Dean Parisian
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The following was written by Dr. .James Kroll. Here is some information about him.
There aren't many deer hunters across the nation who aren't familiar with Dr. James C. Kroll, the doctor on call for the North American Whitetail magazine, television and social media franchise.
Kroll, known affectionately as Dr. Deer to millions of outdoors enthusiasts across North America, isn't just a celebrity deer hunter, however. He's the real deal, the Professor Emeritus of Forest Wildlife Management at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he lives with his wife Susie.
Kroll grew up in Waco, Texas, getting his B.S. and M.S. degrees from hometown Baylor University. After completing his master's degree, Kroll went on down the road a few miles to College Station where he graduated in 1973 with a wildlife Ph.D. degree as a distinguished graduate from Aggieland.
After a brief teaching stint at Salem College in West Virginia, Kroll returned to the deer rich Lone Star State, becoming an assistant professor at SFASU in 1973. As he rose up through the ranks of teaching in the Pineywoods of East Texas, Kroll went to work and was largely responsible for building the Lumberjacks' wildlife management program from the ground up.
Kroll also created the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management and Research, embarking on a highly successful research career that saw him teach students how to scientifically manage land for better populations of white-tailed deer and other wildlife species. With dozens of published papers and numerous awards to his credit, Kroll was soon one of the nation's top go-to authorities on a scientific approach to deer management efforts.
Along the way, he also developed a reputation as one of the nation's leading authorities on teaching regular hunters and private land managers how to manage their properties for better deer production and top end hunting prospects. Through his annual Field Day in Nacogdoches, hunting show seminars, and numerous books, articles, and television show appearances, Kroll became known as Dr. Deer when the late Dallas Morning News outdoor writer Ray Sasser gave him the moniker in a story about Kroll's management principles and teaching efforts.
While Kroll is retired from actively teaching college students these days, he's busier than ever as he helps instruct 21st century deer hunters in the art of growing deer and maximizing the potential of vital wildlife habitat. Through his monthly articles in North American Whitetail magazine, weekly appearances on the North American Whitetail television show, and through instructional videos on DVD and social media platforms, Dr. Kroll is always on call for America's deer hunting camp.
No matter what dilemma a property's deer herd might be facing this year, Dr. Deer has the perfect prescription for maximizing herd health, reaching top-end antler development, and improving local hunting potential. When the good doctor from Nacogdoches is in his woodsy office, the answer that a deer hunter needs is never very far away!
August 20 was an important day for white-tailed deer, deer hunters and landowners in Texas! The Texas Trophy Hunters Association held a Q&A meeting at the San Antonio Extravaganza. Dr. J. Hunter Reed, Texas Parks & Wildlife CWD Lead, gave a presentation on CWD and the Department's response to it. It was very informative and we think you need to know what we managed to ferret out! Doc led the questioning and attendees also asked great, well-thought out questions. It took a while but here is what Doc confirmed:
1. After killing thousands of deer for testing, the apparent prevalence rate for CWD for free-range and breeder deer is less than a half of a percent. And, less than 10% of the counties have had positive tests.
2. Only a handful of deer have been documented to have died from CWD, and most of those were mule deer in areas where there are no deer breeders.
3. The Texas deer herd, in regard to CWD is in good shape, much better than most other states!
4. There is no peer-reviewed evidence that CWD has reduced reproduction or recruitment in any state's deer herd. (To be fair, Dr. Reed claimed to be able to produce studies that did! And we are waiting to see these documented.)
5. Deer breeders are rapidly developing a CWD resistant strain of deer, which could be used to manage CWD in free-ranging herds. (We hear Pennsylvania is looking into this).
So, when asked why such draconian measures are being applied, Dr. Reed said because it may become a problem! There is no such word as "may" in the scientific lexicon!
An excellent suggestion was made by one of the participants. Why not add a requirement of landowners in the State's deer management assistance program to submit a percentage of legally harvested deer for testing, just to monitor for positives? That would mean thousands of deer from all over the State would be tested, eliminating what is currently impeding deer hunting in Texas!
It's time to create a harmonious partnership between hunters, landowners and the agency; instead of the contentious, adversarial role the department now plays? In other words, as the first deer management assistance program in Mississippi was, the agency serves as a facilitator, not a regulator!
We have analyzed the CWD testing data for Texas from 2012-2023 and here are the first results.
The prevalence rates for CWD for each of the following categories of White-tailed Deer tested are:
107,180 Free-Range WTD deer= 0.02%
52,781 Breeder WTD= 0.7%
20,046 Released (stocked) WTD= 0.16%
The numbers are the number tested.
