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Sika deer (Cervus nippon) declined to threatened levels around 1900, but their distribution has expanded rapidly in the last 3 decades with legislated protection. We collected information regarding deer observations by personal interview or mail surveys of hunters and local government officials. These data were combined with harvest records to develop distribution maps for 1978, 1984, and 1991. We compared maps to deer distribution models generated using logistic regression analyses of habitat variables on deer occurrence. Analyses suggested that snow depth and bamboo grass (Sasa spp.) variety were important variables limiting sika deer distribution. The most recent sika deer distribution map supports the predictions of the logistic model, demonstrating that deer have occupied almost all the potential range. We discuss the implications of managing regions with great deer densities and consequently great …