The Influence of Private Land Deer Management Cooperatives on Harvest Outcomes and Hunter Satisfaction

Abstract

ABSTRACTPrivate‐land, deer‐hunting cooperatives seek to facilitate collective action to restrain buck harvest, encourage doe harvest, and improve hunter satisfaction. We evaluated 15 deer‐hunting cooperatives in southern Michigan to assess whether perceived satisfaction among 348 members was affected by deer harvest outcomes, characteristics of cooperative members, agreement over voluntarily established harvest and population management goals, and members' perceived fit with their cooperative. Our results indicate that cooperative members harvested just over 2 antlerless deer for every antlered buck, compared to an overall hunter harvest ratio of approximately 1:1 across all of southern Michigan. Perceived satisfaction levels generally increased among cooperative members after joining a cooperative. Perceived satisfaction was positively correlated with members' perceived fit within the cooperative, members' perceived agreement with other cooperative members on harvest and management goals, years of membership and antlerless harvest, and negatively associated with member age. Our results suggested that efforts to promote the formation and successful operation of private, deer‐management cooperatives may provide a way for state wildlife agencies to leverage collective action to enhance deer management capacity, boost hunter satisfaction, and potentially increase hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.