Why do we exist?
Deer Management
Professionals of Southeastern Pennsylvania is a Deer Management
Organization composed of professional hunters. Our emphasis is on
archery hunting as the most effective tool in deer management for the
heavily developed areas of southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and
Maryland.
Our
members include professionals in local government, law enforcement,
education and business. Each member is certified, qualifies annually,
and practices a safety first hunting concept.
With hunters having limited access to designated open space, deer
populations have outgrown and decimated their natural woodlots. As a
result, they have turned to residential and commercial properties where
they eat ornamental flowers, plants and trees. This habitat change has
also led to an increase in deer/vehicle collisions, creating higher
insurance costs, injuries and death. In fact, according to an
article by CNN.COM,
Pennsylvania has more vehicle-deer collisions than any other state.
Another study
by Erie Insurance suggests that 12 out of every one thousand drivers in
PA will collide with a deer each year, and the average claim will
run
over $2,000.00. Deer collisions are responsible for 40% of all
comprehensive claims paid by Erie annually. The numbers are
frightening, and are actually higher locally, due to the intense
population concentrations in southeastern, PA.
Another
byproduct of this whitetail population explosion is a marked increase in
Lyme disease. The deer (or black-legged) tick in the northeast is
the primary (and possibly the only) known transmitter of true Lyme
disease in Pennsylvania, and according to
Todar's Online
Textbook of Bacteriology, "A relationship has been observed between
the abundance of deer and the abundance of deer ticks... Reducing and
managing deer populations in geographic areas where Lyme disease occurs
may reduce tick abundance".
The Deer Management Professionals of
Southeastern Pennsylvania practice a quality deer management philosophy
with a common goal of producing biologically and socially balanced deer
herds. This approach typically involves an adequate harvest of female
deer to maintain a healthy population in balance with existing habitat
conditions. With this goal in mind, our organization can tailor a
no-cost deer management plan on your property, utilizing one or more
hunters as your needs dictate. |