Research Highlight
Protecting White-tailed Deer Habitat
We are proud to participate in an cross-border collaboration of six research and government organizations used GPS data to track White-tailed deer, in order to better understand summer and winter habitat selection.
The focus is understanding how deer are using the forests and what factors impact their populations. Some of the factors the study will attempt to understand are the availability of food, the impact of winter severity and the impact of predators on deer populations. Advanced technologies such as GPS collars and the detailed inventory of the forest derived from using LiDAR (light imaging detection and ranging) will give us a better understanding of deer survival, movement and habitat use.
Over 100 deer in New Brunswick and Maine will be tracked and monitored in real time with precise GPS collars to provide us with important location and movement data in various seasons.
The outcomes of this project provide a greater understanding of factors influencing the deer herd in New Brunswick and Maine and this information will be used to refine existing guidelines and identify new forestry and wildlife management practices.