Deer Wars

Science, Tradition, and the Battle over Managing Whitetails in Pennsylvania

Bob Frye

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Year: 2006
• Print ISBN: 9780271028859
• eBook ISBN: 9780271030401
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

The story of deer management in Pennsylvania is as complex as it is controversial. From the disappearance of deer in Pennsylvania forests at the beginning of the twentieth century to the population explosion that occurred in the latter half of the century, the balance between herd size and a healthy forest has long been a difficult one. In Deer Wars, Bob Frye examines this controversy and the effect that herd management has had on all of the citizens of Pennsylvania; farmers managing deer invasions and property rights, hunters dealing with changing herd densities and ever-complex restrictions, state agencies juggling the rights of hunters with the needs of commercial interests, all with stakes in the success and health of the deer herd. Now with deer harvests decreasing, Chronic Wasting Disease becoming a potential threat, and forests showing serious signs of trouble, the need for compromise from all of the players is essential, but is it possible? This well-researched and engrossing book explores that question.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by Gary Alt
• Acknowledgments
• 1 How Much Is Enough?
• 2 The Nature of Overabundance
• 3 When You Can’t See the Forest for the Deer
• 4 Too Many Mouths in the Grocery Aisle
• 5 At Home in the ’Burbs
• 6 Bambi Versus the Buick
• 7 Heroes or Goats?
• 8 Questions and Answers
• 9 Getting to the Point of Managing Deer Correctly
• 10 In the Eye of the Storm
• 11 A Wild Card in the Deer Management Deck
• 12 A Look to the Future
• Index
• Back Cover