DEER! Who, What, Where, When, Why?

DEER!

Who, What, Why, When, Where?

Who are the white tailed deer that are increasingly acclimated to humans in suburban environments? What are the impacts they have on ecosystems? When are deer vehicle collisions most likely to happen? Why should you never move a fawn? Where can you find deer?

Join Joe Folta, District 5 Wildlife Biologist of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, to learn about these backyard ungulates!

Joe Folta was born and raised in Northeastern PA. He first moved to North Carolina to do his field work for his Master’s project on black bears from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Upon graduation he worked as a temporary wildlife technician with the US Fish & Wildlife Service at Alligator River and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuges. In 1999, he was hired as a wildlife technician by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. He was soon promoted to Forest Stewardship Biologist, then to the District 3 Wildlife Biologist. He left the Commission in 2011 to help his wife jumpstart her career and during the same period, he finished his PhD studying the reaction-diffusion of the black bear population in North Carolina and served as an instructor at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science & Forestry. Joe and his wife moved back to North Carolina in 2017. Joe spent 2021 as an assistant professor at Elon University. In December of 2021, he was hired back with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission as the District 5 Wildlife Conservation Biologist and promoted to District 5 Wildlife Biologist in May of 2023.

Registration is appreciated.