Southern Forest Experiment Station Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture in coope~ationwith the Forest Game Committee of the southeaster^^ Section of the Wildlife Society and the School of Forestry, Stephen F. Austin State University White-tailed deer were once nearly exterminated in the South. In the past several decades, however, improvements in game management and changes in land use patterns have enabled populations to recover. The deer today are more numerous than at any time since white men settled the country. Deer are highly valued by the public. They are heavily hunted by sportsmen, admired by nature enthusiasts, and desired by some land- owners as a possible source of additional income. Yet to many persons the deer are less than a blessing. They some- times severely damage farm crops and young trees. They are possible transmitters of disease. They often compete with other wild animals or livestock for food. They create difficulties in resource allocation and management. These problems become more complicated as human popu- lations expand and as competition for land use intensifies. The potential values of deer, however, outweigh the undesirable characteristics, but enlightened management is necessary if these values are to be achieved fully. The symposium was organized to consolidate known information and to offer a means of expressing new ideas and philosophy pertinent to management of white-tailed deer in southern forests. Persons from Federal agencies, State conservation departments, universities, and private industry were asked to contribute their knowl- edge and viewpoints. Speakers emphasized the background, characteris- tics, and management of deer and their habitat. Of special importance were papers concerning the outlook for deer as influenced by sociological, economic, and political factors. It is believed that the information presented here represents the most complete compendium now available on the southern white-tailed deer. Lowell K. Halls WILDLIFEHABITAT AND SILVICULTURELABORATORY SOUTHERNFOREST EXPERIMENT STATION NACOGDOCHES,TEXAS Contents Page History of deer and their habitat in the South- John D. Newsom Population dynamics of whlte-talled deer- Walter V. Robertson . 5 Foods and feeding hablts of white-tailed deer- Daniel W. Lay 8 Physiology and nutrition of deer in southern upland forests- Henry L. Short 14 Seasonal changes in movements of white-tailed deer- Robert L. Downing, Burd S. McGinnes, Ralph L. Petcher, and Joshua L. Sandt 19 Deer predation In North Carolma and other southeastern States- Frank B. Barzck 25 Some considerations for diseases and parasites of white-tailed deer in the southeastern United States- Frank A. Hayes and Annie K. Prestwoocl 32 Critical factors In habitat appra~sal- William D. Zeedyk Deer habitat quality of major forest types in the South- J. J. Stransky 42 Agricultural clearings as sources of supplemental food and habitat diversity for white-tailed deer- Joseph S. Larson 46 Philosophy of deerherd management- Jack A. Crockford 51 Hunting methods, limits, and regulations- Dean A. Murphy 54 Managed hunts by State agencies- A. Gordon Spratt 59 Effects of timber harvest and regeneration on deerfood and cover- V. E. Carter and S A. Dow 62 How size and distribution of cutting units affect food and cover of deer- Burd S. McGinnes ................................................................................. 66 Short and long rotations in relation to deer management in southern forests- Phil D. Goodrum ........................................................................... 71 Timber stand density influences food and cover- Robert M. Blair .......................................................................... 74 Effects of hardwood control on food and cover- E. B. Chamberlain, Jr. .......................................... The effects of prescribed burning on deerfood and cover- Paul A. Shrauder and Howard A. Miller ...................................... _.. 81 The goals of the southern National forests in white-tailed deer management- Donald D. Strode and Wayne J. Cloward ........................................ 85 The goals of State conservation agencies in deerherd management- Frank P. Nelson .......................................................................... 88 The goals of private forest holdings in deer management- Raymond D. Moody .......................................................................... 90 Prevention and control of damage to trees- D. C. Denton, E. H. Hodil, and D. H. Arner ..................................... 93 Measuring habitat productivity- Richard F. Harlow and James D. WheEan ..................................... 