Caring for Deer and Forests

Deer, forests, and people are connected. Forests provide food, cover, and clean water that deer need.  Forests growing on nutrient-rich soils with many food plants can support many more deer than forests with poor soils and few forest floor plants. That is, they have a higher carrying capacity. Deer add grace and beauty to the forest. What they eat affects how forests grow, how many deer they can support, and habitat for other wildlife.  Hunters seek deer for meat and for the love of the hunt as they have for hundreds of years.  Peoples’ understanding and choices about deer and forests shape all these connections.

This site has two main goals:

1. to provide information and examples about these connections -- about deer habitat, deer impact, and strategies to care for deer and forests together; and
   
2. to serve as a clearinghouse for resources about connections among people, deer, and forests.

We suggest that you start by accessing deer habitat.  Use the following links to see examples of good, intermediate, and poor deer habitat.

You are invited to share your stories, pictures, and resources that show deer and forests in eastern North America.

The site was developed by a team of scientists and extension educators with input from a broad-based advisory team, and funding from the USDA Forest Service Electronic Commons project and Northern Initiatives. It is maintained by the University of Georgia, Penn State University, and US Forest Service Research & Development.

The resources on this site are provided as a courtesy and correct citing and attribution of authors or sources is expected.