Maryland is home to a diversity of native wildlife and plant species, and the balance between the two can sometimes be difficult to manage. Like rabbits overrunning a garden, an overpopulation of deer will have detrimental effects on the undergrowth and vegetation in a forest. For the Maryland Forest Service, successful stewardship requires finding equilibrium between supporting sustainable woodlands and affording space for the white-tailed deer that reside there. Deer browse on fresh tree buds and leaves that spring up from the forest floor. This is a natural part of their diet, but in the face of shrinking landscapes and fewer hunters, overpopulation of deer is leading to over-browsing. Since 2005, Maryland’s white-tailed deer population has stabilized around 235,000 deer. This was a stark decrease from the state high of 300,000 in 2002 after growing from an average population of around 150,000 deer in the 1980s until 1993. Meanwhile, the number of licensed hunters in the state has dropped by more than 40% since the 1970s. Since 2010, the white-tailed deer harvest has declined by more than 20%. The combination of less hunters and more deer since the 1980s and 1990s is damaging overall forest health. In forests with dense […]
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