White-tailed Deer Habitat-Use Patterns Across Forest Stands of Different Ages

Meghan Bargabos¹, Jesse Pruden¹, Danielle Garneau¹, and Mark Lesser^1,*

¹Center for Earth and Environmental Science, SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 30, Issue 4 (2023): 493–510

First published early online: 26 December 2023

Abstract
Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) overpopulation in eastern North America has largely been driven by an overabundance of optimal habitat, leading to numerous negative impacts on forest health and regeneration. Intermediate-aged forests are not highly preferred by White-tailed Deer, but preference shifts as forests age into mature stands because there is a greater amount of adequate plant species for White-tailed Deer to browse. We surveyed differences in wildlife habitat-use patterns in northeastern New York (Clinton County) in order to evaluate how White-tailed Deer differentially utilized 2 managed forest stands: (1) a mature forest (40 years post-harvest) and (2) an intermediate-aged forest (16 years post-clearcut). We monitored seasonal and diel wildlife habitat-use patterns using camera traps from March 2018 to September 2019. White-tailed Deer used the mature stand more often than the intermediate stand, particularly in the fall and spring, and shifted activity away from both stands in the winter. We suggest that stand-level forest management practices may be an effective way to manage the impacts of White-tailed Deer and maintain resilient forest ecosystems.

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