Ben Moyer

The complexity of managing white-tailed deer in today’s world has become apparent to all stakeholders. But deer management may be about to become even more complicated because of the possible reemergence of a variable we haven’t thought about for decades in Pennsylvania – winter mortality.
Readers who lived through the 1960s and ‘70s recall deer winter-kill was a continual concern among hunters and wildlife managers. In northern mountains, trout anglers then often reported dead deer along streams as the snow melted in April.

By many measures, deer season 2024 was a good one. It was the first one in recent memory when our group wasn’t buying bags of ice to stuff inside our kills. Most of Pennsylvania had snow on the ground through the entire first week (Some locations had too much), and ideal temperatures allowed you to hang a deer and take your time with the processing without concerns about the meat freezing solid.
No matter the weather, deer season is an enjoyable and even a festive event in our state. Still, there’s a nagging sense that deer season might be able to accomplish more in a practical way toward easing Pennsylvania farmers’ serious problem of crop damage by deer.