By: Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Lindsay Thomas Jr. is NDA's Chief Communications Officer. He has been a member of the staff since 2003. Prior to that, Lindsay was an editor at a Georgia hunting and fishing news magazine for nine years. Throughout his career as an editor, he has written and published numerous articles on deer management and hunting. He earned his journalism degree at the University of Georgia.

A Photo Gallery of Jawbones From Extremely Old Deer

Apr 30, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

The longer deer live, the more they wear down their teeth from chewing forage and browse. It used to be that hunters could only age extremely worn deer jaws as “5½-plus” or some variation of…

Hinge, Girdle, Fell or Leave? A Guide to 50 Tree Species in Deer Habitat Management

Mar 12, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

So, you read an article or watched a video about Forest Stand Improvement for deer habitat, and now you’re standing in the woods ready to work. You hold a chainsaw in one hand and a…

Do Deer Use Hinge-Cut Bedding Blocks? New Study Results Out

Feb 26, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Dr. Craig Harper and his students at the University of Tennessee seem to love fact-checking untested but long-held assumptions about deer habitat. Their scientific work confirmed some popular theories and crushed many others. The latest…

5 Takeaways From My First Growing-Season Prescribed Fire

Feb 12, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

With a growing body of science urging deer managers to diversify the timing of prescribed fire, I planned and lit my first growing-season fire on June 14 last year. It was a success, and I…

How Far Apart Do Bucks Drop Their Antlers? Shed Hunting Tips From New Science

Feb 5, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

You just found a nice shed antler. How far away is the matching side? How likely are you to find it? We now have scientific data to help answer these questions, thanks to a new…

5 Easy Steps to Better Deer Forage and Cover

Jan 22, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

One of the easiest ways to quickly improve forage and cover for deer is to remove a plant that doesn’t belong here. Whether it’s a non-native tree, shrub or vine, the space and resources it…

A Guide to the Most Important Weather Factors in Prescribed Fire

Jan 7, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Prescribed fire is a fantastic deer habitat management tool, and nothing is more important when using it than ensuring a safe, effective and contained burn. By planning and waiting to burn under the right conditions,…

I Tagged My Oldest Doe Ever. Was it a Warning Sign?

Dec 18, 2024 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

I was desperate. I was down to my last few days of hunting for the year, and my freezer would have been chirping if it was a smoke detector. The woods seemed desolate, too. I…

How Long Before You See Bigger Deer After Improving Nutrition?

Nov 20, 2024 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

You were present in your maternal grandmother’s womb. I know this is a strange way to begin a story about deer, but stay with me: It’s the simplest way to explain an important concept of…

8 Ways Hunters in CWD Zones Can Fight for Healthy Deer

Nov 13, 2024 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

For many deer hunters in North America, chronic wasting disease is the new normal. If you hunt in a county where CWD has been found in deer, you aren’t alone. The disease has been found…