That's why the Conservation Reserve Program has been so important to duck production. Stockpiling of upland birds doesn't work. Most upland species have a life expectancy of two years or less whether they're hunted or not. In the case of ringneck pheasants, most scientists say harvesting as many roosters as possible is in the best interest of the population for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the biggest threat to whitetail populations is under-hunting.
Whitetails are very adaptable and co-exist nicely with humans and development.
Deer numbers have been growing steadily and there's no slow-down in sight. The expanding deer population is becoming real problem. Lyme disease , which is usually transmitted by deer ticks, is on the rise, and deer are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of crop depredation annually. Mother Nature's solution to overpopulation is often disease, and threat to deer herds grows exponentially with the size of the herd. There's a growing concern that the aging of the hunting public will exacerbate the problems down the road.