Buck in the backyard

History of the White-Tailed Deer
When Europeans came to the New World, the plentiful white-tailed deer played an important role in providing food for Native Americans. During 1539-42, the army of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto found venison and whitetail hides being used by Arkansas Indians. The Caddo Indian tribe of southwestern Arkansas and western Louisiana depended on whitetails as a food source.

By the early 1900s, though white-tailed deer numbers were declining throughout the state. Unrestricted hunting, accelerated land clearing and the influx of people settling in the state brought about their demise.

In 1916, the newly created Game and Fish Commission opened the state's first deer season, and in 1919, the bucks-only law was created. But the herd continued to decrease and in 1926-27, the first deer refuges were established in the state.

It was almost too late. By 1930, only a few hundred deer remained. Things began to turn around when the Game and Fish Commission bought deer from other states and trapped and relocated deer within the state.

During the 1940s, the Commission trapped and relocated more than 1800 deer throughout the state. The restoration effort, along with better public awareness and restrictive regulations, was a complete success, and today's herd numbers almost a million animals.
The keys to effective white-tailed deer management are maintaining quality habitat and controlled hunting. For a number of years now, deer biologists have found that an either-sex harvest is important in managing the herd. In certain areas, it has proved necessary in maintaining sustained and balanced herd productivity. The best way to effectively manage the white-tailed deer is to have a good knowledge of herd population.