Most deer hunters hunt on the land of others, be they public lands such as national and state forests, community watersheds, and parks and recreational areas or on private lands such as timber companies or individually-owned family forests. Very few hunters own forestland to hunt on. And all, to varying extent, want to know how many deer there and where they are on these forestlands. Monitoring provides the answers.
Monitoring deer has an entirely different meaning for owners and managers of the forestlands hunters use for deer hunting. These people have their own set of questions. Like hunters, they want to know how many deer there are, and where they are, but their goals for deer management differ from those of hunters. Landowners and managers monitor deer density and impact on forest resources to help them determine whether their deer management is helping achieve their goals for managing forest resources including deer. They are concerned there may be too many rather than too few deer, and they are far more concerned about the negative impact of deer on their forest resources than on the quantity or quality of deer.
Too many deer may mean landowners/managers will be less able produce valuable timber for harvest on a sustainable basis, and such properties may be less valuable. If enhancing biodiversity is a goal, too many deer will degrade vegetation and habitats which meet the basic
