Deep snow and extended cold temperatures have decimated white-tailed deer populations in northern Saskatchewan in recent years, but provincial Environment Ministry officials want hunters to kill about 500 extra does and fawns in the Saskatoon area this fall to reduce high numbers of mule deer and white-tails around the city.
"We're putting out as many tags as possible in the area, hoping that anyone who can get permission to hunt will harvest more than one antlerless animal to help us with population control," wildlife manager Shawn Burke said Monday.
Antlerless deer are adult females or young animals born this spring - the type preferred by venison-lovers but ignored by trophy-seekers.
The ministry is selling 500 additional big game management licences for antlerless mule deer and white-tailed deer - valid only in the Saskatoon region - through its office on Research Drive. Hunters can buy two licences at a time, for $19.62 each.
To track the program's success, hunters will be asked to turn in any unused licences as well as the heads of harvested animals to the Saskatoon field office by Jan. 1.
Adult deer heads will be tested for chronic wasting disease, at no charge.
Saskatchewan is known world-wide among hunters as a good place to bag trophy-sized white-tailed deer. Outfitters charge up to $13,000 per customer for a week of hunting the biggest bucks from lodges and heated blinds scattered around the northern half of the province.
The size of the herd hit a high point in the winter of 2004-05, followed by a small winter kill the following winter and "a very large one last year," Burke said.
By the third week of November 2007, snow depths in the northeastern part of the province were "already at the point where deer would die over the winter," he said.
As the cold season progressed, "we had a series of large snowfall events that increased (snow depth) to the point where the deer couldn't move around, so they couldn't travel to get food and the energy they were expending to get what food they could find was way more than the value of the food they were bringing in," he said.
"It took the deer herd in the North 25 years to get to the point it was at, through a series of mild winters and early springs. So Mother Nature has created the right conditions to take the deer herd back to where it was 25 years ago across the North - but those conditions didn't exist in the southern part of the province."
Using the Yellowhead Highway as a rough dividing line, the south had "some localized rough spots" for deer in recent years - including places where farmers have cut down pockets of sheltering trees to maximize grain production while prices are high - "but nothing to really affect them from a population standpoint," Burke said.
"In the urban zones around Saskatoon and Regina you've got a combination of factors. You've got a whole bunch of small acreages and lots of landscaped trees and shrubs that people like, which creates high-value food sources - and there's no hunting pressure."
It's typically harder for hunters to get permission from multiple small, adjacent landowners to shoot deer on their properties, and the animals have figured this out, Burke said.
"Deer aren't stupid. If they're pressured in other areas, they'll move to areas where there's no pressure. So you get deer moving in, they're protected and they can get through the winter because people shovel their driveways and walks and things. So they can move from high-value food source to high-value food source, and your numbers go up."
Meanwhile, surveys conducted in a portion of Wildlife Management Zone 50, north of Prince Albert, showed a staggering 76 per cent drop in deer population density from 2007 to 2008, according to a June 2008 report by Environment Ministry officials.
"Ministry of Environment wildlife managers have reacted to this widespread population decline by making significant changes to while-tailed deer seasons," the report noted.
"Both the Saskatchewan resident second either-sex licence and the Saskatchewan resident anterless licence have been removed across the forest and forest fringe zones."
Source: Canada.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
MICHIGAN OPINION: Lessons from CWD Outbreak
Those things that hurt, instruct. - Ben Franklin
Although the dust is settling somewhat from the recent discovery of chronic wasting disease in a single Kent County deer, and the state began lifting quarantines on some deer farms this week, the end of the story is hardly in sight and there are likely to be important lessons along the way.
Those will surely include how one deer mysteriously turned up with this fatal neurological infection. Another is likely to be the need to increase funding for the captive cervid program in both the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture.
The state legislature chose to sanction the development of a deer livestock industry in 1990, but it has been negligent about ponying up the needed funds for the regulatory program that goes with it.
"The law went into effect in 2000 but the program has been unfunded," said Bridget Patrick, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
Patrick is referring to PA 190, of 2000 which called for the creation of a deer livestock industry in Michigan under the Department of Agriculture. It also took the old captive deer permit program away from the DNR. MDA was to monitor and enforce animal health standards on deer and elk breeding farms. The DNR would license the facilities and physical plant.
DNR staff say less than a dozen of the facilities and fences are out of compliance today. But a 2005 audit of the captive cervid industry found that 37 percent of the breeding facilities did not comply with the rules for the industry. MDA officials today say that 240 still are not in full compliance.
Some of those are serious offenses. Some are not, but a 37 percent non-compliance rate is far too high for comfort.
MDA lifted quarantines on 11 deer farms this week. They were the best of the best in terms of meeting state rules. Another 50, or so, are expected to get the nod in the next few weeks.
