Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Pennsylvania
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Pennsylvania Project

Methods of estimating deer abundance at Gettysburg National Military Park: Testing model assumptions

August 2007 - December 2011

Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • Natural Resources Preservation Program (NRPP)
  • Gettysburg National Military Park

1. Test whether the proportion of the deer population sighted during spotlight surveys at GNMP-ENHS has changed since these sighting probabilities were estimated in the 1980s and 1990s. 2. Test the assumption that roads can serve as transects when using distance sampling to estimate abundance. 3. Investigate the accuracy, precision, and logistical feasibility of other population estimators that use data collected during deer population reduction efforts to estimate abundance.