Date #, 2009 Presenter Name

An Assessment of the Deer Population on

Jekyll Island, Georgia and the

Management Implications

10 November 2011 Will Ricks

Department of Natural Resources

Overview

• Introduction to Jekyll Island Deer

• Introduction to the Population Surveys

• Spotlight Survey Results

• Browse Survey Results

• Management Options

• Conclusion

Department of Natural Resources

Jekyll Island Deer Facts

• Whitetail Deer are long-time inhabitants of the island

• 65% of Jekyll is undeveloped by law

• Island deer are smaller than mainland whitetails

• Jekyll deer are very conspicuous

• These deer often visit communities and golf courses

for food.

• The deer population on Jekyll is too high

• Regulated hunting is prohibited on the island

• Education of residents and visitors is important to

solving the deer issues on Jekyll

http://www.google.com/i mgres?q=jekyl l+island+deer &hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel =np&bi w=1280&bih= 657&tbm=isch&pr md=i vns&tbnid=Y4Le_9Nq-SKWNM:&i mgrefurl=http: //wei w. lightshedder.com/Landscape- Wildli fe/Jekyll-Island-GA-2010/14064787_eQt4H /10/1038238420_NpKtC&doc id=Zj2MUJNgAVl5VM&itg=1&w=800&h= 514&ei =UQ5N TvmID uW90AHhqe3uBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx= 959& vpy=110&dur=395&hovh=180&hovw=280&tx=128&ty=74&page=1&tbnh= 123&tbnw=191&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

Department of Natural Resources

Island Forage

• Quality forage is important

to deer in coastal habitats

• In coastal areas forage is

not a limiting factor for

deer, but quality forage

often is a limiting factor

• Plants with low palatability

and digestibility dominate

the landscape and make it

difficult to stay healthy

throughout the harsh

summers

Forestry Images

Vanishing South Georgia

Department of Natural Resources

Spotlight Survey

Department of Natural Resources

Spotlight Survey

• A survey that samples the number of visible

acres in proportion to the number of deer

seen.

• Nighttime survey conducted over four nights.

• One night of distance sampling and three

nights of counting deer.

• Deer are put into four categories, bucks, does,

fawns, and unknowns.

• A formula is used to determine population

parameters.

Department of Natural Resources

Browse Survey

Department of Natural Resources

Browse Survey

• A survey that samples the number deer bites

in different habitat types.

• Five, 100 yard transects were taken

• Habitat types included: beach, field, golf

course, marsh, and forest.

• Indicator species were noted in the survey

• The survey was completed in one day.

Department of Natural Resources

Spotlight Survey Results

• One deer per 8 acres / 80 deer per square mile

• 712 deer total on the island

• 121 bucks

• 463 does

• 128 fawns

• 73% of the deer were found on the golf course

• We covered 41.4 total miles on the island

• Average Visibility was 66.9 yards

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001042.php

Department of Natural Resources

Browse Survey Results

• 101 bites on the beach site

• 61 bites on the field site

• 97 bites on the golf course site

• 58 bites in the marsh site

• 93 bites on the forest site

• Indicator species were heavily browsed upon

when present

http://homepond.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

Department of Natural Resources

What Does All This Mean?

• The deer population is clearly high on Jekyll

• One deer per 8 acres is over the amount of deer the

island can sustain based on the habitat (healthy deer)

• Bites over 50 in a transect indicates overpopulation

(all of the transects were well over 50 bites)

• 80 deer per square mile should be lowered to 30 deer

per square mile

• The island needs to harvest deer each year to ensure

healthy populations and public safety.

Department of Natural Resources

Overpopulation Issues

• Risk of disease

• Deer-vehicle collisions

• Threats to Natural Resources

• Landscape damage

• Golf Course damage

• Human impacts and issues

• Effects on deer herd health

http://www.photographersdirect.com/buyers/stockphoto.asp?imageid=2486443

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2009/10/01/479894.html

Department of Natural Resources

Management Options

• Sharpshooting – safe and effective

• Hunting – If allowed

• Immunocontraception – Costly and ineffective

• Release of predators – May cause more problems

• Trap and relocation – Illegal in Georgia

http://professorchickenspredators.webs.com/coyotes.htm

Department of Natural Resources

Hunting Options

• Hunting could be revenue positive

• Bow hunting is a safe and effective

• State parks have had success using hunting

• Harvested deer would be utilized by hunters and

charitable organizations

QDMA

Department of Natural Resources

Sharpshooting

• Sharpshooting efforts have proven to be an effective

technique on many coastal Atlantic islands

• It is done by trained professionals so it is very safe

• It is done over a few nights once a year

• Research has shown it can reduce the population by

as much as 50%

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/learn_ir/index.html

Department of Natural Resources

Conclusion

• Jekyll Island’s deer population is too high for long-

term ecological health and sustainability

• A reduction in the herd will contribute to human safety

and deer herd health throughout the island

• Hunting and sharpshooting are the recommended,

viable options for the island

• Reduction of the population will have many positive

impacts on the island.

http://floridastateparks.org/coltcreek/photogallery.cfm?pagenum=1&viewphoto=2

Department of Natural Resources

Acknowledgements

Dr. Terry Norton

Cade Smith Mark Whitney John Bowers

Charlie Killmaster Todd Mathes Kara Nitschke David Mixon

Department of Natural Resources

Questions?