White-tailed deer monitoring at Pea Ridge National Military Park, Arkansas: 2005–2023 trend report
Peitz D and Haack-Gaynor J. 2024. White-tailed deer monitoring at Pea Ridge National Military Park, Arkansas: 2005–2023 trend report. Science Report. NPS/SR—2024/156. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2304980
During 19 years (2005–2023) of monitoring trends in white-tailed deer populations within a defined survey area of Pea Ridge National Military Park, we have been able to demonstrate both rapid declines and recoveries. The rapid die-off of 2005 to 2007 was the result of a region-wide hemorrhagic disease outbreak reported by the Missouri Department of Conservation that started in the fall of 2005, six months after deer monitoring on Pea Ridge National Military Park in north Arkansas was initiated. Even including data in the analysis from years when die-offs were occurring (2006–2007, 2016), the number of deer increased moderately at a rate of 3.2% annually (P < 0.03). The number of deer in the survey area ranged from 14.6 ± 7.1 (mean ± 95% CI) individuals/km2 in 2007 to 62.6 ± 19.1 individuals/km2 in 2023. The amount of visible area surveyed each year varied between 1.0 and 1.4 km2 (coefficient of variation = 11.0%). Annual deer harvest data in the area near Pea Ridge National Military Park exhibit similar trends to our annual adjusted counts. This suggests that factors other than hunting are driving annual changes in deer population size. Increasing deer populations pose several problems for Pea Ridge National Military Park. First, it adds a level of complexity to implementing the Pea Ridge National Military Park Cultural Landscape Report and Vegetation Management Plan recommendations to restore the oak savanna and oak forest vegetation present at the time of the battle. Deer deferentially browse native vegetation over exotic vegetation, which promotes the spread of exotic species, and the success of tree planting can be curtailed by heavy deer browsing. Second, controlling deer-related disease, some of which can affect domestic livestock and human health in and around the park, becomes increasingly difficult when there are more deer. Third, as additional ancillary data suggest, the largely unreported and costly deer-vehicle collisions in and around Pea Ridge National Military Park have the potential to increase as deer populations grow.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Peitz, David; Haack-Gaynor, Jennifer
- Date of Issue
- 2024-07
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2304980
- Units
- HTLN , NRSS , PERI
- Keywords
- deer monitoring, monitoring, white-tailed deer