98 Evaluating food use-new methods and techniques- H. S. Crawford ............................................................................ 109 Problems in censusing the while-tailed deer- James H. Jenkins and R. Larry Marchinton .................................... 115 The use of models in resource management- Don W. Hayne ................................................................................... 119 Sociological and economic considerations in management of white- tailed deer- E. L. Cheatum, Lonnie L. Williamson, and A. Sydney Johnson .... 123 Regulatory legislation and public attitude on white-tailed deer man- agement- Leslie L. Glasgow ............................................................................... 127 History of Deer and Their Habitat in the South John D. Newsom ' Louisiana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife U. S. Department of the Interior Baton Rouge, Louisiana The history of deer and their habitat in the South bama) was 250,000 pounds of hides The annual export is separated into four periods: Precolonial, Exploi- from Charles Town i South Carolina) between 1739 and tation, Recovery, and Today. 1762 was from 131,000 pounds to 355,000 pounds and In the Precolonial Period deer populations and from Georgia between 1765 and 1773 was more than their habitat remained relatively stable over long 200,000 pounds " George Barnard is reported to have periods of time even thoz~glrdeer were widely used shipped not less than 75,000 deerskins from near the for food, clothing, and tools by the Indians. present site of Waco, Texas, between 1844 and 1853, and at his death in 1883 was one of the wealthiest men Exploitation through settlement and clearing of in Texas, having gained h~swealth from trade in deer land, market hunting for meat and hides and hunt- and other animal sklns (Strecker 1927) ing without restrictions throughout the year reduced deer populations to an alltime low in the South Most of these records refer to the middle and late 18th aboz~t1920. century. I have not been able to establish the precise Recovery was initiated by the establishment of period during which a general decline in deer popula- National Forest Preserves in the early 1900's. It tions occurred throughout the South. It is assumed that progressed through the establishment and enforce- the initial decline in numbers occurred first in the east- ment of hunting regulations, reversion of farmland ern seaboard States and progressed westward with colon- to forests and Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration ization and subsequent exploitation. This pattern of restocking programs. decline is probably reflected by the dates when game laws were first established by the various States: Vir- Currently, approximately 90 percent of the land ginia, 1699; Maryland, 1730; North Carolina, 1730; South area in the South is open to deer hunting, and the Carolina, 1755; Georgia, 1790; Mississippi, 1803; Ala- annual kill exceeds 300,000 deer. bama, 1822; Florida, 1828; Louisiana, 1857; Texas, 1860; Kentucky, 1861; Tennessee, 1870; and Arkansas, 1875. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The South was obviously a land of plenty, insofar as I am indebted to the following persons for providing decr were concerned, until the middle of the 19th cen- some of the information used in this paper: Charles tury. Kelley, Alabama; Gene Rush, Arkansas: Gordon Spratt, The chronology of evolution of deer and their habitat Florida; Hubert Handy, Georgia; Fred Hardy, Kentucky; in the South can best be described in stages. For my Bill Turcotte, Mississippi; Frank Barick, North Carolina; discussion, I will utilize the following: Stage I-The Frank Nelson, South Carolina; Roy Anderson, Tennes- Precolonial Period; Stage 11-Exploitatiol?; Stage 111- see; and Dick Cross, Virginia. Recovery; and Stage IV--Today. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus ?~irginianus)is the big game animal in the Southern United States. .. THE PRECOLONIAL PERIOD Writings of early travelers through the South are replete with accounts of the abundance of deer iDu- When we think of wildlife habitat in the South at the Pratz 1774; Bartram 1792). The dependence of early time of discovery and initial settlement by white men, settlers on the white-tailed deer for food and clothing we are prone to visualize a pristine wilderness. Obvi- is well known. During certain times the settlers depend- ously, most of the forested areas of the South were virgin ed heavily on the meat and skins of deer as itenis of trade. wilderness, characterized by mature forests with rc!a- Through some of these records we are able to obtain lively clean floors and little understory of value to deer. information on the relative abulidance of deer during I-Iou7evcr, even at that early