Don Waller, a professor in the Botany Department at the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, will present “Deer Management: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?” at 7 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Lions Field House, 310 Elkhorn Rd., Williams Bay.
After almost disappearing from many parts of the state in the early 1900s, Wisconsin white-tailed deer populations have made a remarkable recovery through the 20th century reaching record levels first in the 1940s and even higher by the turn of the 21st century, according to a press release from the Audubon Society.
While judged a success for wildlife management, high deer numbers are contributing to crop failures, failures of tree generation, vehicular accidents, and outbreaks of Lyme and chronic wasting diseases, according to the release.
Waller chairs the undergraduate major in conservation biology. He also helped found the UW’s graduate program in conservation biology and sustainable development. He teaches courses in ecology, evolution and conservation biology and has interest in using citizen science to improve forest and wildlife management in Wisconsin.
Waller is also the co-author of the book “Wild Forests: Conservation Biology and Public Policy” and co-editor of the book “The Vanishing Present: Wisconsin’s Changing Lands, Waters and Wildlife.”
The program, sponsored by the Lakeland Audubon Society, is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served before and after the meeting.
