EVALUATING YOUR MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
In the last issue, I discussed how confusing the term "deer management" can be. I talked about the three important aspects of managing whitetails -- people, habitat and populations. Each has to be addressed in order to succeed, and this truth has been pointed out in many articles. In addition, I added a very important fourth component: a well-defined, measurable goal. Without a clear goal, you'll never succeed.

This graph illustrates how the age-class distribution of a well-managed buck and doe herd should look. At 3 1/2, the age ratio should be roughly equal. However, at 4 1/2, the ratio of mature does should be less than 10 percent.

Unfortunately, many private land- owners and state agencies have non-existent or poorly defined goals. And in spite of being the most popular game animal in North America, that's what makes whitetails also the most poorly managed! Many landowners and hunters alike are becoming disillusioned with management since they are not seeing the progress in buck quality they had anticipated. If you fall into this category, this installment will show you how to go about diagnosing your current situation so that you can arrive at a prescription for success.

WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
The best place to start analyzing your management program is to let your deer tell you what's going on. That's where all the records you've been keeping come into play. A healthy deer herd has the following characteristics:
1) A high recruitment rate of at least 70 percent.
2) Balanced buck age structure.
3) Doe age structure favoring younger age-classes.
4) High age-specific antler quality.

Remember that recruitment is the percentage of fawns born in any given year that are still alive one year later. In most areas (except southern Florida) this means June. It doesn't matter how many fawns are born if only a handful reach one year of age.

Using infrared-triggered cameras, Ben Koerth and I normally conduct two camera censuses on a property: one in early fall, another in late winter/early spring. The early fall census gives us a good idea of:
1) The fawn crop from the summer.
2) The age structure of bucks and does.
3) Antler quality assessment.

START WITH THE DOES
From an aging standpoint, does should be placed in the following categories: fawns, yearlings, mature (2 1/2 to 4 1/2 years), and over-mature (5 1/2 years plus). You really don't want any over-mature does in your herd. Why? If you are doing a good job of recruiting high-quality bucks, you want their daughters to be the primary breeding does. That's how you improve the most difficult component to management: genetics.

Ask yourself this question: "If I have an 8-year-old doe on my property, what was I doing nine years ago?" Younger does will be your best breeders, and they tend to have sons with larger antlers earlier in life. I do not know why, but that has been my experience. Furthermore, in well-managed herds, a high percentage of doe fawns will breed on the second estrous cycle, and the majority of their offspring will be bucks!

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