Effective Wild Game Management & Land Management

• 1). First, stop current policies that are making things worse. Recent explosions in the deer population have been attributed to a number of mistakes by wildlife management agencies. Allowing hunting that destroys the natural gender ratio balance in deer populations is one problem. Hunting can also thin the herd too much, allowing remaining animals to feed more easily so that they flourish and overpopulate. Allowing human habitation in wildfire-prone areas also allows fewer fires to burn and more vegetation that deer can feed on and results in greater reproductive rates. Allowing access to human-cultivated crops also creates the conditions that allow more deer to live and reproduce. Limiting these conditions would allow the deer population to return to more natural survival rate. Greater protection for the predators of a wildlife area will also have the effect of limiting the deer population.
  
  
• 2). Next, carefully re-balance game stock using the most current, scientifically-sound methods. The return of wild turkey population numbers has been one of the great success stories of wild game management. With careful reintroduction of healthy stock into wildlife areas, and trap-and-transfer programs that use the most modern techniques, the wild turkey population has grown to 6.5 million from its low of 30,000 birds in the 1930s.
  
  
• 3). Be aware that a good conservation program can become too much of a good thing. Canada geese have become so successful at adapting to human environments that they are now considered a nuisance in many pond and lake areas of the Midwest. The need to manage the population of Canada geese has led some to suggest a more liberal hunting policy to reduce their number, experimental removal of nests, and prevention of hatching of eggs by shaking them. Public opinion, however, is divided on whether such harsh management is truly necessary.
  
  
• 4). Understand that all wild game management is an ongoing commitment. California's Fish and Wildlife Commission is dedicated to wild game management with policies that encourage natural forage conditions for its elk herds. Careful monitoring of the carrying capacity of both state and private lands helps to keep the elk herds in check, and surplus animals are harvested through hunting and relocation measures. The state's wild pig population creates particular dangers in regard to native plants and animals because of its foraging habits, so wild pig numbers must be carefully monitored.