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Deer Wars
Science, Tradition, and the Battle Over Managing Whitetails in Pennsylvania
328 pages | 39 illustrations | 7 x 8.5 | 2006
Cloth edition is not available
ISBN 978-0-271-02885-9 | paper: $35.95 tr
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“Frye’s book is thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and an easy read. Whether you’re a hunter, an anti-hunter, a farmer, a forest manager, a politician, a biologist, an evironmentalist, or just an ordinary person who wants to understand what’s happening with deer management in Pennsylvania, read Deer Wars by Bob Frye.” —Steve Sorensen, Warren Times Observer
“From the field notes of Emil Johnson, state game warden for Warren County in the 1920s, to recollections of Dick Gerstell, Game Commission research director in the 1930s, to a fitting tribute to the work and writings of Roger Latham in the 1950s, Frye knits together a very informative and readable in-depth history. He also does a credible job of reviewing the other contemporary issues facing deer managers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, including suburban/urban deer management, chronic wasting disease and deer farming. . . . Deer Wars is a carefully researched, comprehensive, 328-page, softcover history of one of the wildlife profession’s most vexing sagas. It is well worth reading by anyone interested in deer management, wildlife management history, human dimensions of wildlife or with a Pennsylvania hunting license.” —Outdoor News Bulletin of the Wildlife Management Institute
“If I had the power to do it, I’d make Deer Wars mandatory reading for every deer hunter, anti-hunter, wildlife manager, farmer, forester and environmentalist in the state. It’s that good.” —Christian Berg, Morning Call
“It might be a little late now to find a copy to take to deer camp, but every Pennsylvania deer hunter should get—and read: Deer Wars; Science, Tradition, and the Battle Over Managing Whitetails in Pennsylvania, a new book by Bob Frye. Not because the book will help those who still have a deer tag get a buck, but because this work offers a clear presentation of the history, lore and complexity of living with deer in the modern world. It’s the book our state needed decades ago. Deer Wars examines all aspects of the questions: How many deer should Pennsylvania have? Why? And who says so?
“Throughout the book’s 305 pages, he writes about deer and deer issues with a native Western Pennsylvania outdoorsman’s insight and affection for whitetails, tempered with keen journalistic timing and logical organization of the material.
“Too often, the various sides in deer debates have tended to see Pennsylvania’s landscape as static. But Frye succeeds in communicating, more than anything else, the fundamental changes that have occurred in the state’s ecology, economy, land use and politics that have come together to put deer and humans in conflict.” —Ben Moyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Bob has interviewed an amazing array of characters on all sides of the deer management issue—in fact, I can’t think of any major player he hasn’t interviewed. In his unbiased, reporter-style coverage, he almost never takes a position; he just reports what other people say, often providing quotations from others with conflicting views. This book certainly represents the most comprehensive documentation of the history of deer management in Pennsylvania.” —Dr. Gary Alt, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Hunters and non-hunters alike should take the opportunity to read this book. Non-hunters stand to learn about the problems uncontrolled wild animal populations can create as well as the purpose and role hunting plays in managing those populations and problems. Hunters—when you’re finished you’ll have a much better understanding of deer management as it’s practiced today, whether or not you agree with it. More importantly, it will help you determine if you truly are a conservationist, or simply just a hunter."
” —Ted Onufrak, President, The Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Inc.
“Deer Wars - a wealth of information on Pennsylvania’s current deer management program – what it’s about, how it developed and where it may be going – along with the controversy it’s created along the way. It is the first publication to give readers the Big Picture. It combines the science, the personalities and the opinions – from biologists to legislators to sportsmen to non-hunters – that lead to significant changes in Pennsylvania’s deer management program, and will lead to additional changes as the science and the personalities continue to evolve. It delves into the reasoning behind the significant changes we’ve seen, be they antler restrictions or herd reduction through expanded seasons and programs such as DMAP. Frye doesn’t hesitate to provide all sides of the issues, whether they’re scientifically based or simply personal opinions.
