Episode 083 - When You Can’t Hunt: Fertility Control as a Deer Management Tool
Release Date: 05/30/2025
Episode 103 – Summer Recap
Deer University
Jacob and Eric chat about what summer looked like for the Deer Lab and some of the less discussed aspects of academia. 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 102 – How Fawns Avoid Predators
Deer University
Jacob and Eric sit down with Sam Overfors, a recent Deer Lab graduate, to discuss his work evaluating antipredator behavior in fawns. Sam used thermal drones and GPS collars to investigate how fawns move across the landscape. 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 101 – The Impact of Hunters on Deer Movement
Deer University
Dr. Andy Little, Associate Professor of Landscape Ecology and Habitat Management and Extension Specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, stops by to discuss how deer alter their behavior in response to hunters. 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 100 – 100 Episodes: A Trip Down Memory Lane
Deer University
Bronson and Steve take time out of their busy schedules to jump back on the podcast. They chat with Jacob and Eric about everything from how they created the Deer University Podcast to what it’s been like to work together for decades. They also fill the guys in on what they’re up to now, including how they’re still working together to help landowners and what they’re up to in their free time. 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....
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Episode 099 – Prescribed Fire for Landowners
Deer University
Mr. Rainer Nichols, National Training Academy Instructor and Founder of Five Cents Fire and Land Management, joins Jacob and Eric to discuss working with landowners to achieve their habitat management goals. 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 098 – Deer Management from MS to TX
Deer University
Jacob and Eric catch up with Dr. Marcus Blum, Assistant Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist at Texas A&M University, to discuss deer management in TX. They cover everything from the work he is doing to get students involved with deer management to how management varies across regions of TX. 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...
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Episode 097 – Checking Boxes on Warm-season Food Plots
Deer University
Jacob and Eric discuss warm-season food plots with John Gruchy, Coordinator of the Private Lands Program for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. 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 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 ()
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