Athens, Georgia – Outdoor Lifeagazine recently considered the possibility of a looming “Deer Depression” and called for a new national organization promoting more active whitetail management. Outdoor Life, meet the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), which has been working for 23 years to provide a sustainable future for the whitetail resource.
In his September article “The Deer Depression,” Outdoor Life Hunting Editor Andrew McKean examined the potential for a catastrophic crash in whitetail populations caused by a host of rising threats. QDMA doesn’t believe a nationwide crash is imminent, but the organization has long recognized the major threats listed in McKean’s article and has been working to call attention to all of them, and many others.
In a detailed response to the Outdoor Life article, QDMA answers each of the identified
threats with the organization’s history of actions and accomplishments. QDMA’s full response is available at http://www.qdma.com/who-we-are/deer-depression/.
“We disagree with McKean on one of the threats – the so-called ‘leadership vacuum,’ or lack of a national group that fights for whitetails,” said QDMA CEO and wildlife biologist Brian Murphy. “The article described the organization that is needed, and it’s QDMA. All along, we’ve been addressing threats to the whitetail resource and working to get the hunting industry to realize we can’t take our most important species for granted.”
Before Outdoor Life’s September article was released, QDMA received confirmation of funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to coordinate and host the first-ever National Whitetail Symposium, a gathering of industry stakeholders to confront challenges and threats to the most economically important game species in the world. Additionally, since 2009, QDMA has compiled its annual Whitetail Report – a detailed look at current issues facing the whitetail resource – and made it available free of charge to hunters and the hunting industry. These efforts to focus industry-wide attention on the future of the whitetail resource, combined with QDMA’s exhaustive list of actions to address specific issues, stand as proof that QDMA is the leading national advocate of white-tailed deer.
“We urge hunters and the hunting industry to read our response and also look at our complete and lengthy track record,” said Murphy. “If you believe in holistic management of whitetails to maintain healthy populations and habitat, and if you believe we need to protect this incredibly important resource for the future, you’ll want to support QDMA.”
About QDMA Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with nearly 50,000 members in all 50 states and Canada. QDMA is dedicated to ensuring the
future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. To learn more about QDMA and why it is the future of deer hunting, call 800-209-3337 or visit www.QDMA.com
