{"id":28524,"date":"2024-04-28T15:01:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T19:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=28524"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:21:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:21:57","slug":"publication-understanding-white-tailed-deer-and-their-impact-on-indiana-woodlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/publication-understanding-white-tailed-deer-and-their-impact-on-indiana-woodlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Publication &#8211; Understanding White-tailed Deer and Their Impact on Indiana Woodlands"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Deer are an essential part of our ecosystems, but the phenomenon of too many deer should be of concern to forest landowners and the public in general. Deer are a &#8220;keystone&#8221; species, meaning their browsing can impact forest and wildlife communities. It is clear that when deer become<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/understanding-deer-cover.png\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"understanding-deer-cover\" data-rl_caption=\"understanding-deer-cover\" title=\"understanding-deer-cover\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-28525 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/understanding-deer-cover-200x200.png\" alt=\"understanding deer pub cover\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a> overabundant, their impact on the environment can be problematic. But by understanding the impacts deer have on our woodlands, their food preferences, and how to assess and evaluate impacts in your woodlands, we can begin to address the problems caused by overabundant deer.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the research and how it can help you and your land:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carrying Capacity<\/li>\n<li>Too Many Deer or Not Enough Food: Managing the Foodscape<\/li>\n<li>Monitoring Deer and Forest Vegetation<\/li>\n<li>Food Preferences<\/li>\n<li>Deer Impact Assessment\n<p><div id=\"attachment_28616\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/deer-graph.png\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"deer-graph\" data-rl_caption=\"deer-graph\" title=\"deer-graph\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28616\" class=\"wp-image-28616 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/deer-graph-200x200.png\" alt=\"deer graph\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-28616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too many deer or not enough food: managing the foodscape<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n<li>More Resources<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To receive the free download and recipe visit the Purdue Extension&#8217;s resource center: The Education Store &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-639-W&amp;_ga=2.72513107.131938684.1712780740-358653469.1712533029\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Understanding White-tailed Deer and Their Impact on Indiana Woodlands<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>View the <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.purdue.edu\/pondwildlife\/deer-impact.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deer Impact Toolbox<\/a> for more resources and videos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resources:<br \/>\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.purdue.edu\/pondwildlife\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Purdue Extension Pond and Wildlife Management<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.purdue.edu\/pondwildlife\/_docs\/intro-deer-impact-toolbox.pdf\">Introduction to White-tailed Deer Impacts on Indiana Woodlands<\/a><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-639-W&amp;_ga=2.8423088.466296458.1711997291-1071856872.1711909170\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Understanding White-tailed Deer and Their Impact on Indiana Woodlands<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-640-W&amp;_ga=2.8423088.466296458.1711997291-1071856872.1711909170\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Monitoring White-tailed Deer and Their Impact on Indiana Woodlands<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-641-W&amp;_ga=2.18261564.466296458.1711997291-1071856872.1711909170\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Managing White-tailed Deer Impacts on Indiana Woodlands<\/a>, The Education Store<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Tvlw1Kx9DBs\">Ask an Expert: Wildlife Food Plots<\/a>, video, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-486-W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-596-W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-551-W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\nHandling Harvested Game: Episode 1, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bfdDz1fHTbA\">Field Dressing<\/a>, video, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/deer-harvest-data-collection\/\">Deer Harvest Data Collection<\/a>, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-507-WV\">How to Score Your White-tailed Deer<\/a>, video, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/j3rd12FJnn8\">White-Tailed Deer Post Harvest Collection<\/a>, video, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-508-WV\">Age Determination in White-tailed Deer<\/a>, video, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a title=\"Handling Harvested Deer Ask an Expert?\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yWAMJ1TWgXw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Handling Harvested Deer Ask an Expert?<\/a> video, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCV33U3KP3HDhxgJO1n7HuOA\/\">Subscribe to Purdue Extension-Forestry &amp; Natural Resources YouTube Channel<\/a>, Wildlife Playlist<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/contact-us\/directory\/jarred-m-brooke\/\">Jarred Brooke<\/a>, Wildlife Extension Specialist<br \/>\nPurdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deer are an essential part of our ecosystems, but the phenomenon of too many deer should be of concern to forest landowners and the public in general. Deer are a &#8220;keystone&#8221; species, meaning their browsing can impact forest and wildlife communities. It is clear that when deer become overabundant, their impact on the environment can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,971,49,860,54,622],"tags":[176,1947,60,413,257,1560,72],"class_list":["post-28524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forestry","category-land-use","category-plants","category-publication","category-wildlife","category-woodlands","tag-deer","tag-deer-impact","tag-forestry","tag-publication","tag-purdue-extension","tag-purdue-forestry-and-natural-resources","tag-wildlife","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28524"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34320,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28524\/revisions\/34320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}