Episode 083 - When You Can’t Hunt: Fertility Control as a Deer Management Tool
Release Date: 05/30/2025
Episode 096 - Mississippi Deer Season Recap
Deer University
Jacob and Eric catch up with William McKinley and Kamen Campbell of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks to discuss this past deer season. They cover everything from the acorn crop to deer surveys and donating venison to feed the hungry. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 095 – Getting Back to the Basics of Deer Management
Deer University
Jacob and Eric get back to the basics of deer management with The Old Biologist, Mr. Lann Wilf. The conversation covers everything from managing expectations to understanding what drives deer herds. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 094 – Deer Season is Over: What Now?
Deer University
Jacob and Eric catch up with Dr. Bronson Strickland to discuss what deer managers can do now that deer season is over. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 093 – Energy and Antlers
Deer University
Jacob and Eric sit down with Dr. Levi Heffelfinger of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute to discuss their work evaluating how dietary energy affects antler and body size of white-tailed deer. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 092 - Deer-Pig Interactions
Deer University
Jacob and Eric sit down with MSU Assistant Research Professor Dr. Melanie Boudrou to discuss the results of a recent project that used GPS collars to study deer-pig interactions. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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The Rut
Deer University
Jacob and Eric catch up to discuss the rut. They cover everything from what triggers the rut to phases of the rut, changes in buck behavior, and hunting strategies. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 090 - Arkansas Chronic Wasting Disease Deer Study
Deer University
Jacob and Eric sit down with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Research Division Chief, Cory Gray and Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Dr. Marcelo Jorge to discuss the results of their 5-year project evaluating the effects of CWD in Arkansas. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 089 - Cool-season Food Plots Part 2
Deer University
We're back with Part 2 of discussing cool-season food plots. Hosts Jacob and Eric catch up with MSU Deer Lab graduate student Luke Resop to talk about seed mixes and weed management. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 088 - Cool-season Food Plots Part 1
Deer University
In this episode, hosts Jacob and Eric discuss cool-season food plots with MSU Deer Lab graduate student Luke Resop. They cover key topics such as food plot placement, soil testing, and seed-bed preparation in part 1 of this 2-part series. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits. Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel ()
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Episode 087 - Late Summer Stressors
Deer University
In this episode, hosts Jacob and Eric dive into the challenges of the late summer stress period for deer. They explore key topics, including the declining nutritional quality of plants, the demands of antler growth, late gestation, and lactation. They also share insights on how strategic habitat management and food plots can help alleviate the summer stress period. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are...
info_outlineIn this episode, Stephanie Boyles-Griffin, Jessica Tegt, Steve Demarais, and Bronson Strickland discuss the complexities of urban deer management, exploring the challenges posed by growing deer populations in urban areas. While recreational hunting remains the most effective and practical tool for population control in most settings, an increasing number of circumstances—especially in urban and suburban areas—render it unfeasible. Stephanie and Jessica, both from the Botstiber Institute, outline non-lethal and alternative methods commonly used to manage deer in these environments and walk through the series of decisions required to evaluate which techniques are appropriate and how likely they are to succeed.
Below, Stephanie and Jessica have provided resources if you are interested in learning more.
Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series (here) and choose the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop down menu. You will have to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits.
Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)
Resources:
Contact information
Stephanie Boyles-Griffin: boylesgriffinadvisor@botstiber.org
Jessica Tegt: jtegt@botstiber.org
Urban Deer Conflict Management Planning Resources
- https://www.humaneworld.org/sites/default/files/docs/HSUS%20Deer%20Conflict%20Mgt%20Plan_FINAL.pdf
- https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b297ac45-d908-4fd9-b06f-95cd5376907d/content
- https://www.fishwildlife.org/application/files/8816/1297/6730/Methods_for_Managing_Human-Deer_Conflicts_in_Urban_Suburban_and_Exurban_Areas.pdf
BIWFC
- https://wildlifefertilitycontrol.org/
- https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1871&context=hwi
- https://wildlifefertilitycontrol.org/webinar-11-blacktail-deer/
- https://wildlifefertilitycontrol.org/webinar-denicola/
Surgical
- https://www.whitebuffaloinc.org/
- DeNicola, A. J., and V. L. DeNicola. 2021. Ovariectomy as a management technique for suburban deer populations. Wildlife Society Bulletin 45:445–455.
https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/wsb.1218
- Staten Island Story Map https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e3a5f6d544594690a313693d1e88d9ef
- DeNicola, V., Mezzini, S., Bursać, P. et al. Effects of vasectomy on breeding-related movement and activity in free-ranging white-tailed deer. Mov Ecol 13, 34 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-025-00554-5
Nonsurgical
Naugle, R. E., A. T. Rutberg, H. B. Underwood, J. W. Turner, Jr., and I. K. M. Liu. 2002. Field testing of immunocontraception on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at Fire Island National Seashore, New York, USA. Reproduction Supplement 60:143–153.
Rutberg, A. T., R. E. Naugle, L. A. Thiele, and I. K. M. Liu. 2004. Effects of immunocontraception on a suburban population of white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus. Biological Conservation 116:243–250.
Gionfriddo. J. P., A. J. DeNicola, L. Miller, and K. A. Fagerstone. 2011. Efficacy of GnRH immunocontraception of wild white-tailed deer in New Jersey. Wildlife Society Bulletin 35(3):149–160.
Rutberg, A. T., R. E. Naugle, J. W. Turner, Jr., M. Fraker, D. Flanagan, and I. K. M. Liu. 2013. Tests of one-treatment immunocontraceptive vaccines on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on Fripp Island, SC. Wildlife Research 40:281–288. https://wildlifefertilitycontrol.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Rutberg-et-al-2013-Wildlife-Research.pdf
Walker, M.J., Shank, G.C., Stoskopf, M.K., Minter, L.J. and DePerno, C.S. (2021), Efficacy and Cost of GonaCon™ for Population Control in a Free-ranging White-tailed Deer Population. Wildl. Soc. Bull., 45: 589-596. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1237
https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wsb.1237