In 2022, Texas had an estimated 5,018,938 WTD.
There aren't many deer hunters across the nation who aren't familiar with Dr. James C. Kroll, the doctor on call for the North American Whitetail magazine, television and social media franchise.
Kroll, known affectionately as Dr. Deer to millions of outdoors enthusiasts across North America, isn't just a celebrity deer hunter, however. He's the real deal, the Professor Emeritus of Forest Wildlife Management at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he lives with his wife Susie.
Kroll grew up in Waco, Texas, getting his B.S. and M.S. degrees from hometown Baylor University. After completing his master's degree, Kroll went on down the road a few miles to College Station where he graduated in 1973 with a wildlife Ph.D. degree as a distinguished graduate from Aggieland.
After a brief teaching stint at Salem College in West Virginia, Kroll returned to the deer rich Lone Star State, becoming an assistant professor at SFASU in 1973. As he rose up through the ranks of teaching in the Pineywoods of East Texas, Kroll went to work and was largely responsible for building the Lumberjacks' wildlife management program from the ground up.
Kroll also created the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management and Research, embarking on a highly successful research career that saw him teach students how to scientifically manage land for better populations of white-tailed deer and other wildlife species. With dozens of published papers and numerous awards to his credit, Kroll was soon one of the nation's top go-to authorities on a scientific approach to deer management efforts.
Along the way, he also developed a reputation as one of the nation's leading authorities on teaching regular hunters and private land managers how to manage their properties for better deer production and top end hunting prospects. Through his annual Field Day in Nacogdoches, hunting show seminars, and numerous books, articles, and television show appearances, Kroll became known as Dr. Deer when the late Dallas Morning News outdoor writer Ray Sasser gave him the moniker in a story about Kroll's management principles and teaching efforts.
While Kroll is retired from actively teaching college students these days, he's busier than ever as he helps instruct 21st century deer hunters in the art of growing deer and maximizing the potential of vital wildlife habitat. Through his monthly articles in North American Whitetail magazine, weekly appearances on the North American Whitetail television show, and through instructional videos on DVD and social media platforms, Dr. Kroll is always on call for America's deer hunting camp.
No matter what dilemma a property's deer herd might be facing this year, Dr. Deer has the perfect prescription for maximizing herd health, reaching top-end antler development, and improving local hunting potential. When the good doctor from Nacogdoches is in his woodsy office, the answer that a deer hunter needs is never very far away!
August 20 was an important day for white-tailed deer, deer hunters and landowners in Texas! The Texas Trophy Hunters Association held a Q&A meeting at the San Antonio Extravaganza. Dr. J. Hunter Reed, Texas Parks & Wildlife CWD Lead, gave a presentation on CWD and the Department's response to it. It was very informative and we think you need to know what we managed to ferret out! Doc led the questioning and attendees also asked great, well-thought out questions. It took a while but here is what Doc confirmed:
1. After killing thousands of deer for testing, the apparent prevalence rate for CWD for free-range and breeder deer is less than a half of a percent. And, less than 10% of the counties have had positive tests.
2. Only a handful of deer have been documented to have died from CWD, and most of those were mule deer in areas where there are no deer breeders.
3. The Texas deer herd, in regard to CWD is in good shape, much better than most other states!
4. There is no peer-reviewed evidence that CWD has reduced reproduction or recruitment in any state's deer herd. (To be fair, Dr. Reed claimed to be able to produce studies that did! And we are waiting to see these documented.)
5. Deer breeders are rapidly developing a CWD resistant strain of deer, which could be used to manage CWD in free-ranging herds. (We hear Pennsylvania is looking into this).
So, when asked why such draconian measures are being applied, Dr. Reed said because it may become a problem! There is no such word as "may" in the scientific lexicon!
An excellent suggestion was made by one of the participants. Why not add a requirement of landowners in the State's deer management assistance program to submit a percentage of legally harvested deer for testing, just to monitor for positives? That would mean thousands of deer from all over the State would be tested, eliminating what is currently impeding deer hunting in Texas!
It's time to create a harmonious partnership between hunters, landowners and the agency; instead of the contentious, adversarial role the department now plays? In other words, as the first deer management assistance program in Mississippi was, the agency serves as a facilitator, not a regulator!
We have analyzed the CWD testing data for Texas from 2012-2023 and here are the first results.
The prevalence rates for CWD for each of the following categories of White-tailed Deer tested are:
107,180 Free-Range WTD deer= 0.02%
52,781 Breeder WTD= 0.7%
20,046 Released (stocked) WTD= 0.16%
The numbers are the number tested.
In 2022, Texas had an estimated 5,018,938 WTD.
