Deer Management Program Rules

DNRT is no longer accepting applications for 2025 participants.

Program Basics

The basic elements of the program are as follows:

  1. The program is limited to invited hunters who will be assigned to specific DNRT properties.
  2. Only DNRT properties without marked trails will be included in the program.
  3. The program is limited to archery only.
  4. No species other than white-tailed deer may be taken.
  5. The invited hunters must follow all state laws and report their harvest to DNRT weekly.
  6. Hunters will need to pass an archery proficiency test, submit to a CORI and SORI check, and provide proof of liability insurance.
  7. Only those hunters who agree to the conditions of the program and sign a waiver of liability will be allowed to participate in this program.

DNRT will continue to inspect all of its properties to remove unauthorized hunting stands as we have done in the past.

DNRT Deer Management Program Overview PDF

For more information, please contact Linda Vanderveer, Land Manager at linda@dnrt.org or (508) 991-2289.

 

Properties Included in the Deer Management Program

  1. Faunce Reserve
  2. ASM Realty Reserve
  3. Shingle Island River Reserve
  4. Barzabiel Washburn Reserve
  5. Helfand Farm
  6. Teal Rock-Winsor Reserve
  7. Griswold Reserve
  8. Ledgewood Reserve
  9. Manny Rose Perry Agricultural Reserve
Ledgewood

Background

In 2024, DNRT’s Board of Directors approved the Deer Management Program for implementation. To develop this program, DNRT consulted experts from Mass Wildlife, Mass Audubon, the Trustees of Reservations, and other land trusts. We also conferred with our Land Management Committee, local deer hunters, farmers, and former and current members of the DNRT Board of Directors.

Why this program is needed:

  1. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass Wildlife) estimates that the white-tailed deer population in Dartmouth well exceeds recommended sustainable levels. An ideal deer population is between 9 and 18 deer per square mile. Mass Wildlife estimates that there are 30-50 deer per square mile in eastern Massachusetts, and a recent survey by Mass Audubon at Allen’s Pond Sanctuary counted 56 deer per square mile.
  2. This over-population has led to excessive deer browse on native plant communities, and costly losses on browsed residential and agricultural plants. This browse also prevents the regeneration of our forests.
  3. The frequency of deer collisions with cars is very high. In 2023, State Police recorded 1,803 vehicle interactions with deer. Dartmouth Police recorded nearly 1 deer/car interactions per week in 2021.
  4. Hunting is the only feasible means for deer population control in Dartmouth. The practice of capture and sterilization is not permitted in Massachusetts, and there are no longer natural predators of deer, such as wolves and mountain lions. While coyotes will prey on white-tailed deer fawns and an occasional adult, they are not a significant source of deer predation.
  5. Current deer harvest levels are inadequate to control the growth of the population given the species’ breeding biology. Mass Wildlife reports that 2023 harvests were approximately 3 deer per square mile across all of southeastern Massachusetts.