Recently communities around the northeastern United States have been faced with growing deer populations and seemingly endless deer inundating communities and affecting farmers. If left unchecked these deer populations will increase, compound the problems for people, and negatively affect the habitat for other wildlife. Most Recently the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s latest annual winter meeting was dominated by community members concerned about the deer population issue (Source). This is an issue facing municipalities, farmers, rural landowners, forestland managers, hunters and urban landowners. Many have requested expanding deer management policies to open up deer hunting seasons.
One way Pennsylvania landowners are already managing deer populations is by participating in Pennsylvania’s Deer Management Assistant Program known as DMAP. This program permits landowners to manage deer populations on their property to help meet their land management objectives. The DMAP program also allows hunters who participate in the program the opportunity to harvest additional deer for a given season. New Yorkers are not without their own deer population issues. Local municipalities have enacted special deer hunting seasons and bait and shoot programs throughout different regions of New York State. The goal of these programs is to help bring deer populations back down to a level that is in balance with their habitat. FORECON, Inc. has helped many landowners take advantage of the DMAP program and obtain DMAP harvest permits. Lean more about FORECON Forest Management!
Landowners throughout the northeastern United States have also taken to enrolling their land into a hunting lease program. Hunting lease programs have many benefits to landowners and hunters:
- Off set the expenses of owning and maintaining your land
- Control wildlife populations (helping to promote forest regeneration)
- Relax knowing who is hunting your property
- Avoid complications between different hunting groups
- Lessees provide excellent patrolling services (helping to alleviate trespass, timber theft, and wildlife poaching)
- Strong, healthy relationships are often built between lessors and lessees.
The process of leasing your property begins with a site inspection. Our leasing agents are heavily experienced in the fields of forestry, wildlife management and outdoor recreational sporting activities. Consultation with one of our agents will help reveal your property’s recreational potential and leasing value.