The 26th Annual Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting will be held in Chattanooga beginning February 23. This annual meeting was started in 1977 by professional deer biologists in the southeast as a means to share information about deer management among biologists. It's grown from the 20 people that attended the first meeting to an annual attendance of 400 to 450 people. The attendees are generally all wildlife professionals with a keen interest in deer management. The meeting is governed by the Southeastern Deer Study Group Committee. This committee is comprised of representatives from the southeastern states. Generally the Deer Project Coordinator for each state is the representative for each state on the committee. The annual meeting is hosted in turn by each state in the southeast through the guidance of the Southeastern Deer Study Group Committee which is an affiliate of the Wildlife Society.
The 26th Annual Meeting will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn. Meeting dates are February 23 –26, 2003. The meeting highlights include:
Sunday Night Social - held on Sunday night (Feb 23). The Social will be held at the Tennessee Aquarium and will consist of a light meal and is designed to renew old acquaintances and to make new ones. A tour of the Aquarium is also planned.
Technical Session – held on Monday and Tuesday. The Technical Session consists of professional papers presented by deer researchers. Approximately 50-60 papers will be presented in these two days. Papers are reviewed and selected by the host state and will include information on biology, management and social aspects of deer management both in the southeast and on a national scale.
Shoot From the Hip –held on Monday night. This session consists of a panel discussion on a controversial topic. After the panel presents their views on the subject the discussion is opened to the general audience. The discussion is kept informal to increase audience participation and the discussion is typical heated while informative. Topic for this year’s session will be” Chronic Wasting Disease” and the discussion will center on whether state agencies are pursuing the correct approach on handling this problem.
Banquet - held on Tuesday night. At the banquet a meal of prime rib will be served along with the entertainment from a live band. Special awards will be made including the Lifetime Achievement Award in Deer Management, the Best Student Paper Award and recognition will be given to meeting sponsors and supporters.
Companion Tours – throughout the meeting special companion tours will be offered to companions of the meeting participants that are not interested in the Technical Session. Tentatively planned trips include a Riverboat cruise on the Tennessee River, visits to local historical sites and shopping excursion to local areas.
Meeting Costs - Late registration (after Jan 15) is $120. Registration costs include entry into the Banquet, Sunday Night Social, Technical Sessions and Shoot From the Hip Session. Meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn in Chattanooga. Rooms are available at a conference rate of $70 per room. This room rate will be honored until Jan 15. The phone number for the hotel is (423) 267-4998 or 1-800-872-2529.
More information concerning the meeting can be obtained by contacting either Mark Boersen at (615) 781-6610 or Ben Layton at (931) 484-9571.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2003
1:00–6:00 p.m. Registration – Dome Lobby (Main Lobby)
3:00–5:00 p.m. Southeast Deer Committee Meeting – Crystal Room
7:00 p.m. Social/Dinner – Tennessee Aquarium (Name Badges are Required) – Buses begin leaving the Choo Choo at 6:30 p.m.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2003
7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Registration – Centennial Lobby
Opening Session – Keeping Deer Management on Track: Where are We Heading?
8:30 a.m. Welcome
Gary Myers – Director, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Bob Corker – Mayor, City of Chattanooga
8:45 a.m. Keynote Speaker – Dr. Gary Alt, Deer Management Section Supervisor – Pennsylvania Game Commission
The role of deer hunting providing an environmental/ecological service to society and its possible implications to the future of hunting.
