In the short term, the prevailing conditions are largely irreversible. Damage problems in suburban areas, particularly those having good quality deer habitat, are likely to intensify in the future. It is rather easy to predict that the elimination of hunting due to firearms restrictions, safety concerns, and changed landowner values will only intensify the conflicts between man and deer in many areas. In the longer view, citizens in each affected region will have to face the challenge that they are now stakeholders in this issue and can no longer sit back and ask their state wildlife agency, local town, or county authorities to solve this problem without additional financial support for research and management. State wildlife agencies manage their deer herd to satisfy several interest groups.
Landowners enjoy seeing some deer on their property in spite of the damage potential they bring.
This observation coupled with the aesthetics and broad economic value of deer, argues that management of the herd through hunting, combined with a reasonable approach to damage abatement is a reasonable goal to attain. However, the problem we now face in suburbia goes beyond the techniques, expertise, and authorized funding of most state agencies, and new approaches must now be considered.