Anyone who has clipped sticks off the end of stems, trying to get an estimate of the weight of food eaten by deer, known this is a bad job. It takes a lot of clipping to collect 6 pounds of twigs--about what a deer eats per day. Browse studies are needed but easily put off for a better day. Detailed studies are needed and The Deer Group staff do them. We've found a reasonable way to make a practical estimate.
Throughout a large area where you can easily retrace your steps, mark 100 clusters of twigs that a deer can reach and might eat. Select only plant species that are usually eaten. (Tie a 4-inch piece of green or white survey tape, a foot or two away from the twigs.) Later count the clusters that have been eaten (browsed upon).
The equation:
Percent of use = (number of browsed clusters/number of marked clusters) x 100.
The criterion:
Never let this number get over 60 percent! When over 60 percent use occurs, the plant vigor decreases. It will not replace the material eaten by deer as growth next year. Simple survey techniques, such as these cluster counts, can provide hunters, hunter camps, and many other people interested in deer a baseline for understanding the dynamics of local deer herd change.
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This Web site is maintained by R. H.
Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.
