Partnerships with state wildlife agencies are enabling the National Deer Association to place field staff and achieve our mission work in a growing number of states. Some of these staff have regional or national responsibilities while others are more focused on their respective states. Deer management assistance program (DMAP) biologists are examples of NDA staff with state-specific duties. Other initiatives include education and outreach, hunter recruitment efforts, and landowner assistance with habitat enhancement and deer management programs.
A prime example is a partnership between NDA and the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission to employ DMAP Biologists in the Natural State. Arkansas has eight DMAP regions, and beginning in January 2024, five of those regions included a DMAP Biologist through a partnership with NDA. These biologists are NDA employees who work in concert with AGFC staff to educate landowners and assist with facilitation of Arkansas’ DMAP program. Their specific duties are numerous: Achieving DMAP goals and targets for each county in their respective regions; providing harvest recommendations, management plans and habitat management recommendations to landowners enrolled in the DMAP program; promoting hunter recruitment; assisting with CWD education and sampling efforts; helping facilitate venison donation programs, and much more.
The above duties are an abridged list, but they clearly fall within NDA’s mission to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. NDA has similar Deer Outreach Specialist positions in Missouri, Field to Fork Coordinators in Alabama, Florida and Wisconsin, and current discussions with several other state wildlife agencies about adding similar positions. These positions are great for state wildlife agencies as they add staff and capacity. They’re great for NDA because they allow us to expand our staff and mission delivery. They’re great for landowners as they provide a tremendous resource to help with deer and habitat management programs, and ultimately, they are great for white-tailed deer and other wildlife species.
Fortunately, these “win-win” scenarios are growing. The NDA and AGFC recently added three more DMAP Biologists bringing the total to eight – one for every DMAP region in Arkansas. We’re also in the final stages of adding a DMAP Biologist in another soon-to-be-announced state. Stay tuned as one of these great partnerships may be coming to your state or county in the near future.