Technical Session I
Moderator – David A. Osborn, University of Georgia
9:15 a.m. Age-specific activity rates of male white-tailed deer in southern Texas. Mickey W. Hellickson – King Ranch, Inc. and The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Karl V. Miller and R. Larry Marchinton – University of Georgia, Charles A. DeYoung – Texas A&M University
9:35 a.m. *GPS-tracking collars for understanding factors affecting deer use of soybean fields and surrounding habitats. Kent A. Adams and Lisa I. Muller – University of Tennessee, Mark C. Conner – DuPont Agricultural Products, Frank van Manen – USGS, University of Tennessee, and Craig A. Harper – University of Tennessee
9:55 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. *Effects of controlled dog hunting on the movements of white-tailed deer. Gino J. D’Angelo – University of Georgia, John C. Kilgo – U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station, Christopher E. Comer, Cory D. Drennan, David A. Osborn and Karl V. Miller – University of Georgia
10:35 a.m. *Mortality and emigration of a white-tailed deer population in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina. David Rudisail – Clemson University, Jay Cantrell – Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Melissa Ide – Clemson University, Lee Taylor – Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tim Fendley – Clemson University, Charles Ruth – South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Rick Hemingway and Edsel Hemingway – Back Woods Quail Club
10:55 a.m. *Survivorship of neonatal white-tailed deer in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Lemuel W. Boykin and Tim Fendley – Clemson University, and Charles Ruth – South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
11:15 a.m. Lunch (on your own)
Technical Session II
Moderator – Dr. Karl V. Miller, University of Georgia
1:00 p.m. *Can restricting hunter access reduce the harvest of yearling male white-tailed deer? Tyler A. Campbell, Benjamin R. Laseter, and David A. Osborn – University of Georgia, W. Mark Ford – USDA Forest Service Northeastern Research Station, and Karl V. Miller – University of Georgia
1:20 p.m. Fate of male white-tailed deer in four Georgia counties with antler restriction regulations. Michael D. Van Brackle and J. Scott McDonald – Georgia Department of Natural Resources
1:40 p.m. An Adaptive Management Approach to Increase Deer Harvest. David S. deCalesta – State University of New York, Kevin McAleese – Sand County Foundation
2:00 p.m. *Use of antler-based, selective-harvest criteria to produce older-aged bucks: does the bandwagon have wheels? Bronson K. Strickland and Stephen Demarais – Mississippi State University, Larry Castle – Mississippi Department of Wildlife
2:20 p.m. *Opinions and preferences of Arkansas deer hunters towards statewide QDM. Bret A Collier and David G. Krementz – USGS Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
2:40 a.m. Laissez lesbons temps rouler – Louisiana Joins the Parade, David Moreland, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
3:00 p.m. Break
Technical Session III
Moderator – Jonathan Day, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife
3:20 p.m. Determination of deer reproductive parameters on Ossabaw and Sapelo Islands, Georgia. John W. Bowers, Dan Forster, and Jim Simmons – Georgia Department of Natural Resources
3:40 p.m. *Genetic comparisons of white-tailed deer populations with different breeding dates in Mississippi and Louisiana. Jason A. Sumners, Stephen Demarais, and Alejandro P. Rooney – Mississippi State University, Ken Gee and Robert Gonzalez – Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Rodney Honeycutt – Texas A&M University, Randy W. DeYoung and Christopher Taylor – Mississippi State University
4:00 p.m. Antler growth of white-tailed deer in southern Texas. David G. Hewitt – The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Mickey W. Hellickson – King Ranch, Inc. and The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, and Fred Bryant – The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
4:20 p.m. Comparative mating success of male white-tailed deer in relation to age and antler quality. James R. Ott (co-senior author) – Southwest Texas State University, Donnie Frels (co-senior author), William Armstrong, and Jason Carroll – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Randy DeYoung – Mississippi State University, Mark Mitchell – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Deirdre Honeycutt and Loren Skow – Texas A&M University, John Baccus – Southwest Texas State University, Rodney Honeycutt – Texas A&M University, and Robert Gonzalez – The Noble Foundation
4:40 p.m. Relationship of white-tailed deer, black bears, and oak mast on seven wildlife management areas in north Georgia. Kent E. Kammermeyer and David Gregory – Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Tamara Terry – University of Georgia (present affiliation – West Virginia University)
5:00 p.m. Dinner (on your own)
7:00 p.m. Shoot From The Hip – Grand Central – Chronic Wasting Disease Management: Are We On the Right Track?
