Our Community and the White-Tailed Deer Population
What are the Problems and Solutions?
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| Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Additional Resources | Product | Assessment |
Our Community and the White-Tailed Deer Population
What are the Problems and Solutions?
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| Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Additional Resources | Product | Assessment |
Have you ever seen a deer in your backyard? During the first half of the twentieth century, the population of white-tailed deer in the United States was slowly revived from its declining state of 500,000 to the point that overpopulation has now become a concern. In places such as Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Woodridge, IL, questions have been raised as to whether the number of deer is compatible with the location and its surrounding communities. What can be done to control the deer population? Fish and wildlife managers, biologists, administrators and other public groups are insisting that the government look into controlling the population of deer in suburban and urban areas. Increased hunting is no longer the only and best solution. New methods and technologies may be more feasible depending on the setting and the citizens involved.
Your project involves studying deer population data at Greene Valley Forest Preserve and making the following decisions:
1.) determine the extent of deer overpopulation in the assigned area
2.) determine and research the methods of deer population control
3.) study the outcome of the population control method you choose over a given period of time
People in our community are beginning to complain about the issue of deer overpopulation. You have been assigned to a committee consisting of four people. Your goal is to determine the extent of the problem in our community and how can we best deal with controlling the deer population. The committee consists of people with very different points-of-view: a homeowner bordering the area, a biologist, an animal rights activist, and a politician in the area. The purpose of the demographics of this group is to force your committee to consider the opinions and diverse views of the whole community. At the completion of your study, your committee will be presenting a proposal on how to control the deer population to the city council and the mayor. Your proposal will include background information, calculations, and research along with the proposal that your group has developed and agreed upon to deal with the overpopulation of deer. Along with the proposal will be a brief oral presentation to the class about your findings and conclusion.
Your team will have 6 days to complete your calculations, research, discussion, and proposal to present to the city council and mayor. Although each group member will take on a different role and research the perspective of that person, your group will need to come to an agreement on a solution to deer management in our community. The solution could be a single method of population control or it could be a multiple strategy approach. In order to achieve an agreement, discussion weighing out all of the pros and cons of different deer population control methods must take place. Below is a schedule to help guide the progress of your committee. Linked to each day is a detailed plan for the process for that day.
1.) Assign roles to each group member.
2.) Determine the current deer population using a method identified by your teacher.
3.) Determine the capacity of the area being studied: Greene Valley Forest Preserve.
4.) Predict population trends without any kind of population control method.
5.) Research intervention methods from different points of view.
6.) Discuss pros and cons of different population control methods and choose an intervention
method that best meets the needs of all members of the community.
7.) Predict population trends with your committees intervention method.
8.) Work on group proposal and presentation.
DAY 6
9.) Presentations of proposals to the city council and mayor.
All of the resources have been included in the places that they were needed. The majority of these are listed under Days 2 and 3 where the committees are working on their research. Within this list of resources the first two are required readings while the remaining resources should be distributed among the committee members. There are some recommendations within the descriptions of each resource that may help committee members decide which resources are more applicable to different roles.
Here are some books and journals you may also be interested in using as resources.
Wildlife Society Bulletin
Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference Proceedings
Under each day's schedule, the requirements for the products for that day are listed in detail. Below is an abbreviated schedule that simply summarizes the products for each day:
| Day 1 | Status Report Worksheet |
| Days 2 and 3 | Focus Questions and Research Worksheet |
| Day 4 | Group Control Method Analysis Worksheet |
| Day 5 | Rough Draft of Proposal |
| Day 6 | Presentations and Proposal |
Your grade for this project will be divided into three sections: process, proposal, and presentation. The process grade will be based on the worksheets you hand in Days 1, 3, 4, and 5 as well as how well your group works together. The proposal and presentation will be graded by its corresponding rubric below.
Evaluation Rubric for the Proposal
Evaluation
Rubric for the Presentation.
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| Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Additional Resources | Product | Assessment |