The Morris County Park Commission wants to add hours and more locations in county-owned parks for deer hunting, and improve communication with hunters, property owners and towns during the fall hunting season.
Rob Jennings, the park commission's wildlife manager, has told park commissioners that the proposals are aimed at reducing the number of deer-car collisions and controlling the deer population to allow damaged forests and other habitats to regrow.
Hunting remains the most effective deer control method, Jennings said -- pointing to less-than-hoped-for results of a program that tested deer contraceptives at Giralda Farms in Madison, with one-third of the treated deer getting pregnant.
The number of deer-car accidents in Morris County nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, Jennings said. In 2003, there were 1,276 reported crashes, and 2,331 in 2004. Statewide statistics showed the same pattern, he said, with 7,689 in 2003 and 13,599 in 2004.
Hunterdon County also recently opened more of its park system for deer hunting.
To highlight how forests can be regenerated, Jennings showed the commission a photograph of a deer fence in a county park. One side shows brown grass and little leafy vegetation, while the plant life inside the fence is green and thriving.
Seeing deer along roadsides or in neighborhood yards in the middle of the afternoon is a symptom of the problem, he said. It means there is little for deer to eat in the forests and fields, and that they have become too familiar with suburban life to be spooked.
"They are supposed to run away," he said.
Jennings said high deer densities were listed among the most serious threats facing threatened and endangered wildlife species today. Migratory birds, for example, are hampered in their search for breeding grounds by over-browsed forests, he said.
The county's response to the size of the deer herd, Jennings said, is guided in part by the 2005 policy statement by the New Jersey Audubon Society, which called for increased hunting.
That report on forest health cited several effects of over-browsing by deer, including the increase in invasive organisms, including plants, insects and disease; the loss of the beauty of the state's natural habitats as they collapse under attack from elements from which they have no natural defense; and continued damage to the ground cover and mid-level plants in forests.
The Audubon Society report said: "With freedom from predators, high birth rates and increased longevity, suburban areas can experience exponential deer population growth."
Jennings also cited a 2004 Pennsylvania Audubon Society report that said that state's forests are in trouble and "over-browsing by the excessive white-tailed deer is the main problem. Even to the untrained eye, the absence of plants at lower levels and razor-straight browse lines (the maximum height to which deer browse) is obvious."
The Pennsylvania report continued, "Virtually every unfenced private or public forested area in our region suffers from this problem."
Morris County Freeholder Jack Schrier, a former member of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council, said the county parks'plans mirror those supported by the state council, which call for encouraging public and private landowners to allow hunting on their properties.
Schrier has resigned himself to the notion that, until a more effective alternate method is found, hunting will be the primary method of controlling the deer herd. But, he said, this is not necessarily working. Hunters annually take between 30,000 to 70,000 deer, he said, but the state's deer herd is estimated each year at more than 300,000.
Schrier said it might be too soon to judge the Giralda Farm project, even though the results seem disappointing. The program calls for using an experimental drug, hormone-based GnRH, that has been successful when used in other mammals, he said. The drug does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. A decade ago, the county ran a pilot contraceptive program with another product that was not FDA-approved, which also proved unsuccessful.
The $200,000 Giralda Farm program is budgeted for five years. It is not designed to replace hunting, but to test whether alternative control measures are effective in areas where hunting cannot be done.
Schrier, a key supporter of the Giralda Farm program, said that, "I'm reluctant to say we are back to square one."
Jennings said the county's hunting program is not aimed at just killing deer, but is part of a program to make habitats uncomfortable for them. Then they move on, he said.
A recent survey in Lewis Morris Park in Morris Township, where hunting has been allowed since 1991, showed the deer population is about 11 to 20 deer per quarter mile, a significant reduction. The result, he said, is that native plants and grasses are returning to the woods and fields of the park.
The Morris County Park Commission wants to add hours and more locations in county-owned parks for deer hunting, and improve communication with hunters, property owners and towns during the fall hunting season.
Rob Jennings, the park commission's wildlife manager, has told park commissioners that the proposals are aimed at reducing the number of deer-car collisions and controlling the deer population to allow damaged forests and other habitats to regrow.
Hunting remains the most effective deer control method, Jennings said -- pointing to less-than-hoped-for results of a program that tested deer contraceptives at Giralda Farms in Madison, with one-third of the treated deer getting pregnant.
The number of deer-car accidents in Morris County nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, Jennings said. In 2003, there were 1,276 reported crashes, and 2,331 in 2004. Statewide statistics showed the same pattern, he said, with 7,689 in 2003 and 13,599 in 2004.
Hunterdon County also recently opened more of its park system for deer hunting.
To highlight how forests can be regenerated, Jennings showed the commission a photograph of a deer fence in a county park. One side shows brown grass and little leafy vegetation, while the plant life inside the fence is green and thriving.
Seeing deer along roadsides or in neighborhood yards in the middle of the afternoon is a symptom of the problem, he said. It means there is little for deer to eat in the forests and fields, and that they have become too familiar with suburban life to be spooked.
"They are supposed to run away," he said.
Jennings said high deer densities were listed among the most serious threats facing threatened and endangered wildlife species today. Migratory birds, for example, are hampered in their search for breeding grounds by over-browsed forests, he said.
The county's response to the size of the deer herd, Jennings said, is guided in part by the 2005 policy statement by the New Jersey Audubon Society, which called for increased hunting.
That report on forest health cited several effects of over-browsing by deer, including the increase in invasive organisms, including plants, insects and disease; the loss of the beauty of the state's natural habitats as they collapse under attack from elements from which they have no natural defense; and continued damage to the ground cover and mid-level plants in forests.
The Audubon Society report said: "With freedom from predators, high birth rates and increased longevity, suburban areas can experience exponential deer population growth."
