Award-winning author/TV host Steven Rinella, international conservationist Shane Mahoney, and wildlife biologist Gary Alt headline a robust lineup of speakers for the National Deer Alliance’s 2015 North American Deer Summit in Louisville, Kentucky, May 6-8.
The Summit will be held at the Galt House in downtown Louisville. It features three days of expert speakers, interactive sessions, and panel discussions featuring the nation’s top experts on deer, deer hunting and deer conservation.
The NDA and its partners are proud of the Summit’s speakers and program, and look forward to improving our nation’s deer conservation efforts in the years ahead. Summit attendees are encouraged to actively contribute throughout the sessions to develop solutions to the varied threats facing deer populations nationwide.
Craig Dougherty, executive director of the NDA; Greg Johnson, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife; and Jay McAninch, CEO/president of the Archery Trade Association, will kick off the Summit on May 6. Brian Murphy, CEO of the Quality Deer Management Association; and Kip Adams, the QDMA’s director of education and outreach, will recap the inaugural Summit in 2014, and discuss the state of today’s white-tailed deer.
The first day also features Jim Heffelfinger, a biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, who will discuss the nation’s mule deer population. Mahoney, an internationally acclaimed conservationist, will be the featured dinner speaker to close the first day.
The Summit’s second day begins with presentations by key NDA partners, the Mule Deer Foundation and Whitetails Unlimited. Miles Moretti will represent the MDF and Jeff Schinkten the WU.
Among the most pressing threats to deer and deer hunting are disease, predation and declining license sales. The experts addressing these concerns are Dr. John Fischer, director of the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study; Dr. Mike Chamberlain, a University of Georgia carnivore researcher; Ron Reagan, executive director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; and John Frampton, CEO/president of the Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports. Rinella, acclaimed author of “American Buffalo” and host of “MeatEater” on The Sportsman Channel television network, will conclude Day 2 as the featured dinner speaker.
Dr. Alt, who was Pennsylvania’s lead black-bear researcher and later its chief deer biologist, will address the Summit on its third and final morning.
