This 3-hour virtual symposium convened leading scientists, land-management practitioners, and wildlife professionals, who have spent decades focused on high white-tailed deer populations as a leading cause of reductions in local biodiversity and a major factor in the prevention of forest regeneration.

Sessions highlighted recent evidence-based research underscoring the need for deer management in natural areas. Participants learned about a scalable, multi-pronged approach being piloted in Virginia, where the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (VADCR) Division of Wildlife Resources and Natural Heritage Program are collaborating with public and private partners to reduce herd size and shift deer behavior utilizing implementation and monitoring protocols; a model that could be replicated in other states.

The symposium concluded with a facilitated panel discussion so that participants could engage with researchers and agency practitioners to ask questions and further explore the specific considerations that allowed VADCR to move forward with this collaborative initiative. On-the-ground practitioners shared emerging research and initiatives regarding new approaches to an ongoing land management challenge.