Every deer that is harvested impacts the rest of the herd. Careful management can ensure deer herds stay healthy and desirable bucks are available for future hunting.
Herds are unhealthy if there are disproportionate numbers of does or young bucks.
Dean Stewart, Extension wildlife specialist at Mississippi State University, said hunters are deer managers since harvesting animals is a very important part of the management scheme. You can manage habitat, protect deer from poachers and you can harvest the correct deer through legal hunting. But harvesting deer of the desired age and sex requires education. Hunters, landowners or hunting clubs often seek advice from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks through the Deer Management Assistance Program. DMAP takes the harvest data collected by hunters and analyzes it according to the goals sought for the herd.