UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are conducting several studies with the state's deer hunters to learn what they think about habitat, hunting practices and various management approaches.

In one study, Grace Wang, a human dimensions specialist in the School of Forest Resources, is overseeing a survey of deer hunters' attitudes and opinions about habitat. More than 1,000 randomly selected hunting license buyers around the state were asked where they hunt, why they hunt where they do and what kind of success they have.

The survey was sent out last March. Sixty-one percent of survey recipients have returned questionnaires. Tabulated results will be used by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which is funding the Penn State research. The commission wants to know what hunters think about a variety of issues, Wang says.

"The opinions of deer hunters are important," she says, "because hunting is so big in Pennsylvania, both economically and socially."

Wang says that the questions on the survey came from focus groups primarily made up of hunters. She says her research team learned a lot from meetings with focus group participants.

"Many hunters told us they don't like to harvest does. That's a problem for the Game Commission," she says, "because there are so many more does than bucks."

Approximately 1 million hunting licenses are sold in the state annually. In recent years it has become clear that hunter numbers are decreasing and the deer population is increasing statewide, notes Wang, who collaborates with other Penn State wildlife and forestry scientists on research for the Game Commission.

In some places in Pennsylvania, the buck-to-doe ratio may be as high as one buck to 10 does, according to Gary San Julian, professor of wildlife resources. The ratio varies greatly across the state, but wildlife scientists believe it is too high in most regions.

"Normally when deer are born, there are an equal number of males and females," San Julian explains. "But we have put those numbers way out of kilter by the way we hunt deer, because every year 80 percent of all bucks are killed. We need to get the buck-to-doe ratio down to a more normal level of 2- or 3-to-1.

"The College of Agricultural Sciences will be conducting two more deer-hunting-related surveys in the coming months. One will be a statewide follow-up effort to paint a more detailed picture of hunters' attitudes on issues including doe hunting, antler restrictions, hunting success and hunting area fidelity; the other will help determine why so many property owners post their land against public hunting.

Dr. Gary Alt, Game Commission Deer Management Section supervisor, will use Penn State's research to tailor the state's deer-management plan.

"This survey will allow us to gain further insight into the Pennsylvania deer hunters and establish an understanding of deer hunter perceptions and characteristics," he says. "We hope to use results from this survey for staff recommendations for 2002 deer seasons and bag limits and for public education and outreach efforts."

A final report of survey results from the statewide hunter attitude survey will be presented to the Game Commission board at its January 2002 meeting.

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EDITORS: Grace Wang can be reached at 814-863-3104.

Contacts:

Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax