Early reports from the late 1600's reveal that white-tailed deer
(Odocoileus virginianus) were quite numerous in the
Florida Panhandle, however, by the mid 1700's a sizable trade in
deer hides was well under way. Localized declines in deer numbers
were probably evident by the early 1800's which may have prompted
enactment of an 1828 territorial law prohibiting fire hunting west
of the Suwannee River. The development of Florida's rail system in
the late 1800's and early 1900's opened up much of Florida to
commerce and settlement. Commercial and subsistence exploitation of
white-tailed deer undoubtedly increased dramatically during this
period.
Florida's white-tailed deer herd reached its nadir near the end
of the 1930's, a fate shared by many other states. The concept of
wildlife conservation was still in its infancy. Establishment of
wildlife sanctuaries or refuges was a popular method of addressing
the problem of rapidly vanishing wildlife. Game laws varied by
county and were often difficult to enforce. In fact, enforcement of
game laws outside the confines of established refuges was almost
nonexistent. For example, The State Board of Conservation reported
apprehending a total of five individuals in 1934 for killing a doe
deer. The advent of widespread automobile use brought with it the
construction of roads providing unparalleled access to wildlife
habitats. Timbering also provided truck trails and fire lanes deep
into the forest where subsistence hunting by logging camps was not
uncommon. To make matters worse a campaign to eradicate the
cattle-fever tick (Boophilus microplus) saw the
destruction of at least 10,000 deer in southern Florida from
1939-1941.
The 1940's saw the beginnings of Florida's deer herd recovery.
In 1941 the Florida Legislature passed the necessary assent
legislation to participate in the Federal-Aid-to-Wildlife program
created by the Pittman-Robertson (P-R) Act of 1937. Not only did
participation in this program guarantee sizable sums of federal
money each year for wildlife management, but it also ensured that
hunting and fishing license fees could not be diverted from the
Commission of Game and Fresh Water Fish. One of the first projects
to be undertaken by the Commission with P-R funds was the
restoration of white-tailed deer herds depleted by The Livestock
Sanitary Board during its campaign to eradicate the cattle-fever
tick. Also in 1941 the Florida Legislature proposed a
constitutional amendment establishing a Game and Fresh Water Fish
Commission with five members appointed to serve 5-year terms. In
1942 the amendment was voted in by a substantial margin thereby
ending the proliferation of a perplexing and unenforceable array of
county game laws.
The birth of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
also marked the birth of the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) System.
The newly formed commission recognized immediately that wildlife
populations could only be restored and maintained on wildlife
habitat. In 1941 60,000 acres of land in Charlotte County were
purchased for public hunting. Six years later 50,000 acres were
purchased in north Palm Beach County. By the end of the 1940s the
Commission's WMA system totaled just over 2.5 million acres.
By 1951 deer numbers were believed to be between 45,000 and
50,000. The screw-worm, responsible for limiting growth of deer
herds in south Florida was eradicated in 1958. In 1959 the
Commission's WMA system grew to encompass over 4 million acres of
wildlife habitat.
During the decade of the 1960's Florida's deer herds were
experiencing strong annual increases. The art and science of
wildlife management was becoming more science and less art. Arrests
for game violations increased 5-fold from the early 1940's. Deer
numbers increased 10-fold and annual deer harvest was over 40,000
animals.
Sound wildlife and habitat management practices coupled with
more effective law enforcement caused deer numbers to continue
growing throughout the decades of the 1970's and 80's. The year
1985 marked the first time in Florida's recorded history that
white-tailed deer harvest exceeded 100,000 animals. So successful
was the return of the white-tailed deer that in many areas of the
state female deer were legally harvested on an annual basis to
prevent over-population and subsequent range damage. By the early
1990's requests from farmers to harvest deer depredating their
crops had been steadily increasing. The primary issue in deer
management was no longer simply increasing white-tailed deer
numbers. The task of deer management had become multidimensional.
Not only did populations need to be maintained at levels compatible
with the welfare of the species and the demand for deer-related
recreation, but competing land uses and ecosystem health also
became considerations of equal weight.
Today, the Commission's WMA s system comprises nearly 5.5
million acres of wildlife habitat from the western Panhandle to the
Florida Keys. This land not only provides habitat for deer, turkey,
quail and other game species, but also supports a diversity of
other wildlife unparalleled in much of the rest of the North
America.
The Road Ahead
White-tailed deer are recognized as an integral part of the
majority of Florida's 13 diverse ecosystems. They are considered
the most popular game species in Florida. Moreover, for every deer
hunter there are three non-hunting users of the resource.
White-tailed deer are one of a few species of wildlife whose
over-abundance can seriously degrade its own habitat as well as the
habitat of other wildlife species, and inflict serious damage on
agricultural crops and ornamental plantings. Their over-abundance
can also facilitate the outbreak of diseases and parasites that can
threaten the health of both livestock and humans. Therefore, while
it is recognized that white-tailed deer are but one element in the
complex and diverse ecosystems they inhabit it must also be
recognized that deer harvest management will likely continue to be
a necessary and desirable practice. Meeting the future needs of all
deer-related recreationists while protecting and preserving our
native ecosystems is a challenge faced by all who are charged with
the stewardship of our wildlife heritage.
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