Over time this heavy hunting and habitat loss took a real toll. Deer overpopulation causes habitat destruction, crop damage, vehicle collisions and disease all of which threatens the long-term survival of white-tailed deer in Wisconsin. Biologists believe a new framework for deer management is in order, and one that takes into account the ecological capacity of the current ecosystem. Wyoming Game & Fish Department: Deer Hunting. Because of this permits and licenses are becoming more flexible opening up new opportunities for the states hunters. In the early 1900s not many deer remained in Alabama after overhunting, estimates were down to about 2,000. By the turn of the century people began to realize they needed conservation programs or the deer would go the way of the buffalo. Which came first, the black-tailed deer or the mule deer? Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources: Kentuckys Deer Restoration. Illinois Department of Natural Resources: deer hunting information. The development of Florida's rail system in the late 1800s and early 1900s opened up much of Florida to commerce and settlement. While overall population is down from the peak years of the mid to late 1990s, density of deer still remains a problem in many suburban parts of the state. Florida's white-tailed deer herd reached its nadir near the end of the 1930s, a fate shared by many other states. The first game laws restricting hunting went into effect in 1853. There are three main types of deer in New Mexico, the mule deer, the Coues deer and the Texas white-tailed deer. In fact, enforcement of game laws outside the confines of established refuges was almost nonexistent. In general, black-tailed deer occur in the western half of the state, while white-tailed and mule deer occur in the eastern half. It is important they have access to both the cover provided by the forest and the grazing in open areas and along the forest edge. Mule deer make up the largest portion of the population and 95% of the annual deer harvested. This study from 2020 says that while imprecise, their best estimate is 333,000 346,000 black tailed deer live across Alaska. Due to many factors including over-harvesting, hunting and habitat loss the white-tailed deer became uncommon in Connecticut between 1700 1900. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation: deer hunting resources. Like most deer, black-tail browse on what vegetation is available in each season. Their size can vary greatly dependent on their location. Coat color tends to be more reddish-brown in the spring and grayish-brown during winter. According to a quote in the Michigan Bridge made by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, there may be as many as 2 million deer in the state today. The antlers are used during the breeding season to compete for breeding females. A 2021 estimate puts mule deer at a population of between 90,000 130,000. Hunting of black-tailed deer is allowed, and at the time of writing this article so is hunting of mule and white-tailed deer, in order to help get more information on these new populations entering the state. 
It was hard to find a species break-down, but in general it appears each of the three main species make up a fairly equal portion of that total, about 100,000 each. They may occasionally eat small animals like mice or birds, but it isnt very common. This includes flowers, grass, tree and shrub fruits, nuts, acorns, berries and lichen. The program aims to address many factors impacting mule deer such as post-fire rehabilitation, pinyon-juniper removal, invasive weed abatement, re-establishing beneficial shrub/grass/forbs to compromised habitats, water development, spring protection, highway crossings, migration corridor protection, disease surveillance, assessing and trying to mitigate impacts from mining/energy development, predator management, and collaring and monitoring mule deer to identity limiting factors/mortality/habitat selection, etc.. The top of their tail is brown, but the underside is very fluffy and white.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: white-tailed deer overview. The mule deer working group lists the 2021 population in the badlands at 21,000. Maryland Department of Natural Resources: hunting in Maryland. There are eight accepted subspecies in the U.S., including the two black-tailed species. Delawares White-Tailed Deer: Hunting and Management. Today its hard to image they werent always so abundant. According to the state of Massachusetts deer management page, there are an estimated 95,000 white-tailed deer in the state. They are small deer with fully grown males rarely weighing over 100 pounds. The endangered Columbian white-tailed deer are only found in the far southwestern corner of Washington along the lower Columbia River. Thus far they report that the harvest has not met the numbers they want, and the state is continuing to work on management strategies. White tailed deer are found throughout the state, with the highest numbers in eastern half. The screw-worm, responsible for limiting growth of deer herds in south Florida was eradicated in 1958. Outdoor Alabama: Deer hunting information and regulations. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: White-tailed deer in Maine. In 1974 the state passed the Deer Management Act and had its first deer hunting season the following year. According to the states department of fish and wildlife, since the early 90s the deer population has stayed between 400,000 and just under 700,000. The mule deer working group estimates the 2021 mule deer population at 330,700. A 2020 study by the Mule Deer Working Group put total deer population (including black-tailed and mule deer) in California at 460,420. According to this article in the Washington Times Herald, as of 2020 the white-tailed deer population in Indiana was estimated at 680,000. That is a far cry from nearly zero in 1890. This 2015 article states the Arizona Big Game Management estimated Coues population at about 50,000-60,000 deer. In a 2020 article the state DNR estimated a white-tailed deer population of about 900,000 1,000,000. They also said that a significant portion of that population was found in east Tennessee. The distribution of hunted deer is about 60% mule deer and 40% Coues deer. Like other deer species they grow new antlers each spring and shed them during the winter. It also says hunters harvest a whopping 280,000 deer each year, on average. Overall the state reports the population is currently stable or slightly declining. This booming population now has deer in overabundance and the state DEC aims to control this with managed harvesting. Copyright 1999 - 2022 State of Florida. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission starting putting limits on hunting in 1916 to try and turn the tide, with an estimated 2,000 deer remaining in the state. