— from Robin Hirsch —
There is some serious degradation of the under-story in our woods
due to the rising, unchecked, inestimable deer population. The
biodiversity of life that exists in the forest ground canopy is
seriously threatened. Insects and song birds are losing habitat, and
heavy grazing pressure on tree seedlings negates reforestation. The
deer are not cute; they are suffering nutritionally and does are
failing to nurse fawns as needed.
Hunting pressure by locals is really minimal and natural predation —
forget about it. The natural predators for the island deer were pretty
much eliminated since the late 1800s. The good news is there is a
program for private landowners that is called the Private Lands Access
Program. It is run by the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife and I cannot wait
to sign up with my neighbors. This program is so painless and tailored
to the landowner that it makes it impossible to not do something to save
our islands biological diversity.
How this program works is that a biologist will review a parcel to see if it qualifies for the program. Then the land owner gets to control what goes next. The landowner can meet the hunter(s) or not, instruct where on the parcel the hunting is permissible and control what kind of hunting and what date you want it to happen.
If you hate guns, use the archery season. If you are worried about your neighbors, get them on board. We have a serious problem in
our island’s woods.
To learn more about the Private Lands Access Program you can call Robert Wingard, 360-466-4345
Remember, also, that deer meat is delicious and nutritious. Ask the hunters who use your property to share their catch, once it has been butchered.
If you don’t like that idea, then ask that a portion of the meat be delivered to the food bank, for distribution to people who really need your help.
Culling our deer overpopulation can serve many useful purposes, and can help the entire island.
The deer population is also a barrier to personal food security, an insurmountable expense to those who need security the most. Think about it: if you want to grow your own food, even on a home scale, the fence infrastructure cost puts a personal agriculture site out of reach. An orchard? Forget it. A garden to feed your family? Sure, if you’ve got a few thousand dollars to spare. And it will be years before you break even growing your own food after paying for that fence.
I agree with Robin on all points, and I am familiar with the local ecology. Take a walk through our forests and take note of the dangerous lack of biological diversity. Diversity is resilience. Seriously. Lose your biodiversity and you open the door to catastrophe. I don’t think the Private Lands Access Program is the answer, but it’s a step in the right direction. The reason is that you’ll never get enough private land owners on-board to make a dent in the population. The solution is likely a combination of strategies, some humane, some not so much.
It’s time, right now, to make a hard choice, one we won’t like but will learn to live with. This is not crazy “tree hugging” talk, this is sensible “forest hugging” talk. We need sacrifice some species for the good of the whole forest.
ATW
I agree that both people and the deer are stuck in an unsustainable situation. I support more hunting as described in Robin’s Private Lands Access Program letter. How about IUDs for the does? Probably not practical.
It is a problem we as a species have created by becoming the top predator, eliminating all others, then not doing our duty as carnivores.
This may be the only legal way presently, to address the problem as a piecemeal initiative by individual property owners, but as with the measles epidemic, at some point one must accept responsibility for the risk and harm one’s freedom causes to one’s neighbor. The deer you protect on your property are free to wander to your neighbor’s property during the off-season, just as the virus you do not vaccinate against ends up seasonally harming your classmates and lunchroom companions.
Orrr, wait..
we could require everyone (even vegetarians) to eat local venison on Friday .. or, wait.. trap the deer and put them in the fenced yards of those NOT participating in deer control.. ok,ok, have an annual group-hike from one end of Orcas to the other and force the deer to swim to Shaw! Or, OR: tag each offending ungulate with a paintball and target those with 3+ spots for Food Bank and Saturday Market consumption. ..Or, OR: pay your OPALCO bill IN VENISON! Dart every deer with birth control and wait for natural attrition! I like this one. Whitetail deer lifespan = 5yr.
Interesting news article from 2017 on deer populations, and issues, in the SJIs:
https://www.islandssounder.com/news/san-juan-islands-are-overrun-by-deer/
This issue came up last year ? Should we be advised about the hunting party shooting near our property ?
I have not seen any adverse effects from the deers ?
Then we have the bunnies, foxes, rodents. etc
This is a rural environment !
AND what are the numbers here??
Present deer population = ??
ideal population = ??
do we have an excess ten dozen deer problem
or an excess dozen+ per sq.mi. [700] deer problem.
And how does this translate into the songbird and Garry Oak* population decimation?
It is hard to translate the devastation one sees in one’s backyard to an estimation of the environmental/policy impact.
