Deer Density

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Boogieman1
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Deer Density

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Fri Dec 15, 2017 2:23 pm

Does anyone know how they calculate this? Is this one of those stats that are just meaningless, like hunter density! Where they just take the number of licensed sold and divide by acreage in the state without removing towns, cities and places there are no deer plus easy to access spots that's get the bulk of pressure but others get almost none. The reason I ask is I saw somewhere on here talking about 5 deer per square mile being awful and might go a season without seeing a deer. So I looked up my area and it was .8 deer per square mile. Lol it's not that bad by my states standards my area has real low deer numbers but it's not like it's a dead zone eithier. With the limited amount of timber however and all land being small lots averaging prob 60 acres, with each of the parcels being leased by 3 to 5 hunters I'm betting my pressure ranks up there with the best of em.


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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby Emrah » Fri Dec 15, 2017 2:39 pm

I know aerial surveys are a big part of how the MN DNR comes up with their numbers. I think they extrapolate the numbers they actually see into a greater estimated herd count. How they come up with that algorithm I have no idea.

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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby JoeRE » Fri Dec 15, 2017 2:39 pm

Usually its deer per square mile of permanent (year round) habitat. Meaning ag fields and open water is not supposed to be included.

In reality, yes it is nearly meaningless. Everyone has a little different formula and gathers data in different ways. Roadkill counts, harvest data, aerial surveys, hunter feedback etc. No idea what ways are more accurate than others. I always use the example of two areas I am familiar with, southern WI and eastern IA. According to numbers I have heard some counties in each of these areas have similar deer densities. That's a joke. Numbers in southern Wisconsin have rebounded some in the last few years but they are still no where close to any county in eastern Iowa that I have spent time in. So somebody is either clueless or lyin...maybe everybody :lol:

I suspect other parts of the country are equally off.
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby elk yinzer » Fri Dec 15, 2017 3:01 pm

A wildlife biologist once told me turd counts are considered one of the more reliable methods.

I am a big woods hunter and what vexes me is that you have 50 acres that supports 10 deer, and 500 acres of lesser habitat that holds 2. They are not evenly distributed whatsoever, so why even pretend a density is relevant absent context.
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stash59
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby stash59 » Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:26 pm

I've read how they do the turd counts. They use transect lines. Walk those lines count the turd piles. Then have some kind of formula to calculate herd numbers. But with budget cuts they may not be able to do this anymore. Same with aerial surveylance. Pretty pricey to fly airplanes these days. Maybe they're going to drones for this!!!

Boogie .8 per sq. mi. is very low. In your case it may be total acreage, not just usable habitat. The area I hunted in northern Wi was and still is around 10/sq. mi. Some of the lowest in the state.
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby headgear » Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:35 pm

stash59 wrote:Boogie .8 per sq. mi. is very low.


Ya something is off here, one place I hunt is almost in Canada and we have around 7dpsm. Not saying places with 1-2 dpsm don't exist but we are talking way up in no mans land. Where do you hunt Boogie?
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby elk yinzer » Fri Dec 15, 2017 5:00 pm

I pretty regularly hunt areas that are almost certainly less than 10 dpsm. I have also hunted areas with at least 100 dpsm. In either case I was pretty confident the mature buck per square mile was about the same, but it sure is a different mental game!
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby Jonny » Fri Dec 15, 2017 5:11 pm

Pretty sure it’s also based off road kills and hunter surveys
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby brancher147 » Fri Dec 15, 2017 11:42 pm

In WV the DNR does spotlight surveys in late summer before acorns start falling. The other methods I have heard mentioned do not sound that accurate. Of course even spotlight surveys are only so accurate.
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby PK_ » Sat Dec 16, 2017 12:00 am

They use track counts down south. They plow firebreaks to ‘grid’ off sections then count the fresh tracks the next day. They factor in average home range size and other scientifical stuff...
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby Southern Man » Sat Dec 16, 2017 1:18 am

Deer densities aren't good for specifics. It's only an average and based on spot checks, however they count it. All it really tells you is there's not many deer in this area but a whole bunch in this area.

On a huge piece of public here (land between the lakes) they have been doing deer surveys for quite some time. It's no secret the deer herd is declining and they are trying to find out why. On the KY side they say there is 10 deer / square mile and on the TN side there is 19 deer / square mile. But that's only an average and not specific to any particular spot. We hunt an area on the KY side that holds more deer than that... easily. But I do know areas on the KY side that you will be hard pressed to ever see a deer. It's only an average and not spot specific.

So, that info is not really any good to a hunter except to say there is deer here but you have to find them or in case of high deer densities, there's alot of deer here and pretty easy to find them. The info is good for them and making decisions on herd management but not for the average hunter.
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby <DK> » Sat Dec 16, 2017 3:37 am

Does this seem reliable to you guys? Found it on the google machine search

http://maps.adventuremapping.com/whitet ... _map_1.asp
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby <DK> » Sat Dec 16, 2017 3:39 am

That map I posted is tough to gauge...

Boogieman, that map matches the stats you found as well. Props for getting the chances that you have so far this season.
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby Lu Rome » Sat Dec 16, 2017 4:26 am

Darkknight54 wrote:Does this seem reliable to you guys? Found it on the google machine search

http://maps.adventuremapping.com/whitet ... _map_1.asp

That's an interesting map, Dark. It looks like it's built off of state published harvest data and it looks like there are several different years, not all of it's current.

I don't have time now to dive into how a lot of the different surveys are done, but overall, the biggest thing isn't the calculated number, but the overall trend from year to year which is important. I'll try to dive into some of the methods later tonight.
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Re: Deer Density

Unread postby headgear » Sat Dec 16, 2017 4:30 am

That is deer "harvest" density, not deer population density, so different things. Even then I'm not sure how accurate that is.


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