The Wildlife Society of Florida

Southeast Deer Study Group History

The Southeast Deer Study Group was formed as a subcommittee of the Forest Game Committee of the Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society. The Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society is the regional organization representing Wildlife Society Chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting is hosted with the support of the directors of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The first meeting was held as a joint Northeast-Southeast Meeting at Fort Pickett, Virginia, on September 6-8, 1977. Appreciating the economic, aesthetic, and biological value of the white-tailed deer in the southeastern United States, the desirability of conducting an annual Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting was recognized and urged by the participants. Since February 1979, these meetings have been held annually for the purpose of bringing together managers, researchers, administrators, and users of this vitally important renewable natural resource. A list of the meetings, their location, and theme are listed below. These meetings provide an important forum for the sharing of research results, management strategies, and discussions that can facilitate the timely identification of, and solutions to, problems relative to the management of white-tailed deer in our region. The Deer Subcommittee was given full committee status in November 1985 at the Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society's annual business meeting.

Southeast Deer Study Group Meetings

Year	Location	Meeting Theme
1977	Fort Pickett, VA	none
1979	Mississippi State, MS	none
1980	Nacogdoches, TX	none
1981	Panama City, FL	Antlerless Deer Harvest Strategies
1982	Charleston, SC	none
1983	Athens, GA	Deer Damage Control
1984	Little Rock, AR	Dog-Deer Relationships in the Southeast
1985	Wilmington, NC	Socio-Economic Considerations in Managing White-tailed Deer
1986	Gatlinburg, TN	Harvest Strategies in Managing White-tailed Deer
1987	Gulf Shores, AL	Management: Past, Present, and Future
1988	Paducah, KY	Now That We Got Um, What are we Going To Do with Um?
1989	Oklahoma City, OK	Management of Deer on Private Lands
1990	Pipestem, WV	Addressing the Impact of Increasing Deer Populations
1991	Baton Rouge, LA	Antlerless Deer Harvest Strategies: How Well Are They Working?
1992	Annapolis, MD	Deer Versus People
1993	Jackson, MS	Deer Management: How We Affect Public Perception and Reception
1994	Charlottesville, VA	Deer Management in the Year 2004
1995	San Antonio, TX	The Art and Science of Deer Management: Putting the Pieces Together
1996	Orlando, FL	Deer Management Philosophies: Bridging The Gap Between the Public and Biologists.
1997	Charleston, SC	Obstacles to Sound Deer Management
1998	Jekyll Island, GA	Factors Affecting the Future of Deer Hunting
1999	Fayetteville, AR	QDM- What, How, Why, and Where?
2000	Wilmington, NC	Managing Deer in Tomorrow‘s Forests: Reality vs. Illusion
2001	St. Louis, MO	From Lewis & Clark to the New Millennium- The Changing Face of Deer Management
2002	Mobile, AL	Modern Deer Management- Balancing Biology, Politics, and Tradition
2003	Chattanooga, TN	Into the Future of Deer Management: Where Are We Heading?
2004	Lexington, KY	Today‘s Deer Hunting Culture: Asset or Liability?
2005	Shepherdstown, WV	The Impact of Today‘s Choices on Tomorrow‘s Deer Hunters