Few woods-related topics are as important – and as emotional – as white-tailed deer. In his 2013 book Deerland: America’s Hunt for Ecological Balance and the Essence of Wildness, Al Cambronne delivers a thorough, well-researched, rational discussion of this often irrational topic.
Few woods-related topics are as important – and as emotional – as white-tailed deer. In his 2013 book Deerland: America’s Hunt for Ecological Balance and the Essence of Wildness, Al Cambronne delivers a thorough, well-researched, rational discussion of this often irrational topic.
There’s just something about deer. Maybe it’s their size; a white-tailed deer is the largest wild animal most of us will ever see outside a zoo. Maybe it’s the antlers. Maybe it’s that Disney movie.
Whatever it is, deer are charismatic creatures. Yet as Cambronne explains, they’re also America’s deadliest animal, the cornerstone of a multi-billion dollar industry, and a cause of long-lasting damage to many woodlands.
For all these reasons, you should read this book. Because whatever your feelings on deer are, there’s no doubt that deer have become key players on the American landscape, from urban parks to suburban backyards to rural woodlands.
But why read Cambronne’s book in particular, when so much has been written and said about deer? It’s all in his down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is style. Cambronne takes this complex, emotional topic and gives it a reasoned, well-researched, and thoughtfully explained approach. His book is bold, but not sensational. You will likely agree with some of what he says, and you will just as likely disagree with other points he makes. Even at his most controversial moments, though, Cambronne doesn’t seek to provoke or anger. He doesn’t cast aspersions, save perhaps on those who feed or bait deer with piles of corn. Even there, he has strong data to back up why you shouldn’t do either of those things.
I’m also sure you’ll learn something new from reading this book (at least, I did). Even if you’ve been around deer for decades, this book will help you see and think about them in a different way.
Deerland is valuable for a lot of readers, but it’s especially worthwhile if you own land (whether you hunt or not). Cambronne explains in simple language the negative impacts deer have on woodlands’ ability to get new plants growing. He visits places where deer browse has essentially killed the woods by preventing new trees from replacing those that die.
I encourage you to read Cambronne’s Deerland. And if you’re looking to learn more about deer concerns on your land and what you can do about them, check out our new MyWoodlot Goal all about addressing deer pressure.
