National Deer Association Partners with Outdoor Industry Communication Council to Promote Conservation Education

October 30, 2023 – The National Deer Association (NDA) is proud to partner with the Outdoor Industry Communication Council (OICC) on its latest conservation education campaign. This OICC Initiative will produce and release content every month which will inform hunters, shooters, anglers and outdoorsmen about the US conservation funding model. NDA is thrilled to share OICC’s latest illuminating piece Funding American Conservation, One Shotgun and Box of Ammo at a Time.

“This article explains how every single hunter and shooter directly contributes to US conservation efforts,” said Nick Pinizzotto, NDA’s President and CEO. “We’re proud to support a campaign that aligns so well with our values of conservation education, and we look forward to sharing the next release.”

Funding American Conservation, One Shotgun and Box of Ammo at a Time breaks down the how and why of the excise tax in the outdoor industry. This article is a resource for those who are interested in learning how taxes on hunting and firearm related purchases go towards conservationist efforts like improving habitats, access, and shooting ranges. To learn more about the positive contributions of hunters, anglers, trappers, and shooters or the OICC visit https://www.outdoorstewards.org/outdoor-industry-communication-council-oicc/.

The NDA is dedicated to ensuring the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting and outlines education as a critical focus area. Encouraging the education of hunters and shooters is a primary focus. Join NDA and support their mission today, or sign up for their free e-newsletter to receive the latest on deer hunting and management at DeerAssociation.com

About the National Deer Association

The National Deer Association is the leading non-profit deer conservation group and works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Formed by combining the strengths of two long-serving, successful organizations, the National Deer Association has a combined 40 years of action that has changed deer management for the betterment of hunting and protected North America’s most vital and admired game species for future generations. Visit deerassociation.com or follow @deerassociation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.

About the Outdoor Industry Communication Council (OICC)

Formed around the commitment to educate all Americans about the origins of conservation

funding in America, the Outdoor Industry Communication Council (OICC) is managed by

Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation (OSCF) and Wildlife Management Institute

(WMI). OICC works with outdoor writers to develop informative content that is available to

all outdoor organizations and media at no cost. A primary goal of the OICC is to better

inform and promote the positive contributions that wildlife agencies, industry

manufacturers, NGO’s and end users such as hunters, anglers, trappers and target shooters

make to conservation. Outdoor organizations interested in conservation are welcome to

use any OICC content to expand the reach of messages created by the OICC. To become a

member of the Outdoor Industry Communication Council, contact Jim Curcuruto of OSCF

(203) 450-7202 jim@stewardsofconservation.org or Jon Gassett of WMI at (502) 330-9025

jgassett@wildlifemgt.org. There are no costs involved to become a member of the OICC.

Members may utilize OICC materials as they see fit with no restrictions. For additional

information visit https://www.outdoorstewards.org/outdoor-industry-communication-

council-oicc/

Field Dressed Venison to Become Available

October 17th, 2023 – The Coulee Country Branch of the National Deer Association is excited to announce its latest donation plan which brings field dressed venison to those in the Wisconsin area. Through much of the Coulee Region the deer herd is in over abundance. To help trim the deer herd to healthy levels, many of the members of the Coulee Country Branch will be harvesting and donating venison.

“This is a great way for hunters to give back to the community,” said Kim Zuhlke of the local Coulee Country Branch of the NDA. “The field dressed venison that comes out of this operation is a sustainability grown and high-quality source of protein, so we’re happy to be providing this to the community on top of helping to counteract over abundance.”

For those looking to receive a field dressed deer, the Coulee Country Branch is now collecting names. To be eligible, send contact information to venisonconnection@gmail.com. The deer lymph nodes will be submitted for free CWD testing and the recipient will be responsible for the processing of the deer.

In a complimentary program hunters will also be donating deer through the WNDR deer donation program which helps facilitate the dispersal of ground venison to the area’s food pantries. Both programs will have venison available as the fall hunting season progresses.

For more information on the NDA and their partnerships visit www.deerassociation.com. To learn more about the Wisconsin DNR please see www.dnr.wisconsin.gov.

About the National Deer Association

The National Deer Association is the leading non-profit deer conservation group and works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Formed by combining the strengths of two long-serving, successful organizations, the National Deer Association has a combined 40 years of action that has changed deer management for the betterment of hunting and protected North America’s most vital and admired game species for future generations. Visit DeerAssociation.com or follow @deerassociation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.

NDA Premieres “Identifying Antlerless Deer in the Field” Video and Quiz

September 28, 2023 – The National Deer Association is pleased to announce the premiere of a new educational video project, “How to Identify Antlerless Deer in the Field,” produced in partnership with The Bearded Buck. The 17-minute video uses live footage of wild whitetail deer in order to teach viewers how to separate adult does from younger does and doe fawns from buck fawns. The video includes an 18-deer quiz at the end.

Balancing a deer population with the habitat and available food requires harvesting the appropriate number of does. This may be a lot in some areas, a few in others and none in more isolated cases. Being able to separate the does by age in the field allows hunters to selectively harvest antlerless deer–whether their goal is to harvest more mature does and reduce the deer herd, or harvest younger does and allow the deer herd to grow.

In this new video, NDA Chief Conservation Officer and wildlife biologist Kip Adams shares tips on how to separate adult does from younger does in the field–and even how to identify fawns (deer under 1 year of age) as does or bucks.

The 18-deer quiz at the clip’s conclusion allows viewers to practice what they learned throughout the video. Here, viewers are provided a few seconds to identify wild deer from live footage in the field. After the pause, Kip reveals his analysis of the deer in each of the nine scenarios, with 18 deer being shown in all.

“The ability to separate live antlerless deer into two general age groups – fawns and adults – is obtainable for all hunters with a little knowledge and some practice,” said Adams. “The three key characteristics are body size and shape, head size and shape and animal behavior. This is especially pertinent when you have a group of deer in front of you during hunting season. Estimating the sex and age of live antlerless deer is a great skill for hunters.”

With regard to harvesting antlerless deer, some hunters are concerned about accidentally shooting a fawn, referring to deer less than one year old during the fall hunting season, especially buck fawns. There is nothing wrong with harvesting a fawn, but NDA’s new video helps hunters separate adult does from fawns in the field, and even identify whether those fawns are does or bucks.

“The team at The Bearded Buck gave us full access to their incredible collection of whitetail footage from years of their hunts,” said NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer and host of the video, Kip Adams. “The result is NDA’s most comprehensive and realistic look at how to age deer in the field.”

To view the new video, visit NDA’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/deerassociation, where you can also find the 2022 video on Aging Live Bucks in the Field, also produced in partnership with The Bearded Buck.

Direct video link: https://youtu.be/qv06NfwD_18.

About the Bearded Buck

The Bearded Buck is an Outdoor Entertainment Company located in Western Pennsylvania. Founder of The Bearded Buck, Jerry Tibbott, is a longtime NDA member and supporter, and he has attained NDA Deer Steward Level 3, the top level. Jerry developed the idea as a practical joke between himself and one of his hunting buddies, but The Bearded Buck has transformed into an outdoor lifestyle brand dedicated to being deer, turkey and land stewards. thebeardedbuck.com.

About the National Deer Association

The National Deer Association is the leading non-profit deer conservation group and works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Formed by combining the strengths of two long-serving, successful organizations, the National Deer Association has a combined 40 years of action that has changed deer management for the betterment of hunting and protected North America’s most vital and admired game species for future generations. Visit DeerAssociation.com or follow @deerassociation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.