No wild animal in North Carolina is as recognizable as the white-tailed deer. Whether a mature buck with splendid antlers, a graceful doe or a spotted fawn running with its mother, the white-tailed deer is one of the most popular of animals. A deer’s coat is usually a tannish brown, or some shade of brown, ranging almost to gray. It usually has a white patch on its neck and large prominent ears. Its eyes are circled with white and a white band rings the muzzle. The belly is white, with white running down the inside of the legs. The tail, about 9 to 11 inches long, is mostly brown although the underside is all white. The hooves have two toes covered with a hard fingernail-like material, and another toe, called the dew claw, appears about 3 inches high on the back of each leg. Bucks, or male deer, grow and shed their antlers each year. Antlers range in size from little spikes that protrude from the skin, to larger “racks” that branch out to a variable number of points. The white-tailed deer is a herbivorous animal. It will eat many green-leaved succulent plants and the tender new growths of stems and fruits. One of their most important food sources is acorns. White-tailed deer also forage on a variety of agricultural crops. Deer are so adaptable that they are found in almost any type of habitat. They like creek and river bottoms, oak ridges, pine forests, farmlands or any other type of habitat that offers food, water and cover
Deer Management Assistance Program
Application Instructions:
Please thoroughly read the following information before completing your application for the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP):
1.Issuance of DMAP tags is subject to an evaluation by the Private Lands Biologist of herd status and landowner objectives for the property.
2. Applicants enrolling properties under the Eastern Deer Season or Central Deer Season must own or control exclusive hunting rights on a minimum of 1,000 contiguous acres of land. Applicants enrolling properties under the Western Deer Season or Northwestern Deer Season must own or control exclusive hunting rights on a minimum of 500 contiguous acres of land. Adjoining landowners may combine their properties to meet the minimum acreage requirement.
3. Applicants shall provide information on the number and sex of deer harvested from the area in the past three years.
4. Applicants shall agree to validate and report antlered buck harvests during the open deer season as described in the regulations pertaining to reporting Big Game kills. Antlered bucks shall count as part of the daily bag, possession, and season limit of the person taking the deer.
5. Applicants shall agree that harvests of antlerless deer during the entire season (including primitive weapons seasons) will not exceed the number of deer specified on the authorization by the Executive Director or his designee. Antlerless deer taken on the property do not count as part of the daily bag, possession, and season limit of the person taking the deer.
6. Applicants shall agree to tag each antlerless deer killed during the archery, muzzleloader, and gun deer seasons with a special tag and to report all kills on the Big Game Harvest Record Sheets, both of which will be supplied by the Commission. To properly record antlerless deer kills on the Big Game Harvest Record sheets, the Harvest Identification Number will consist of the applicant’s WRC Customer Number followed by the DMAP identifying number “18.” DMAP harvest authorization numbers for antlerless deer should not be recorded on the applicant’s Big Game Harvest Report Card (tags). However, authorization numbers for DMAP antlerless harvests should be recorded on a separate sheet of paper and maintained by the hunter. Antlered buck harvests must be recorded following standard registration procedures.
7. Applicants shall agree to assist the Commission in the collection of information from all harvested deer (for example, jawbones, weights and antler characteristics) and record the data on harvest datasheets supplied by the Commission.
8. Applicants shall agree to return Big Game Harvest Record Sheets by mail to the Commission and forward jawbones and datasheets directly to the local wildlife biologist within 15 days of the close of the season.
The failure of an applicant to meet or comply with the above guidelines will result in denial of the authorization for use of the DMAP tags for the current or future years, whichever is applicable.
Applications must be received by August 1 and be accompanied by a check or money order for $50.00 made payable to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. This fee is a processing fee and is nonrefundable.
DMAP Application Form (pdf)
DMAP Participant Instructions (pdf)
Harvest Data Form & Instructions (pdf)