University of Georgia wildlife ecology professor Karl V. Miller of the Warnell School of Forestry has received a lifetime achievement award from the Quality Deer Management Association for helping advance white-tailed deer research and management.

Miller was awarded the Joe Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award at a recent ceremony in Nashville, Tenn. Miller is one of the country’s top deer researchers and has spent many of his years at Warnell researching the physiology, behavior and management of the white-tailed deer.

“Receiving this award from the Quality Deer Management Association is particularly gratifying because of this organization’s focus on wise stewardship of our wildlife resources,” said Miller. “Our research program here at UGA as benefitted tremendously through our association with the QDMA.”

Over the past 30 years, Miller and his team of Warnell graduate students have conducted ground-breaking research on the visual and hearing abilities of deer, visual and scent communication among deer, habitat management, coyote predation and deer management strategies. He is part of a Warnell team that studies ways to reduce vehicle collisions with deer.

“As more landowners across the country take on the responsibility of managing their personal property for wildlife and habitat improvement, it is educators like Dr. Karl Miller who continually explore avenues to make it possible for the public to apply their research findings to on-the-ground management practices,” said QDMA founder Joe Hamilton, the award’s namesake. “Karl has been an integral part of QDMA’s growth through his educational efforts in popular press and television. It is without question that Dr. Karl Miller has had a significant impact on both game and non-game species and their habitats throughout the country.”

The QDMA is a wildlife conservation non-profit focused on promoting sustainable, high-quality white-tailed deer populations, wildlife habitats and ethical hunting experiences. It does so through education, research and management in partnerships with hunters, landowners, natural resource professionals and the public.