(Note: No recording devices will be allowed into this event)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2003
7:00 a.m. – noon Registration – Centennial Lobby
8:30 a.m. Announcements
Technical Session IV
Moderator – Dr. Craig A. Harper, The University of Tennessee
8:40 a.m. *White-tailed deer forage production in managed pine stands and summer food plots. Scott L. Edwards and Steve Demarais – Mississippi State University, Bobby Watkins – BASF Corporation, and Bronson K. Strickland – Mississippi State University
9:00 a.m. Evolving loblolly pine plantation establishment and the potential benefits to white-tailed deer habitat in MeadWestvaco’s southern region. G. Chris Muckenfuss, David M. Bourgeois, and William M. Baughman – MeadWestvaco
9:20 a.m. *White-tailed deer browse preferences in clear-cuts in the central Appalachians of West Virginia. Benjamin R. Laseter, Tyler A. Campbell, David A. Osborn, and Karl V. Miller – The University of Georgia, and W. Mark Ford – USDA Forest Service
9:40 a.m. Break
Technical Session V
Moderator – Dr. Mark C. Conner, DuPont Agricultural Products
10:00 a.m. Do infrared-triggered still camera surveys give you the “real picture”? Kenneth L. Gee and John H. Holman – The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
10:20 a.m. Use of FLIR for wildlife survey: An evaluation of the technique. Susan Bernatas – Vision Air Research
10:40 a.m. Accuracy and precision of pellet group counts for estimating deer density. David S.deCalesta – State University of New York
11:00 a.m. A Long-standing error in deer aging? R. Larry Marchinton – University of Georgia, Kent E. Kammermeyer – Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Sara H. Schweitzer – University of Georgia, and Brian P. Murphy – Quality Deer Management Association
11:20 a.m. Improving accuracy and precision of aging techniques for white-tailed deer in southern Texas. Mickey W. Hellickson – King Ranch, Inc. and The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, David G. Hewitt and Fred C. Bryant – The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute,
11:40 a.m. Lunch (on your own)
Technical Session VI
Moderator – Dr. W. Mark Ford, U.S. Forest Service
1:00 p.m. Pivot table – a tool for the deer manager. Randy L. Tucker – West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
1:20 p.m. The Noble Foundation drop-net system for capturing white-tailed deer – the next generation. Kenneth L. Gee and John H. Holman – The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, and Dewayne Crelia – RSI Communications
1:40 p.m. *Effectiveness of antagonists for reversal of Telazol/Xylazine immobilization in female white-tailed deer. Brad F. Miller, Lisa I. Muller, and Tom Dougherty – University of Tennessee, David O. Osborn, Karl V. Miller and Robert J. Warren – University of Georgia
2:00 p.m. Theory meets practice: a new tool for deer herd management in the twenty-first century. Patrick D. Keyser – MeadWestvaco Corporation, D. C. Guynn, Jr. and H. S. Hill, Jr – Clemson University, W. Matt Knox – Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, and Steve R. Bloemer – USDA-Forest Service Land Between the Lakes
2:20 p.m. Break
Technical Session VII
Moderator – Mark R. Boersen, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
2:40 p.m. *Effectiveness of targeted deer population control along roadways to reduce deer vehicle collisions. Christopher E. Comer, Gino J. D’Angelo, and Cory D. Drennan – University of Georgia, John C. Kilgo – USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, and Karl V. Miller, University of Georgia
3:00 p.m. *The effect of fertility control on postnatal deer fawn mortality on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Shane B. Roberts, James D. Jordan, and Robert J. Warren – University of Georgia
3:20 p.m. A preliminary assessment of hunt strategies to improve bowhunting as a management tool in urban areas. Howard K. Kilpatrick and Andrew M. LaBonte – Connecticut Department of Natural Resources, and Dr. John S. Barclay – University of Connecticut
3:40 p.m. Attitudes of Residents Toward a Managed Deer Hunting Program in the Vicinity of Suburban Parks. Philip C. Norman – Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, and Jacob L. Bowman – University of Delaware
4:00 p.m. Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) - State Funding Secured? C.J.Winand – Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry
4:30 p.m. Southeast Deer Study Group Business Meeting (Technical Session Meeting Room)
6:00 p.m. Social Hour
7:00 p.m. Banquet (Name Badge Required) – Imperial Ballroom
*Indicates Student Paper