(Posted April 18, 2005)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Property managers, wildlife professionals and other professionals interested in deer management can gather technical tips and learn management tools for controlling white-tailed deer at a three-day course in "Deer Management" held Tuesday, June 7 through Thursday, June 9 at Juniata College's Raystown Field Station on Raystown Lake.

The course will be taught by Uma Ramakrishnan, assistant professor of environmental science at Juniata and former deer research wildlife biologist at Connecticut's Agricultural Experiment Station. Those interested in attending the course or obtaining a registration form can contact Ramakrishnan at (814) 641-3436 or by e-mail at ramakrishnan@juniata.edu. Registration fee for the course is $300 and checks should be made payable to "Juniata College." Boxed lunches will be provided all three days. Registrations and payment should be mailed to Uma Ramakrishnan, 1700 Moore Street, Brumbaugh Academic Center, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA 16652.

"The workshop is aimed at people who manage areas with significant deer populations, such as parks, wildlife and hunting preserves and other areas," Ramakrishnan says. "Some of the information will be technical in nature, which may not be of interest to homeowners or farmers."

The workshop's first day will cover deer density estimation techniques as well as the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in deer management.

The second day will cover deer biology, including home range use and a discussion of how deer behavior changes according to the season. In addition, participants will learn about capture and handling techniques, as well as captive breeding and genetics.

The final day of the workshop centers on management of deer habitat, including how to recognize and monitor deer damage, how to monitor forest health and how to maintain the proper herd density for a geographic area. Deer fencing and other topics also will be discussed.

Deer and wildlife experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Whitetail Ridge Inc. and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station will make presentations at the workshop.

Ramakrishnan joined the Juniata faculty in 2005 after serving as the deer research biologist for the state of Connecticut. Her research focuses male deer reproductive control. She also has studied deer-vehicle collisions and how collision frequency in male deer varies greatly according to season, as well as home-range use in suburban areas.

She earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from St. Joseph's College in Bangalore, India and earned a master's degree in ecology from Pondicherry University in India. She earned a doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.