ENV201: Environmental Management
Fall 2023
Prof. T. Conway
1
Assignment 1: Deer Management Conflict Resolution
Due in Week 4 (at 10pm Sept 26th for Wednesday Tutorials or 10pm Sept. 27th for
Thursday Tutorials)
This assignment is worth 9% of your final grade
Assignment Goals
1. Explore a case study involving stakeholders’ management of white-tailed deer.
2. Examine the process used to make decisions when stakeholders are given the authority to
establish management practices.
3. Develop and practice the skills of paraphrasing, summary, and synthesis as they relate to
descriptive writing.
Overview
In week 4 tutorials, you will represent a stakeholder who has been asked to participate in a
Citizens Task Force on Deer Management, in Tompkins County, New York State. This is based
on the actual process used to manage deer throughout New York State in the 1990s. You will
have a chance to confer with other students who also represent your position and will then
negotiate with other stakeholders to determine management actions.
Steps to Complete Assignment
Part I. Required Reading
Read the information included in this document and the three (very short) required readings
on the portal site, under assignment 1.
Part II. Writing Assignment
Instructions
- Your answers should be typed (standard font, double-spaced).
- Please do not include direct quotations. Instead paraphrase, summarize, and synthesize
the material.
• The distinctions between paraphrasing, summary, and synthesis will be covered in the
writing workshop during week 3.
- Please provide in-text citations and full references at end of assignment for any sources
you use.
• You only need to use the three assignment readings (full reference given below), no
need to complete additional resources.
• For more information about when to cite sources:
https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/citing
ENV201: Environmental Management
Fall 2023
Prof. T. Conway
2
1. Write one page summarizing the conflict surrounding White-Tailed Deer and the need to
manage them, based on the information provided in the required reading. In your answer,
include “summary” and “paraphrase”.
2. Write one page describing the process used to determine white-tailed deer management
actions and the options available to control the population. In your answer, include “synthesis”
and “summary.”
The citations for the three assignment readings are:
Reading 1:
Department of Environmental Conservation. (2001). Citizen Task Forces on Deer Management.
Albany : New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Reading 2:
Department of Environmental Conservation. (nd). The Need for Deer Population Management.
Albany : New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Reading 3:
Bishop, P., Glidden, J., Lowery, M. & Riehlman, D. (1999). A Citizen’s Guide to the Management
of White-tailed Deer in Urban and Suburban New York. Albany : New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation.
Part III. Submit Assignment
Upload your assignment (one document) through the Quercus assignment.
Please have access to the same document in tutorial (you will need it for discussion).
Part IV. Stakeholder Negotiation Preparation
Think about the position your assigned stakeholder role would take in stakeholder negotiations
addressing deer management. In tutorial, be prepared to answer the following questions based
on your assigned role: Are there too many deer? Too few deer? What management options
should be taken to manage the population?
Assigned Stakeholder Positions
Last Name Stakeholder Position Last Name Stakeholder Position
A-B 1. Life-long Recreational Hunter
C-H 2. Hunts to Supplement Food
I-L 3. New "Suburban" Resident
M-O 4. Animal Rights Activist
P-S 5. Bed and Breakfast Owner
T-Z 6. Long-Term Resident Farmer
3
Stakeholder Descriptions
1. Life Long Recreational Hunter: This stakeholder feels that hunting is a part of the
traditional rural lifestyle, serves an important role in controlling deer populations, and does not
want to see the county become “suburban”.
2. Hunts to Supplement Food for Family: This stakeholder is part of a family that has an
income below the poverty line. The family relies on the deer killed each winter by this
stakeholder to provide enough food for them to comfortably survive. The stakeholder is not
sure what will happen to the family if hunting is highly restricted.
3. New “Suburban” Resident: This stakeholder has recently moved to the county. While they
were attracted by the natural setting (including seeing wildlife) this stakeholder is concerned
about the dangers associated with people hunting so close to the house. However, the
stakeholder has noticed that the deer seem to be eating all the plants in the garden and is
increasingly annoyed that they have been unable to stop them.
4. Animal Rights Activist: This stakeholder is a long-time resident of the county and believes
that is morally wrong to kill another living being. They feel hunting as a way to manage deer
populations should not be allowed. If any action is taken, this stakeholder believes that the
“natural order” should be restored, with the deer’s natural predators (wolves) reintroduced into
the region.
5. Bed and Breakfast Owner: This stakeholder makes a living off tourists who come to the
region to hike, bird watch, or hunt deer. They have noticed that since the rules were changed to
allow hunting on Sundays (until 1997 there was no hunting allowed on Sundays) that fewer
non-hunting people are staying at the B&B during hunting season. Additionally, since there has
been a decline in the number of people interested in hunting, they can no longer rely on hunters
alone to keep the B&B profitable.
6. Long Term Resident Farmer: This stakeholder has been growing corn on their farm for
over thirty years. While they have regularly engaged in deer hunting as a way to keep the deer
from eating the corn crops, in recent years the number of deer has just been too many. As a
result, there has been a significant increase in the amount of damage from deer, which is
negatively impacting the farm’s profits.
Marking Scheme
50 marks each for your answer to questions #1 and #2, broken down as:
10 marks are for grammar, spelling, and general writing clarity
10 marks for structure of answers, including demonstration of summary and paraphrasing
(Q #1) or summary and synthesis (Q #2).
10 marks for proper use of citations, style of in-text citations and full references
20 marks for information included within answers