Audubon Pennsylvania is encouraging landowners to take advantage of the Game Commission’s Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) to help control deer herds on their property and restore and maintain the health of Pennsylvania’s forests.

“We are encouraging landowners to take advantage of the DMAP Program that allows landowners to give out permits authorizing hunters to harvest extra antlerless deer during hunting season,” explained Timothy D. Schaeffer, PhD, Executive Director of Audubon Pennsylvania, a state office of the National Audubon Society. “This is a win-win situation for landowners and hunters. Landowners reduce the potential for forest, crop and ornamental damage from deer and hunters get to take an extra deer.”

“Audubon Pennsylvania strongly supports recreational hunting and other means to bring overabundant deer populations under control,” said Dr. Schaeffer. “Over-browsing by deer eliminates thousands of acres of habitat for song birds and other wildlife and is the largest single threat to bird habitat in many parts of the Commonwealth.”

A study released in March by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources concluded that fewer than 25 percent of the 41,650 state forest plots they surveyed showed desirable forest regeneration and almost 45 percent lacked any new, woody growth because of deer over-browsing.

“According to the Department of Agriculture, our farmers and landowners suffer $90 million in crop loss and $73 million in forest products damage every year. Pennsylvania also leads the nation in deer/car collisions, over 39,000 every year, and is second in the incidence of Lyme disease, a debilitating and sometimes fatal disease carried by deer ticks,” said Dr. Schaeffer.

“Audubon would welcome the chance to work with individuals enrolled in the DMAP program to help monitor habitat conditions, particularly on one of Pennsylvania’s 84 Important Bird Areas,” said Dr. Schaeffer. “We now have regional staff who are beginning to advise landowners on how to assess the health of their forests and make recommendations on how to improve those habitats.”

For more information on the DMAP program, visit the Game Commission website or call any regional office of the Game Commission from listings in your local phone book.

Audubon Pennsylvania represents over 30,000 members concerned about the impact deer are having on forest ecosystems and bird and wildlife habitat. According to a recent survey, Audubon Pennsylvania members are 53 percent more likely than the general public to be hunters.

For more information, visit the Audubon Pennsylvania website or call 717-213-6880.

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