In 1931, when Charlie May was a teenager, deer were a rare thing in Pennsylvania. When one of his classmates burst into their one-roomschoolhouse in Schuylkill County saying that he had seen a deertrack - not a deer, mind you, but just a track - their teacher tookeveryone out into the snow to see it.

Things have certainly changed in the decades since then. Sportsmenand biologists brought deer back in a big way in the early 20thcentury, growing the herd until it was considered to be among thetwo or three biggest in the nation. Indeed, May's son, who retiredfrom the Pennsylvania Game Commission as a wildlife conservationofficer in 2005, spent most of his career dealing not with a shortageof deer, but with an abundance of whitetails. That abundance - evenoverabundance, to hear some tell the story - has had severe consequences,though.

You can have too much of a good thing when it comes to white-taileddeer, say some of the farmers, foresters, bird watchers, auto insuranceagents, biologists, and even hunters who have to deal with the deerthat roam Pennsylvania from the big woods of the northern tier tothe suburbs around Pittsburgh and the parks within Philadelphia.All agree they want deer in Pennsylvania, but in manageable numbersin the right places.

There have been and will continue to be problems until that balanceis achieved. That's because deer, though beautiful, can also bedevastating. "Deer are second only to humans in their impacton a forest ecosystem," says Dr. Gary Alt, who headed the GameCommission's deer management section until the constant battlingover whitetails drove him to quit. "They can, and will, dictatewhat other animals will survive there."

Knowing that is one thing. Being able to do something about it -especially in Pennsylvania, where deer hunting traditions are asdeeply rooted as 100-year-old white oak - is something else. A numberof people, some Game Commission officials included, say they deerherd has been mismanaged for 80 years. That must change, they say,if deer populations are to finally be brought into balance withtheir habitat and if hunting as we know it is to survive.

Can that battle be won? People across the state and the nation arewaiting to see. Virtually every state east of the Mississippi isdealing with this same issue - too many deer for the available habitatand a public that's come to believe having that many deer is notonly OK, it's desirable. Pennsylvania may be the model for solving that problem.