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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dennishoddy" data-source="post: 2416434" data-attributes="member: 5412">DMAP is not an overnight fix. It may take years before results are seen. Each deer must be weighed, a jaw removed, and if its a buck, the antlers have to be rough scored. Biologist use this data to see the overall health of the herd in this area. They are't giving management opinions, they are gathering scientific date and looking at it over time. The goal is to improve the health of the herd, mainly by trying to get the optimum 1-1 ratio of bucks to does. It will probably never get there, but getting as close as possible is the goal.Spotlight surveys are another great tool that is used. In September, a set path is traveled at night at the same time, and the deer are spotlighted and counted. Number of does, numbers of bucks, and the numbers of does with fawns, and does without fawns. When your doe population is largely made up of single does without fawns, its an indication that there are too many does for the bucks to breed. Not necessarily meaning you don't have enough bucks, just too many does. The biologist makes his reccomendation about how many does need to be removed from the herd using that data. The next year, the survey will show the results, and so on for years down the road, increasing or decreasing the numbers according to what the deer are showing.The ODW biologists put out the numbers that need to be taken with great caution.</blockquote>