Jon
Active Member
Not all consultants are wacky. And none of them know the grounds as well as a landowner, at least I hope that’s the case. I chuckle sometimes when the Midwest/southern consultants come out to the northeast, especially in New York. Completely different eco region and very few have ever killed a deer here or have a real understanding of the complications of the deer to include how deer are socially constructed due to pressure and resources, population density even the dietary differences due to seasonal resources.
I learn a lot on this forum and I do consult on properties all over NY, but I don’t know everything and I’m not bashing Sturgis or any other consultant but Sturgis basic principles are just that... basic. There is little that’s complicated about his perspective although he does a good job at times making folks think it’s complicated. Bottom line the marketing aspect of doe factories... is just that, an observation and marketing he does... next thing you hear is I want and inside out vs outside in property or some other theory... I’ve designed properties with the complete opposite recommendation to include my own.
Here’s my take, I want low deer numbers (not 8-12 deer/sq mi) around 20-25/ sq mile, I’m looking at herd dynamics all the time and I’m managing for seasonal food and cover... that’s your simple answer to all of this, lower numbers and balance sex ratios with adequate resources minimizes a lot of what others want to complain about to include doe numbers ...I’m using this as a threshold from a mgt standpoint due to what I’m generally looking at as it relates to vegetation in my local region, take a look at it for specific area and weigh the stresses that might subtract or other factors that might add to the deer numbers.
There’s a ton of info on this forum and it will get you further and allow you to invest in your own approach and give you better insight into tactics of approaching land for enhancement. I’m not saying don’t hire or leverage a consultant, I’m just suggesting keep things simple in your approach, and a lot of it starts with just managing deer numbers.
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I learn a lot on this forum and I do consult on properties all over NY, but I don’t know everything and I’m not bashing Sturgis or any other consultant but Sturgis basic principles are just that... basic. There is little that’s complicated about his perspective although he does a good job at times making folks think it’s complicated. Bottom line the marketing aspect of doe factories... is just that, an observation and marketing he does... next thing you hear is I want and inside out vs outside in property or some other theory... I’ve designed properties with the complete opposite recommendation to include my own.
Here’s my take, I want low deer numbers (not 8-12 deer/sq mi) around 20-25/ sq mile, I’m looking at herd dynamics all the time and I’m managing for seasonal food and cover... that’s your simple answer to all of this, lower numbers and balance sex ratios with adequate resources minimizes a lot of what others want to complain about to include doe numbers ...I’m using this as a threshold from a mgt standpoint due to what I’m generally looking at as it relates to vegetation in my local region, take a look at it for specific area and weigh the stresses that might subtract or other factors that might add to the deer numbers.
There’s a ton of info on this forum and it will get you further and allow you to invest in your own approach and give you better insight into tactics of approaching land for enhancement. I’m not saying don’t hire or leverage a consultant, I’m just suggesting keep things simple in your approach, and a lot of it starts with just managing deer numbers.
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It has been my experience that deer do what they want to do much more than what we want them to do.
