10 Year Study on Deer & Deer Management with Cornell's Bernd Blossey
On this week's show, we'll be talking to Cornell University Associate Professor of Natural Resources Bernd Blossey about his 10-year study. Bernd and his team found that neither fertility control nor recreational hunting was effective at reducing whitetail deer populations or the pressure they place on native vegetation. Bernd was born and raised in northern Germany. In 1992, he moved to Cornell University, where he is a Professor directing the Ecology and Management of Invasive Plants Program. He also is the PI for the New York Invasive Species Research Institute. A major part of Bernd's work is the development and implementation biological weed control programs using specialized insect herbivores. Among his target plants are purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, water chestnut, Japanese knotweeds and invasive Phragmites. An ever-increasing focus of his team are investigations into impacts of multiple “stressors” including invasive plants, non-native earthworms, and deer on a wide range of native organisms. He is intimately involved in different approaches to deer management at Cornell and in the surrounding municipalities, and he is the chair of the Cornell Deer Management Committee. Bernd has developed a network or deer exclosures to study impact of deer on many species and processes, and is developing bioindicators to assess effects of different stressors, including deer. The ultimate aim of this work is to increase the conservation values of all lands through development of best management practices.