Transcript presentation

The Environmental Monitoring and Management
Alliance (EMMA) and White-tailed Deer Monitoring for
Management
Lynn Christenson – Vassar College
VMC Meeting December 2016
Who we are
EMMA is a network of
scientists, land
managers and educators
centered in the Hudson
Valley of New York State.
This group is dedicated
to the use of researchbased monitoring to
inform management and
conservation efforts.
Deer like low mixed woodlands, forest edges,
agriculture fields and second growth areas. Residential
areas are now very desirable to deer.
Symptoms of high deer density:
-Decreased understory species diversity
-Lack of forest regeneration
-Increased abundance of invasive species
-Frequent sightings of deer
Ungulate Herbivores and Nutrient
Cycling
• Herbivores can have both direct and indirect effects
on nutrient cycling:
Direct Effect
Indirect Effect
Changes in foliar N content
Change in plant community composition
Browsing/grazing pressure
Selective browsing on preferred species
Urine and feces
Urine and feces
1.5% N
1.8% N
1% N
0.6% N
Trophic structure of a decomposer community
Trophic level
Food Resources
3° Predators
2° Predators
2° Predators
1° Predators
1° Predators
2°
Decomposers
1° Decomposers
1° & 2°
decomposers
Shredded litter &
microorganisms
Litter
Chart adapted from Scheu (2002)
Management Goals
Reducing Deer Density
• Primary Goals: Ecosystem
– Allow forest regeneration.
– Promote biodiversity.
– Maintain ecosystem function.
• Secondary Goals: People
– Reduce deer/car collisions
– Reduce damage to ornamental
landscape
– Reduce tick borne diseases
– Provide food to local food
pantries.
< 5 m buffer >
•
•
•
•
10 m
Deer Exclosures
Experimental Design
10 m
10 m
Fenced
Unfenced
3 sets of paired plots in forested areas
5 one meter square permanent quadrats
Treatments randomly assigned
Fenced treatment enclosed in an 8 foot tall deer fence
Vegetation Sampling
Seedlings and Herbs
Seedling Height: 0 – 0.5 m
Sample: species, height
Permanent Quadrat
Saplings
Height: 0.5 - 2 m
Sample: species,
browse, height
Trees
Height: > 2 m
Sample: species, height, dbh,
canopy die back
Deer Exclosures 2012
• Regeneration rates are low
at our site.
• Deer are having a negative
impact on tree regeneration
and species richness.
No. Saplings per Ha
Mean Unfenced Sapling Density
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
p<0.005
Vassar
CIES
Species Richness
Sapling Abundance
10
100
p<0.05
No. of Species
No. of Saplings
p<0.1
80
60
40
8
6
4
20
2
0
0
Unfenced
Fenced
Values are means ± SE.
Unfenced
Fenced
Number of Sapligns to Trees
Long Term Deer Exclosure Results
14
Fenced
12
Unfenced
10
8
6
4
2
0
Cary
Mid County
Rockefeller
Site
Hunting
Bucks only
12
Fenced
Unfenced
10
Species Richness
No Hunting
8
6
4
2
0
Cary
Mid County
Site
Rockefeller
Leaf litter invertebrates
evaluated summer 2012
Developing Management Recommendations
•
Fertility Control/
Sterilization
•
Fence
•
Controlled Access Archery
•
Sharp shooting over bait
Implementation
Mixed Public Response
Permitting
-Discharge a firearm from a vehicle
-City firearms ordinance
Sharp shooting
-64 deer in two nights.
Venison Donation
-10,000 meals provided.
Public Response
EMMA managers compare and contrast deer management efforts at their locations
Calder
CGC
Huyck
What form of deer
management are
you using?
Small archery, shotgun
and muzzle loader
Cary IES
N/A
N/A
N/A
Archery
Mianus
Mohonk
NYBG
N/A
Archery; have used
cull in the past
Teatown
Sharpshooting over bait
Vassar
Archery
WPR
What years have
you conducted your
deer management
program?
1976 – present
N/A
N/A
N/A
2004 – present
N/A
2014 – present
2010 – present
2010 – present (for
County Parks 2009 –
present)
Do you receive
DMAPS?
Yes. Issued DMAP permit
#1
N/A
N/A
N/A
Yes, 30
N/A
Yes, unsure of how
many
No
Not anymore. Issue 3S
tags for the state
Do you use hunters,
and how do you
manage them?
