FACTORS INFLUENCING EFFICIENCY OF WHITE-TAILED DEER HARVEST IN ILLINOIS

We sought to determine the influences of landscape pattern and human h abitation on deer vulnerability to harvest over relatively large geogr aphic scales. We defined deer harvest efficiency as the proportion of the population taken per unit of effort, and computed it for each Illi nois county using model-derived population estimates combined with act ual hunter harvest and effort data. We then compared county-level effi ciency indices with corresponding amounts and spatial characteristics of forest patches derived from classified satellite imagery. We also c ompared harvest efficiency with relative human occupation of the lands cape based on census data. Deer were more susceptible to harvest in co unties with small amounts of highly fragmented forest cover than in mo re heavily and contiguously forested areas. Harvest efficiency also wa s slightly higher in sparsely populated counties than in those with gr eater human presence. Our findings illustrate how wildlife managers ca n use emerging tools such as remote sensing and geographical informati on systems (GIS) to address management issues at appropriate geographi c scales.