Building A Better Buck

An Alabama group’s plan to improve a local deer herd’s genetic structure is seen as an innovative project by some, but has also drawn harsh criticism from wildlife biologists.

The Big Buck Project has announced plans, starting this fall, to release captive trophy class deer into the wild in Marengo County, Ala., in an effort to produce genetically-superior bucks in the region.

The program is being led by Walter Tutt, owner of Tutt Land Company in Linden, Ala., and Hale Smith, one of Tutt’s sales associates and land managers. Smith said the plan was formalized this summer after seeing the results of a five-year study Tutt oversaw with deer inside a 1,300-acre...