If we dart 100 deer/yr how many years is that?
[nb. black tailed deer lifespan = 10yrs]
To the Editor: I personally prefer deer to people. A few years ago, on a summer night, I opened my front door and there was a doe and a fawn on my front walk coming up to my door, munching on some of the plants I had along the walkway. They both looked at me and I said, “Oh, OK, go right ahead, don’t let me disturb you,” and I went inside and closed the door, and they continued to graze. To me, I felt blessed by their precious presence. I am an avid gardener, however I knew that it wouldn’t kill my plants for the deer to prune them.
When the apartments where I live in Eastsound were built the deer habitat was devastated. So, when I see deer here, I am thrilled because it is a real Event.
Humans tend to think that we are separate from Nature, but we are not. Concrete sidewalks do not respirate, they do not provide oxygen for us, stores and more stores, houses and more houses may keep the “financial machine” running on Orcas Island while the natural habitat for all beings, not just humans, is compromised by our self-indulgent lifestyles.
Whenever an article appears advocating “culling of the herd”, it defines Orcas Islander’s de-volvement into a War on Nature and the separation mentality.
Because of the human-caused imbalance in the natural world on Orcas Island and the competition that that engenders between human activity and the health of the Natural World, we are ultimately faced with looking at why we walk upon the Earth here with Giant’s Feet, crushing Nature because We Can!
Unfortunately, many Orcas Islanders are willing to “sell-out” the Natural World, the Spirit’s of the Land, the peacefulness, and are unwilling to give up their control of Nature and Her needs.
THE DEER ARE NOT THE PROBLEM, THE HUMANS ARE THE PROBLEM.
-Spirit Eagle
Despite Humanities’ best efforts to kill of this Planet, we are still here. What I mean to say is: the killing off of beings to solve what we see as a problem certainly doesn’t work. Look at our biosphere, we have killed it off, its’ on its last legs. Can anyone disagree with this?
Killing has been humanities’ answer to most problems for a long, long time, killing each other, killing Nature, it is obvious now that this is a stupidly barbaric way to live and simply doesn’t work.
Can you consider that, since the deer have no “natural predators”, it is the Balance of Nature that causes the deer to be sickly and not take care of its young? SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING!
The loving of us want to save all life, (while eating hamburgers and sausage, I might add), and the killers in us want to destroy anything that is not beautiful, or that doesn’t respect our personal boundaries or property rights. Can we not just Leave Nature Alone to do Her Healing Work? She has been doing this, just fine, for millions and millions of years. She knows what she is doing!
Humanity thinks it is so smart, smart enough to kill of this planet perhaps, but not smart enough to understand how it works.
LOVING, not killing is the answer, and let me explain: (I rescue fawns and eat hamburgers, too.)
Loving is truly the answer. Creating flourishing, abundant ecosystems, that are glorious and beautiful and life-giving; this nourishes and feeds all of life. Have you ever seen a truly vibrant ecosystem? It is Life-Giving.
So, yes, Seriously: grow food for other life, Enhance their habitat. Love Life, and let Nature do the culling where it is needed, She will. It is built in, humanity does not have the Wisdom to take that role on.
Show me one example across the world where humanity has destructively meddled in the Natural World without ultimately destructive consequences. Can You?
The flora and fauna in the woods diminishing has gigantic causes that go way beyond this, our (supposed) deer overpopulation. It is happening because this planet is sickly, and we have caused it with our industry, our personal-survival minded self-absorption, and our ignorance of how to live, in harmony, with Nature. Can you argue this?
We are still a survival-mode riddled species, that is not calm, that has not learned to think of the Whole; this is what is causing the death on this world. Isn’t it time to CHANGE OUR MINDS?!
Self-centerdness will obviously no longer sustain us, or this planet.
So, please do: feed the birds, feed the rabbits (yes, I’m serious), feed the deer. I don’t care if they eat your gardens. GROW GARDENS FOR THEM! THINK OF THE BIGGER PICTURE! WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE HERE if we do not revitalize this living world!! Humanity has to Change Its’ Ways , or die off. Get it?
When a species is not in survival mode, it doesn’t populate so fast. Nature, in Her gigantic, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, infinitely complex wisdom creates natural balance that creates sustainable populations. She has been working on this for Million, and Billions? of years!
