QUALITY DEER MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

QDMA members have been practicing QDM for years and the results speak for themselves! Many members have attended branch meetings, seminars, and workshops in parts of Michigan where QDMA branches exist. Now, there are QDMA members interested in organizing a branch in this area, to be known as the "Five Rivers" area branch.

The branch is made up of QDMA members committed to promoting Quality Deer Management in their area. Branches provide support, information, and encouragement to area members. It also maintains official contact with local authorities such as biologists, conservation officers, and local media to keep abreast of issues and information pertaining to high-density deer populations and maintaining a healthy, sustainable deer herd.

The QDMA promotes:

• Restraint in the harvest of young bucks
• Adequate harvest of does to assure a deer herd in balance with the habitat
• A deer herd with an improved adult sex ratio and buck age structure
• Safe, ethical hunting, and cooperation with biologists and law enforcement
• Hunter involvement in education and management
• Stewardship, habitat management and appreciation for all wildlife

QDMA members and branches are generally more active, more knowledgeable, and give back to the resource with a passion that goes beyond the tangible harvest. By all trends and indications, it is likely that QDM will be the preponderate deer management approach of the 21^st century.

The future of deer management and deer hunting rests upon those who are concerned with the resource and recruitment of hunters to understand philosophies that are more progressive and scientific than those of traditional deer management practices. Simply stated, the future of the whitetail deer and deer hunting is in your hands.

Near the intersection of Jackson, Hillsdale, and Lenawee counties, along a geologic feature known as the Fort Wayne Moraine, lies the highest ground in southern Michigan, with hills reaching nearly 1300 feet above sea level. From this area of but a few square miles, emanate the headwaters of five major rivers, whose watersheds drain an enormous region within Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Three of the rivers ultimately flow to Lake Michigan, while the other two meander eastward to Lake Erie.

These rivers include the Grand, Michigan’s longest; the St. Joseph, which eventually takes a southerly bend through Indiana on its way to Lake Michigan; the mighty Kalamazoo, whose watershed charts a narrow, westward course; the Raisin, so named by French settlers for the abundance of wild grapes which grew upon its banks; and the Maumee, which reaches Lake Erie at the port of Toledo.

Rich in both natural and human history, this area is also home of the Five Rivers Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association.