Mr. Phillips is known as one of Pennsylvania's foremost conservationists yet he was not deterred from withdrawing the last buck from the Pennsylvania resource bank. While the educational campaign of the 1950s succeeded in establishing an annual antlerless season, we all know it did little else to quiet deer harvest debates. Deer are graceful, sleek and have long legs, which makes them look taller than their actual height of 35 to 38 inches. Deer play an important role in our forests, and everyone admires their graceful beauty. Phillips lobbied the legislature for an agency that would protect the wildlife they so loved. What could go wrong? Buckeye is based on the Native American word "hetuck," meaning "eye of the buck." I'm sure my two dedicated fans would be disappointed; but, hey, those are the breaks. Moose and woodland caribou were the most abundant members of the deer family. The white-tailed deer predates the Ice Ages and is the oldest extant deer species. I couldn't get enough of them. Unregulated shooting, changes in land use, and other factors combined to all but eliminate deer … The average number of deer-vehicle collisions per day in Pennsylvania is 275. Its body and antlers are largest in cold temperate climates and on productive agricultural soils but are small in the tropics, in deserts, and on small islands. White-tailed deer are the smallest member of the deer family in North America, ranging in size from 150 to 310 pounds for bucks and 90 to 210 pounds for does. As you may recall, the subject of this column a year ago was the reproductive potential of white-tailed deer. Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh were all well-established cities by 1800, with growing populations. And the older I get, the more I realize that life is all about perspective. Prime areas are those which have a mix of forest, old fields and active crop lands. Deer, when granted some protection, readily exploit man-made disturbances caused by agriculture, forestry, and urbanization. For example, it has not held its own against European deer after its introduction to New Zealand and Europe. Isolated from predators and hunters, the deer population grew quickly. Director Kalbfus noted the gathering clouds on the horizon. Who wouldn't support that? This might be my situation if I had lived in Europe during the era of colonization. For example, I spent a lovely cool July 4th picking raspberries several years ago. When I do win Powerball, I am sure my monetary worries will be over for life. Hunting is the number one cause of mortality for adult white-tailed deer in many parts of their range, including Tennessee. Historic accounts notethat furs sent out from the various posts upon the Illinois River included10,000 deer, 300 bear, 10,000 raccoon, 35,000 muskrat, 400 otter, 300 pounds ofbeaver, 500 cat and fox and 100 mink, having a total value placed at $23,700.During this time period, a 60­â€“100 pound whitetail sol… Compared to the dozen other large terrestrial herbivores that survived in North America, white-tailed deer have many attractive characteristics. They have a very large number of subspecies spread across both the continents. But fear not, market hunters (those who turned a profit from their ability to harvest wildlife) did their duty by supplying settlements with a steady stream of deer and other game. At the time of European settlement, white-tailed deer in Minnesota existed throughout the wooded river valleys and woodlands of central and southern Minnesota. History of the White-tailed Deer in Pennsylvania The Early Days. Could perspective be the cure? The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, Ecuador, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. Prior to European settlement, deer provided a staple for Native Americans who inhabited present-day Pennsylvania. Of course, hunters of that era didn't have the hang ups that we do today. History really doesn't have to be that complicated. Perhaps for this reason, the species has become increasingly important in the harvest. But, amazingly enough, the antlerless allocation continued to rise until 1991, until the familiar howls of the disgruntled rose above common sense. That year more than 170,000 antlerless deer were harvested. Odocoileus virginianus At the time of European settlement, white-tailed deer in Minnesota existed throughout the wooded river valleys and woodlands of central and southern Minnesota. 1953-1955: 111 deer released throughout the state, with last releases in Sullivan and Ripley counties. Oh, boy, this was not going to go over well. Because Pennsylvanians wanted the world and wanted it now, the Game Commission began a restocking program in 1906 to accelerate the return of the whitetail. Unregulated shooting, changes in land use, and other factors combined to all but eliminate deer … Although the white-tailed deer of North and South America are currently recognized as one species, genetically these deer are further apart than are white-tailed and black-tailed deer in North America. It has been locally outcompeted in North America by sika and chital. Deer were plentiful when European settlers first arrived, but the animals were hunted extensively for meat and hide with no thought of conservation or management. A four township area in Clearfield County had an estimated 1,000 dead fawns. I would much rather do stuff than read about people who did stuff. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Five years later the buck harvest was more than 1,000. White-tailed deer are the smallest member of the deer family in North America, ranging in size from 150 to 310 pounds for bucks and 90 to 210 pounds for does. The 1928 antlerless season resulted in the harvest of 25,097 antlerless deer and the resignation of Executive Director John Truman. And instead of succeeding into pole stage forest 15 to 20 years after the big cut at the turn of the century, young brushy forest conditions persisted for several decades by repeated fires. While clearing the land for agriculture certainly caused its fair share of tree mortality, it was the lumber industry that waged war on Pennsylvania forests. Life History of the White-tailed Deer LHOTWTD012104. White-tailed deer can be differentiated from mule deer by their distinct wide tail with a … The White-tailed Deer is a browser, feeding on leaves, buds, and twigs of wide variety of plants. The harvest in 1907 was 230 deer. What if the grocery store was the great outdoors and the shelves were barely stocked? And there are other roads that I have traveled I'm not as intimately acquainted with. Forgetting the common history of the whitetail exposes us to silly mistakes — like forgetting to tuck your shirt in while standing in waist high raspberry brambles in July. I do. We have been traveling together through Pennsylvania's deer management history for the past eight months. Keystone State. In 1907, the harvest dropped to 200 bucks and 30 illegal does. 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