A Scientific Approach to Deer Management in Mercer County is Topic for MCCC Lecture Sept. 17
8/28/19
WEST WINDSOR – The impact of white-tailed deer in Mercer County and the new scientific approach to deer management is the upcoming lecture topic at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) on Sept. 17.
The scientific monitoring of the deer population, along with the challenges that it presents on forest health, will be the subject of the lecture hosted by Jennifer Rogers, Mercer County Naturalist, and Jillian Stark, Senior Land Steward of the Mercer County Park Commission. The talk is the first MCCC Distinguished Lecture for the Fall 2019 semester, and will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at noon in the Communications Building, Room 108.
The lecture will highlight the process of designing effective deer management programs in the parks, and its impact on forest health. The overpopulation of white tailed deer presents a challenge to stewarding natural lands, and is one of the largest regional threats to biodiversity in Central Jersey.
The Park Commission’s primary goal is to maintain a balance between natural resource conservation and recreational opportunities for public use. It manages more than 7,100 acres of land.
Rogers, a graduate from the University of New Hampshire, earned her B.S. in Wildlife Management and Education. Since 2008, Rogers has been the County Naturalist for the Mercer County Park Commission. As director of the Naturalists Division, her work includes re-establishing the Park Commission’s Nature Program, running more than 175 programs annually, ecologically restoring over 500 acres of parkland, including multiple reforestations, and utilizing over $460,000 in grant funding.
Stark, the senior Land Steward for the Mercer County park commission, graduated from The College of New Jersey with a B.S. in Biology and from Pace University with an M.S. in Environmental Science. She has worked with the Park Commission since 2017, specializing in deer management and invasive species eradication.
For more information on MCCC’s Distinguished Lecture Series, call (609) 570-33424 or visit www.mccc.edu/lecture.
County Naturalist Jennifer Rogers (left), and Jillian Stark, Senior Land Steward for the Mercer County Park Commission, will deliver a lecture at MCCC on the impacts of white-tailed deer in Mercer County on Tuesday, Sept. 17.