Yes
N/A
N/A
N/A
Yes. Set group of 10-12
hunters. Each hunter
gets 2 or 3 zones they
can hunt
N/A
Yes. Call-in, call-out
system, we limit the
number of hunters on
land; “lead” hunters
tell other hunters
where to go on
specific days; hunters
are required to take
out the deer on their
own with occasional
help from staff
No, not for harvesting.
Hunters are only used
as volunteers to collect
data on deer health and
to process the meat.
The cull is conducted by
United States
Department of
Agriculture Animal and
Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) Wildlife
Services
Yes. Regulate number
of hunters, deer killed,
staff interaction and
oversight, and
compliance of
regulations and
guidelines
What type of
information do you
provide to the
hunters?
Rules and regulations,
procedures, review results
from previous years,
summaries of N/Aeach
hunter’s effort and
success since beginning,
other ecological
programming
N/A
N/A
N/A
Annual meeting, report
on harvest, hours etc.
They can look at
camera trap photos
each fall
N/A
Deer density; time
they need to stop
hunting etc
N/A
Maps, rules/
regulations/
guidelines,
orientations,
individual statistics,
yearly statistics, site
statistics, hunting
areas etc.
EMMA experience across the Hudson Valley can inform management decisions
at other locations in this area.
How many deer
were harvested in
2015?
21
N/A
N/A
N/A
9
N/A
23
40
57
How many
hunters
participated in
your program in
2015?
31
N/A
N/A
N/A
11
N/A
6
N/A
73
What was the
number of
returning hunters
in 2015?
31
N/A
N/A
N/A
11
N/A
6 out of 8
N/A
44
What was the
average hunting
effort in 2015?
1275 hours total for 30
hunters (shotgun only)
N/A
N/A
N/A
538 hours
N/A
85 hunter days total
(average of 28
hunter days per
month)
N/A
Only record active
hunting time
What was the
average volunteer
time/effort
(outside of
hunters) in 2015?
357 hours (not counting
actual hunting hours) for
camera work, posting
property borders,
clearing woods and
roads, data entry
N/A
N/A
N/A
0
N/A
0
Unsure. Hunters
volunteer to collect
data and process
meat
0
What was the
average staff
time/effort in
2015?
120 hours (30 days, 4
hrs/day)
N/A
N/A
N/A
0.5-1 day a week
N/A
225 hours total
(average of 85 hours
per 3 staff members)
2 nights
2 staff on average of
35 hours per week
What types of
staff are involved
in your program?
1 full time staff member
and 1 temporary
assistant for weekends
(total 6 days)
N/A
N/A
N/A
Just Chris Nagy
N/A
Stewardship and
science staff
Field Station Manager
and staff from APHIS
Wildlife Service
1 full time staff and
1 hourly assistant
EMMA can provide support for management decisions through information access
Have you done any
outreach
concerning your
program?
Presentations at
meetings and journal
articles
N/A
N/A
N/A
Deer meetings,
conferences, public
talks
N/A
No
What was the cost
of your program in
2015?
Donations were
received from some
hunters, plus salary
and stipend for
temporary assistant
N/A
N/A
N/A
Staff time
N/A
$10,000
How has your deer
management
program developed
over the years?
Reduced number of
participants because
of reduced deer
population
N/A
N/A
N/A
Harvest rate has
severely declined.
Will probably
institute some cull
type system on top
of normal hunting.
This will be a big
investment of staff
time, as primarily
staff will do the
hunting at night.
Final plan for 2016 is
still being worked
out
N/A
Started with a cull,
but transitioned to
archery after
Teatown sued.
May go to archery
over bait in future.
Willing to try
various methods as
archery is not
believed to get
Teatown to the
necessary
population levels
Simplified protocols
(registration, check in,
data collected by
hunters, hunters bring
reproductive tract
form)
Automatic check
in/out with touch
screen and laptop
Eliminated fee
Evolved methods for
deer relative
abundance to set
harvest goals
Used to hold more
outreach events.
Now send letters to
neighbors, send a
college campus email, and update
the preserve’s
website
Deer symposium
Absorbed by
county, so cost
unknown
Have been using a
cull as it is the best
method for the area
Vassar is located in.
Still keeping track of
potential
immunocontracepti
on if research
suggests the
method is successful
It has developed a
lot.
EMMA provides workshop and
meeting opportunities
VMC and data management for
EMMA
Partnering with VMC –
More than just data
storage…
Questions?