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission: information for hunting in Florida. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, deer populations had plummeted across the country and some states were in danger of loosing deer entirely. The male white-tailed deer will grow a new set of antlers every year. To make matters worse a campaign to eradicate the cattle-fever tick (Boophilus microplus) saw the destruction of at least 10,000 deer in southern Florida from 1939-1941. 2021 data shows an estimated mule deer population of about 84,000 90,000 in Nevada. The white-tailed deer has a reddish-brown coat in the spring which fades to a grayish-brown coat during the fall and winter. The sika deer population is mainly found along coastal regions and is much lower than the white-tailed deer. An article published in November of 2021 in the CT Insider quotes the CT DEEP stating that the three year average for total deer population in the state is 101,000. Deer harvests began to increase again in 2016, possibly due to coyote densities declining. The mule deer population has been in decline since 1980, decreasing from 300,000 to todays estimate of 170,000 190,000 in 2020. The newly formed commission recognized immediately that wildlife populations could only be restored and maintained on wildlife habitat. Trying to figure out their population in the state is challenging due to the remote and densely forested areas where they live. Deer numbers in Arkansas significantly declined due to unrestricted market hunting during the 1800s until 1915. In the current Maryland white-tailed deer management plan the most recent population estimate I saw was 207,000 tailed deer in 2018. Indiana Department of Natural Resources: White-tailed Deer History & Biology. Historically mountain lions and wolves helped to control the deer population, but with the absence of those predators today hunters are the only real population control. 3 Species of Falcons in Mississippi (Pictures and Facts), Mountain Lion Population (In Each U.S. State), Black Bear Population By State (Recent Reports), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Maryland white-tailed deer management plan, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks site, 2017-2023 South Dakota white-tailed and mule deer management plan, 2021 Range-Wide Status of Black-tailed and Mule Deer, 12 Types of Animals with a Long Tail (with Pictures), How Do Squirrels Survive in the Winter (6 Ways), 9 Jaguar Adaptations in the Rainforest(Pictures), 9 Sloth Adaptations in the Rainforest(Pictures), Opossum Vs Possum (Differences & Similarities), 460,420 (black-tailed and mule deer combined), 427,500 (combined white-tail and mule deer), central to eastern Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New England and Nova Scotia, Key deer / Florida Keys white-tailed deer, Florida keys, mainly from Sugarloaf Key to Bahia Honda Key, Coues white-tailed deer / Arizona white-tailed deer / fantail deer, Arizona and parts of New Mexico into Mexico, Dakota white-tailed deer / northern plains white-tailed deer, western and central Canada, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North & South Dakota and western Minnesota, Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County South Carolina, south-central Oregon and southern Washington/northern Oregon border, U.S. central plains including Texas panhandle, parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge, McIntosh county Georgia, Rocky Mountains white-tailed deer / northwestern white-tailed deer, western Canada and northern Rocky Mountains, Gulf coast of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, Virginia white-tailed deer / southern white-tailed deer, Pacific Northwest and northern California, southeastern coastal Alaska, south central Alaska, coastal British Columbia, California mule deer (Westside of Sierra Nevada down to south coast), Desert/burro mule deer (southwest California, northwest Mexico and Arizona), Southern mule deer (Southernmost California and Baja California), Rocky Mountain mule deer (Northwest California, western and central North America), Inyo mule deer (Sierra Nevada, California). Like many other states, deer and other large game in Iowa was hunted to near extinction by the early 1800s. Iowas first conservation law came around in 1856, restricting what time of year deer could be hunted. Habitat loss, decrease in forgeable food and hunting brought species to the brink by the early 1900s. The New Hampshire Fish & Game page lists the population estimate for the state at 100,000 white-tailed deer. If you ever see a deer in the woods and they spot you, you might catch them flagging as they run away. On average in North America, males weigh 150-300 pounds and females weigh 88 198 pounds. Found in forests as well as the suburbs, deer are often thought to have spiritual meaning and can bring nature close to home since they are often seen in backyards and neighborhoods. The total population estimate for deer living in the U.S. is approximately 35-36 million. All this brings us to today. While their historic range expanded further east, today you can find them in western Oregon, northern California, Washington, the Alaskan panhandle and areas of British Columbia. By 2000 the deer population in the state was estimated at 1.75 million. While populations often have good and bad years, the state feels its time to step in and try to improve the situation. Other deer related concerns in the state include Lyme disease and deer-vehicle collisions, which are taken to account in the states management practices. California Department Fish and Wildlife: Deer Harvest Requirements. By 1951 deer numbers were believed to be between 45,000 and 50,000. The white-tailed deer is the most common game species in the state today, however hunting was banned between 1841 and 1954 to allow the population to rebound after a huge decline in the early to mid 1800s. Ohio Department of Natural Resources: hunting and trapping regulations. Recent estimates indicate about 80,000 to 100,000 mule deer, and 10,000 to 15,000 Coues and other white-tailed deer. During the decade of the 1960s Florida's deer herds were experiencing strong annual increases. They will spend the summer in higher elevations, then travel down to lower elevations during the winter. They consider the population stable. Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks: deer hunting information. Their numbers rebounded through conservation efforts from 25 in 1955 to 800 in more recent years. There is also a small population of black-tailed deer on the island of Kauai that were introduced from Oregon in 1961. The total deer estimate for the state in recent years is about 280,000 300,000.
