Urbanization throughout much of Texas has resulted in diminished wildlife habitat, resulting from fragmented landscapes. Several previous studies addressed the public’s attitudes concerning the most acceptable white-tailed deer management techniques in urban areas. As a departure from these studies on urban residents’ acceptance of alternative urban deer management strategies, this study assessed the types of information required by urban residents to more fully understand the best management practices for urban deer herds. Two Texas communities, Lakeway and Hollywood Park, were chosen for this study. Since the 1990s, urban deer herds have negatively impacted these communities through increased deer-vehicle collisions, defined browse lines throughout the community, and human-deer encounters. The current number of households in each community was determined and used to calculate the household sample size in Lakeway (N= 4,090, n = 704) and Hollywood Park (N= 1,547, n = 616). An Internet survey was developed which asked an adult resident of each selected household about his or her knowledge of factors that lead to population growth in urban white-tailed deer populations, personal encounters with an urban deer herd in the community, the types of management options he or she would choose in dealing with the urban deer herd, and why and what types of information the respondent would most like to have regarding urban deer management. Finally, demographic information was asked such as age, gender, level of education and years of residency in the neighborhood. The information derived from this study reveals the public’s knowledge, attitudes, actions, and expectations concerning over-abundant white-tailed deer populations in Lakeway and Hollywood Park, Texas. This information can be used to assist communities such as Lakeway and Hollywood Park, as well as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, to develop appropriate educational materials that will provide relevant, current, and accurate information about urban deer population ecology and management for the urban resident. The methods of this study will serve as a useful tool for others to develop pro-active management strategies for controlling over-abundant urban white-tailed deer populations and aid in reducing the conflict between urban deer managers and the public.

An increase in urbanization in the United States has led to an increase in human-wildlife interactions with deer (Odocoileus spp.) which have been able to adapt and thrive in these urban environments. In Utah, urbanization has occurred along the Wasatch Front which was once traditional mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) winter range habitat. This urban expansion coupled with an increasing use of these urban areas by mule deer, have led to increasing conflicts with deer. Overabundant urban deer have led to increased concerns over safety from deer-vehicle collisions, and damage to personal property including gardens and landscaping. Lethal methods of urban deer control, such as controlled hunting or sharpshooting have proven prohibitive due to perceptions of safety or local ordinance prohibiting discharge of weapons. Managers have thus begun to investigate translocation as an alternative method of reducing deer and deer related problems. I evaluated the efficacy of translocation by determining factors influencing the survival of translocated urban mule deer, reporting the costs per deer of translocation, and determining change in public attitudes toward urban deer after 2 years of removing deer via translocation. Results indicate that translocated urban deer survival is reduced by age and injuries, and that male survival is much lower than that of females, however survival was higher among deer that made it into the second year post-release. Overall survival of translocated urban deer is still lower than the average statewide survival for wild mule deer in Utah. Public perception of the amount of deer decreased slightly after 2 years of deer removals and attitudes were influenced by the severity of damage to gardens and landscaping. This research can provide managers with information on the hazards influencing survival of translocated urban mule deer as well as the costs associated with implementing and maintaining a translocation program to mitigate urban mule deer problems. It can also provide managers with information on the social impacts such a program has on the attitudes and perceptions of urban deer.