White-tailed deer are as synonymous with the ‘acreage living’ experience as fences and ragweed. We find them everywhere in Iowa, thriving in urban forests and remote sections of cropland with little more than a ditch for cover. To many of us they’re a welcome sight, a glimpse of life on a cold winter day or an opportunity to spend time afield with family and friends each fall in their pursuit. To some they’re an annoyance, pestering crops or landscape plants with their seemingly insatiable drive for fresh plant growth and woody browse. Love them or hate them, one thing is clear: despite their tumultuous experience in Iowa’s earliest years of statehood, white-tailed deer are here to stay and participation in their management and conservation is a core responsibility of all property owners. And today, new challenges like that posed by Chronic Wasting Disease are elevating those responsibilities and require wide engagement in ensuring deer continue to thrive in Iowa...
Continue reading this article in the Acreage Living Newsletter.
Adam Janke Associate Professor
Adam Janke is the statewide Wildlife Extension Specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Adam is a trained wildlife biologist, having received a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in wildlife conservation and ecology from three land-grant schools in the Midwest. He is also certified ...