{"id":33011,"date":"2025-04-29T09:30:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T13:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=33011"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:51:39","slug":"white-tailed-deer-impact-in-indiana-hoosier-ag-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/white-tailed-deer-impact-in-indiana-hoosier-ag-today\/","title":{"rendered":"White-tailed Deer Impact on Indiana Woodlands, Hoosier Ag Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hoosier Ag Today:<\/a> <\/em>White-tailed deer are very important to\u00a0Indiana woodlands<\/a>. But in many areas of the state, deer populations have grown far beyond what the land can support.<\/p>\n

\"Trail<\/a>

Trail cameras monitor deer impact on woodlands. Integrated Deer Management Project, Purdue University photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThrough their browsing and what they eat, they can actually reduce plant diversity and limit the growth of some of our tree seedlings, such as Oak, which are both economically and ecologically important,\u201d says Jarred Brooke, Purdue Extension Wildlife Specialist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can actually cause issues with increases in the invasive species that they don\u2019t eat, like Japanese stilt grass or garlic mustard,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For woodland owners across Indiana who might not be sure if deer are even a problem on their property, how can they better understand and measure deer impacts?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the first step is being aware and being tuned in to the problems that deer can cause,\u201d he says. \u201cFortunately, with the help of\u00a0The Nature Conservancy<\/a>\u00a0here in Indiana, we at Purdue Extension created a series of publications and videos called the\u00a0Deer\u00a0Impact Toolbox<\/a>, which are designed to help landowners really understand, monitor, and address the impacts that deer have in their woodlands. These resources are a great starting point for any landowner that is interested in learning more about deer impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that the best way to manage those impacts from deer are hunting, habitat management, and plant protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the reduction of the number of deer by harvesting does on your property, that can be an effective way to reduce their impact,\u201d he says. \u201cAlso if you can improve the habitat for deer on your property, either through forest improvement or through a timber harvest, you can actually create more food on the landscape, which reduces overall dear impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last big way is through protecting the plants that you\u2019re trying to keep deer from browsing. That can be fencing, tree plantations, putting tree tubes or tree shelters on young trees, or fencing sensitive areas from deer browsing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Read the Deer Toolbox Publications: Deer Impact Toolbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n

View the original article and listen to the Hoosier Ag Today\u2019s radio News in the Hoosier Ag Today April 2025: Managing the Impact of White-tailed Deer on Indiana Woodlands<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resources:
\n<\/strong>Purdue Extension Pond and Wildlife Management<\/a>
\nAsk an Expert: Wildlife Food Plots<\/a>, video, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel
\nHow to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence<\/a>, The Education Store
\nA Woodland Management Moment \u2013 Deer Fencing<\/a>, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Video
\nManaging Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer<\/a>, The Education Store
\nBovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer<\/a>, The Education Store
\nHandling Harvested Game: Episode 1, Field Dressing<\/a>, video, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel
\nDeer Harvest Data Collection<\/a>, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR
\nHow to Score Your White-tailed Deer<\/a>, video, Purdue Extension
\nWhite-Tailed Deer Post Harvest Collection<\/a>, video, Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources
\nAge Determination in White-tailed Deer<\/a>, video, Purdue Extension
\nHandling Harvested Deer Ask an Expert?<\/a> video, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel
\nSubscribe to Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources YouTube Channel<\/a>, Wildlife Playlist<\/p>\n

Jarred Brooke<\/a>, Wildlife Extension Specialist
\nPurdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources<\/p>\n

Hoosier Ag Today<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hoosier Ag Today: White-tailed deer are very important to\u00a0Indiana woodlands. But in many areas of the state, deer populations have grown far beyond what the land can support. \u201cThrough their browsing and what they eat, they can actually reduce plant diversity and limit the growth of some of our tree seedlings, such as Oak, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,622],"tags":[2039,1314,1994,261,487,72,495],"class_list":["post-33011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wildlife","category-woodlands","tag-ag-hoosier-today","tag-deer-management","tag-habitat-management","tag-indiana","tag-white-tailed-deer","tag-wildlife","tag-woodlands","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\/33011","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\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33011"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34322,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33011\/revisions\/34322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}