Jennings also cited a 2004 Pennsylvania Audubon Society report that said that state's forests are in trouble and "over-browsing by the excessive white-tailed deer is the main problem. Even to the untrained eye, the absence of plants at lower levels and razor-straight browse lines (the maximum height to which deer browse) is obvious."
The Pennsylvania report continued, "Virtually every unfenced private or public forested area in our region suffers from this problem."
Morris County Freeholder Jack Schrier, a former member of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council, said the county parks'plans mirror those supported by the state council, which call for encouraging public and private landowners to allow hunting on their properties.
Schrier has resigned himself to the notion that, until a more effective alternate method is found, hunting will be the primary method of controlling the deer herd. But, he said, this is not necessarily working. Hunters annually take between 30,000 to 70,000 deer, he said, but the state's deer herd is estimated each year at more than 300,000.
Schrier said it might be too soon to judge the Giralda Farm project, even though the results seem disappointing. The program calls for using an experimental drug, hormone-based GnRH, that has been successful when used in other mammals, he said. The drug does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. A decade ago, the county ran a pilot contraceptive program with another product that was not FDA-approved, which also proved unsuccessful.
The $200,000 Giralda Farm program is budgeted for five years. It is not designed to replace hunting, but to test whether alternative control measures are effective in areas where hunting cannot be done.
Schrier, a key supporter of the Giralda Farm program, said that, "I'm reluctant to say we are back to square one."
Jennings said the county's hunting program is not aimed at just killing deer, but is part of a program to make habitats uncomfortable for them. Then they move on, he said.
A recent survey in Lewis Morris Park in Morris Township, where hunting has been allowed since 1991, showed the deer population is about 11 to 20 deer per quarter mile, a significant reduction. The result, he said, is that native plants and grasses are returning to the woods and fields of the park.
Friday, July 21, 2006
DEER RESEARCH: Feeding Promotes Overbrowsing
Year-round supplemental feeding programs for whitetail deer could lead to the overgrazing and damage of native forage plants located near feeding stations.
That's the word according to a news release summarizing a year-long research study conducted at a ranch near Uvalde by wildlife scientists from Texas A&M University.
Experts conducted the study by dividing the ranch into six quadrants. They compared forage use in three areas with deer feeders to three areas where supplemental feed was not made available.
Radio collars were placed on about two dozen adult deer to pattern their movements.
The study showed the browse utilization analysis was confined to three palatable plant species grown in pots in green house conditions. Researchers placed the plants within 100 yards of feeders, and at center of no-feed quadrants to monitor usage during varied seasons of the year.
Varied degrees of test plant utilization were documented over the course of the study, according to Susan Cooper, the lead researcher.
"The fate of the seedlings was recorded as either browsed, dead or gone," Cooper said. "Gone meant there were no additional seedlings available to replace the plant after it had been browsed. Each plant species and season was analyzed separately."
Interestingly, Cooper noticed that activity of collared does seem to become more concentrated than bucks to core areas where supplemental feed was available.
The scientist concluded that land managers with year-round supplemental feeding programs in place might consider altering feeder locations periodically to reduce the potential of habitat degradation because of overgrazing of popular forage plants.
That's the word according to a news release summarizing a year-long research study conducted at a ranch near Uvalde by wildlife scientists from Texas A&M University.
Experts conducted the study by dividing the ranch into six quadrants. They compared forage use in three areas with deer feeders to three areas where supplemental feed was not made available.
Radio collars were placed on about two dozen adult deer to pattern their movements.
The study showed the browse utilization analysis was confined to three palatable plant species grown in pots in green house conditions. Researchers placed the plants within 100 yards of feeders, and at center of no-feed quadrants to monitor usage during varied seasons of the year.
Varied degrees of test plant utilization were documented over the course of the study, according to Susan Cooper, the lead researcher.
"The fate of the seedlings was recorded as either browsed, dead or gone," Cooper said. "Gone meant there were no additional seedlings available to replace the plant after it had been browsed. Each plant species and season was analyzed separately."
Interestingly, Cooper noticed that activity of collared does seem to become more concentrated than bucks to core areas where supplemental feed was available.
The scientist concluded that land managers with year-round supplemental feeding programs in place might consider altering feeder locations periodically to reduce the potential of habitat degradation because of overgrazing of popular forage plants.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
UK NEWS: Roe Deer and Lyme Disease
Scientists in Bath believe an increase in the number of roe deer is to blame for an explosion in the number of ticks, which can cause Lyme disease.
The university researchers are warning walkers and joggers around the city that the disease can bring on arthritis, nerve and heart problems.
They say people should stick to footpaths and to remove ticks with tweezers to reduce infection risks.
Ticks prefer skin creases like the armpit, groin or back of knee.
If a tick carrying the bacteria bites someone and remains on the body then the bacteria may get into the bloodstream.
Between two days and four weeks later an expanding, circular red rash appears at the point of the bite.
Tiredness, headache, joint pains, and flu-like symptoms may also occur.
Unless treated with antibiotics these symptoms may last for weeks, even months.
In some cases very serious problems arise many years later.
The university researchers are warning walkers and joggers around the city that the disease can bring on arthritis, nerve and heart problems.
They say people should stick to footpaths and to remove ticks with tweezers to reduce infection risks.
Ticks prefer skin creases like the armpit, groin or back of knee.
If a tick carrying the bacteria bites someone and remains on the body then the bacteria may get into the bloodstream.
Between two days and four weeks later an expanding, circular red rash appears at the point of the bite.
Tiredness, headache, joint pains, and flu-like symptoms may also occur.
Unless treated with antibiotics these symptoms may last for weeks, even months.
In some cases very serious problems arise many years later.
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