Prior to European settlement, white-tailed deer were one of the most abundant large mammals in the region according to the archaeological record and descriptions by early settlers. Intensive subsistence and market hunting, however, greatly reduced the deer population, and throughout much of the 19th and early 20th century, they were rare in the region.
One of the most visible changes over the past 30 years in southwestern Connecticut and elsewhere in the region is a dramatic rebound in deer populations. Benefiting from forest fragmentation, hunting regulations, and the elimination of large carnivores, deer have become abundant once again in Connecticut woodlands, influencing herbaceous layers and tree regeneration and changing the appearance of forest understories. Much of the evidence of deer impacts to Connecticut forests, however, remains anecdotal rather than empirical, complicating deer management discussions.
We are assessing the impacts of white-tailed deer to forest understory vegetation on properties across southwestern CT using approaches that manipulate deer activity levels and capture natural variation in deer activity. These methods include:
- experimental deer exclosures
- observational studies on properties with discrete hunting histories
- long-term monitoring of properties where deer management has recently changed
Collaborators and Partners:
We collaborate with a number of municipal, private, and state organizations as well as individual landowners on our research projects:
- Aquarion Water Company
- Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station
- Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
- Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance
- Mianus River Gorge Preserve
- Redding Land Trust
- The Connecticut Yankee Council
- The Nature Conservancy
- Town of Bethel
- Town of Redding
- Town of Ridgefield
- Town of Wilton