Throughout the book, Frye manages to maintain that image of “sportsmen – the first conservationists”, which is truly the theme driving the current program, as it should be. Hunters and non-hunters alike should take the opportunity to read this book. Non-hunters stand to learn about the problems uncontrolled wild animal populations can create as well as the purpose and role hunting plays in managing those populations and problems. Hunters - when you’re finished you’ll have a much better understanding of deer management as it’s practiced today, whether or not you agree with it. More importantly, it will help you determine if you truly are a conservationist, or simply just a hunter. (Both types are quoted frequently – if you can recognize them.) Frye won’t give you the answer at the end – he lets you make that decision for yourself!"” —Ted Onufrak, President, The Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Inc.
“Go to any barber shop in Pennsylvania and you will discover at least one expert and many strongly held opinions on deer management. I urge fellow hunters and wildlife enthusiasts to read this well-written and fascinating book that explores the checkered history of deer management in Pennsylvania.” —Larry J. Schweiger, President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation
“True to his award-winning style, Bob has produced a meticulously researched, superbly written, and often humorous and emotional exposé about Pennsylvania’s premier game animal. This prodigious book should be on the shelves of every serious conservationist and wildlife scholar.” —Roxane Palone, Vice-President, Pennsylvania Game Commission
“A well balanced, carefully documented, must read for anyone involved in the politics of modern day wildlife management in Pennsylvania.” —John C. Oliver, Former President, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and former Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
In 1931, when Charlie May was a teenager, deer were a rare thing in Pennsylvania. When one of his classmates burst into their one-room schoolhouse in Schuylkill County saying that he had seen a deertrack—not a deer, mind you, but just a track—their teacher took everyone out into the snow to see it.
Things have certainly changed in the decades since then. Sportsmen and biologists brought deer back in a big way in the early 20th century, growing the herd until it was considered to be among the two or three biggest in the nation. Indeed, May's son, who retired from the Pennsylvania Game Commission as a wildlife conservation officer in 2005, spent most of his career dealing not with a shortage of deer, but with an abundance of whitetails. That abundance—even overabundance, to hear some tell the story—has had severe consequences, though.
You can have too much of a good thing when it comes to white-tailed deer, say some of the farmers, foresters, bird watchers, auto insurance agents, biologists, and even hunters who have to deal with the deer that roam Pennsylvania from the big woods of the northern tier to the suburbs around Pittsburgh and the parks within Philadelphia. All agree they want deer in Pennsylvania, but in manageable numbers in the right places.
There have been and will continue to be problems until that balance is achieved. That's because deer, though beautiful, can also be devastating. "Deer are second only to humans in their impact on a forest ecosystem," says Dr. Gary Alt, who headed the Game Commission's deer management section until the constant battling over whitetails drove him to quit. "They can, and will, dictate what other animals will survive there."
Knowing that is one thing. Being able to do something about it—especially in Pennsylvania, where deer hunting traditions are as deeply rooted as 100-year-old white oak—is something else. A number of people, some Game Commission officials included, say they deerherd has been mismanaged for 80 years. That must change, they say, if deer populations are to finally be brought into balance with their habitat and if hunting as we know it is to survive.
Can that battle be won? People across the state and the nation are waiting to see. Virtually every state east of the Mississippi is dealing with this same issue—too many deer for the available habitat and a public that's come to believe having that many deer is not only OK, it's desirable. Pennsylvania may be the model for solving that problem.
"From the field notes of Emil Johnson, state game warden for Warren County in the 1920s, to recollections of Dick Gerstell, Game Commission research director in the 1930s, to a fitting tribute to the work and writings of Roger Latham in the 1950s, Frye knits together a very informative and readable in-depth history. He also does a credible job of reviewing the other contemporary issues facing deer managers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, including suburban/urban deer management, chronic wasting disease and deer farming.
Bob Frye is an award winning outdoors journalist and the Outdoors Editor for the Tribune-Review.
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
1 How Much Is Enough?
2 The Nature of Overabundance
3 When You Can’t See the Forest for the Deer
4 Too Many Mouths in the Grocery Aisle
5 At Home in the ’Burbs
6 Bambi Versus the Buick
7 Heroes or Goats?
8 Questions and Answers
9 Getting to the Point of Managing Deer Correctly
10 In the Eye of the Storm
11 A Wild Card in the Deer Management Deck
12 A Look to the Future
Index