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Abstract
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is the most economically important game species in North America, resulting in an incentive to effectively manage deer habitats and populations. Habitat management is guided by availability and selection of resources by animals, whereas, population management relies on surveys to estimate abundance, which are often biased due to imperfect detection. I developed a sightability model for helicopter surveys using surrogates to improve accuracy of population estimates, examined deer movement in response to helicopter surveys, and evaluated resource selection of deer relative to livestock management practices. The top sightability model indicated that distance from the transect and vegetative obstruction negatively affected deer detection. Helicopter surveys had little effect on deer movement and resource selection of bucks varied between seasons with bucks selecting areas closer to pastures that were grazed approximately 140–220 days when the preceding stocking rate was heavy. Information gained from this research will allow managers to prescribe sustainable harvest recommendations and make better informed habitat management decisions.