Strategic deer management planning

We have finally completed our analysis of all the data we have been gathering from 40 highland estates as part of a strategic deer management planning project. It has been really interesting bringing together all the various sources of data, including counts, culls, socio-economic data and estate management objectives. The analysis has involved quantifying spatio-temporal trends in Red deer abundance and comparing them with the objectives of each estate in the area, to try and identify sources of potential conflict and develop solutions to deal with them. It has been difficult to get the project to this stage, and very interesting hearing the reactions of the owners to the recommendations we have made.