When a species feels threatened it starts to reproduce more quickly. This is natural. This applies to critters and humans alike. Think of any “native” peoples. Did they overpopulate? The ones living in harmony with the Earth?, no, they did not. We Caucasians? Defiantly. But only since the industrial revolution or so. I really think all the modern-medicine stuff is a smoke-screen. Our populations got jacked-up on industry.
Sustainable Systems are Big Concepts. The kind Nature can comprehend. Can you even understand how all the little creatures that that make up your body work together in harmony? See?
Humanity is not able to easily comprehend the Bigger Picture. So, we think killing is the answer, nice and neat and clear..
So please, Start Loving, don’t destroy. Give, do not take. It is really that simple. Get out of your survival mode and start loving, giving back! LOVING IS THE ANSWER! Love the critters, love the Humans, and yes, when we all calm down we won’t reproduce as fast!!
Yes, we have much to learn, if we want to continue living on this Planet, but we don’t need to understand it all now. Keep it simple: Love yourself, Love you neighbor, Love the Bunnies, Love the Deer, Love all of Life! We frankly, don’t have the wisdom or understanding to meddle.
Hey, Best to You All. Stay Calm.
Domenic Verbano
The deer are a threat to the natural landscape of the island. (There’s a SeaDoc presentation about this, online I believe.) I’m not sure whether they are native, but they are certainly out of control. They have devastated the habitat of birds and small reptiles. They have eaten our native landscape to the nub. It’s impossible to grow anything without strongly fencing the area and, now, so many people have fencing that the deer are limited and focused on an even smaller area. They are not healthy. They are inbred. They are not Bambi, and it is surprising that a community so concerned about our natural environment would ignore the impact on everything else.
WASHINGTON, February 13, 2013—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services’ (WS) National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) today announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted regulatory approval for the use of GonaConTM – Equine immunocontraceptive vaccine (GonaCon) in adult female wild or feral horses and burros. GonaCon was developed by NWRC scientists and is the first single-shot, multiyear wildlife contraceptive for use in mammals.
“Since 2009, GonaCon has been available for use in female white-tailed deer. We are pleased to be able to expand the vaccine’s application to include wild horses and burros,” said NWRC Director Larry Clark. “This nonlethal tool will provide another option to wildlife managers ….”
The GonaCon-Equine vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies that bind to the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in an animal’s body. GnRH signals the production of sex hormones (e.g., estrogen, progesterone and testosterone). By binding to GnRH, the antibodies reduce GnRH’s ability to stimulate the release of these sex hormones. All sexual activity is decreased, and animals remain in a nonreproductive state as long as a sufficient level of antibody activity is present. The product can be delivered by hand injection, jab stick, or darting.
GonaCon-Equine is registered as a restricted-use pesticide, and all users must be certified pesticide applicators or persons under their direct supervision. Only USDA-WS and Veterinary Services, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Department of Defense, Federally recognized Indian Tribes, State agencies
______________________
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Deer Project is responsible for managing native white-tailed deer and exotic sika deer. The Deer Project utilizes broad-based deer management techniques to meet their diverse goals, which are:
+to ensure the present and future well-being of deer and their habitat;
+maintain deer populations at levels necessary to ensure compatibility with human land uses and natural communities;
+encourage and promote the recreational use and enjoyment of the deer resource;
+and inform and educate Maryland citizens concerning deer biology, management options, and the impacts that deer have on landscapes and people.
During the last couple of decades, the primary focus of the Deer Project has been to slow a rapidly growing deer population. While hunting remains the most cost-effective and efficient population control mechanism available in most Maryland landscapes, continued urbanization has necessitated the development and use of non-lethal techniques where hunting is not practical or acceptable. Therefore, the Deer Project employs a blend of hunting-related deer management methods and proven non-lethal deer management techniques to manage deer.
$2–$10 per dose
100 years ago [humans] won the right to [talk about] birth control thus releasing many from lives of toil and squalor. Maybe we should allow deer the right to a lush habitat of plentiful forage, non-competition for living space, and amicable relations to adoring [potential] predators. Yes, birth control for the 21st century and converting our role from failed predators to successful advocates, nurturers and stewards of our natural inheritance.
Deer contraception, GonaCon, can be administered, according to Leif, by hand injection, jab stick, or darting.
OK. So who is going to do this?
Hand injection? Have you ever caught a live, wild deer?
Jab stick? Have you ever gotten that close to a deer?
Darting? Who’s got an appropriate dart gun?
And what do anti-abortion and anti-contraception religions say about this scheme?