That leaves more than 500 others still in quarantine. A third group may take longer, according to Steve Halstead, the state veterinarian with MDA. Much will depend on how far and wide the investigation goes.
And then there is a fourth group.
"These are the bad actors," Halstead said. "They are not in compliance, don't know their inventories, have not gotten the proper inspections and have been outside the program entirely. For them it could be a year or more."
Call it the price of non-compliance.
MDA officials acknowledge that they are shorthanded. More diseases are popping up than they are prepared to handle.
"We don't have funding for all we need to do," said Nancy Frank, the assistant state veterinarian with MDA. "We are also dealing with TB, pseudorabis and feral swine.
"If it was only CWD and feral swine, we could handle that," Frank said. "But we were not designed to handle all the diseases at one time."
The result is MDA staff are now spread thin. Staff working on pseudorabis and swine have been shifted to handle CWD, she said.
The Michigan DNR is also biting the bullet. Their part of the captive cervid program costs the agency approximately $360,000 a year, according to Shannon Hannah, a wildlife biologist who oversees the captive cervid program.
The program collected $164,000 total in license fees from the breeders this year. That is considerably less than half of what it costs to administer the program between the two agencies.
Another $158,000 was appropriate from the General Fund. The balance was drawn from the Fish and Game Fund, money paid by hunters and anglers, justified as money to protect the wild deer herd.
Hannah, the sole staff dedicated to the program, says she spends more time in court dealing with non-compliant deer breeders than she does out in the field. She relies on field biologists and conservation officers do a lot of the leg work inspecting facilities.
"One by one we are getting there, but it takes awhile to get through 600 facilities," Hannah said. "We are just giving them ultimatums: 'Fix the fence and get the animals tested or you're done."
The alternative, is, of course, unacceptable. Non-compliance puts a $500 million economic boost at risk with deer hunting. That says nothing of the $50 million deer breeding industry.
MDA and MDNR have both reacted admirably in the face of the CWD crisis. Both have done commendable jobs. But neither is adequately funded for the work on an ongoing basis.
That's something the Michigan legislature needs to take to heart.
Source: MLive
Although the dust is settling somewhat from the recent discovery of chronic wasting disease in a single Kent County deer, and the state began lifting quarantines on some deer farms this week, the end of the story is hardly in sight and there are likely to be important lessons along the way.
Those will surely include how one deer mysteriously turned up with this fatal neurological infection. Another is likely to be the need to increase funding for the captive cervid program in both the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture.
The state legislature chose to sanction the development of a deer livestock industry in 1990, but it has been negligent about ponying up the needed funds for the regulatory program that goes with it.
"The law went into effect in 2000 but the program has been unfunded," said Bridget Patrick, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
Patrick is referring to PA 190, of 2000 which called for the creation of a deer livestock industry in Michigan under the Department of Agriculture. It also took the old captive deer permit program away from the DNR. MDA was to monitor and enforce animal health standards on deer and elk breeding farms. The DNR would license the facilities and physical plant.
DNR staff say less than a dozen of the facilities and fences are out of compliance today. But a 2005 audit of the captive cervid industry found that 37 percent of the breeding facilities did not comply with the rules for the industry. MDA officials today say that 240 still are not in full compliance.
Some of those are serious offenses. Some are not, but a 37 percent non-compliance rate is far too high for comfort.
MDA lifted quarantines on 11 deer farms this week. They were the best of the best in terms of meeting state rules. Another 50, or so, are expected to get the nod in the next few weeks.
That leaves more than 500 others still in quarantine. A third group may take longer, according to Steve Halstead, the state veterinarian with MDA. Much will depend on how far and wide the investigation goes.
And then there is a fourth group.
"These are the bad actors," Halstead said. "They are not in compliance, don't know their inventories, have not gotten the proper inspections and have been outside the program entirely. For them it could be a year or more."
Call it the price of non-compliance.
MDA officials acknowledge that they are shorthanded. More diseases are popping up than they are prepared to handle.
"We don't have funding for all we need to do," said Nancy Frank, the assistant state veterinarian with MDA. "We are also dealing with TB, pseudorabis and feral swine.
"If it was only CWD and feral swine, we could handle that," Frank said. "But we were not designed to handle all the diseases at one time."
The result is MDA staff are now spread thin. Staff working on pseudorabis and swine have been shifted to handle CWD, she said.
The Michigan DNR is also biting the bullet. Their part of the captive cervid program costs the agency approximately $360,000 a year, according to Shannon Hannah, a wildlife biologist who oversees the captive cervid program.
The program collected $164,000 total in license fees from the breeders this year. That is considerably less than half of what it costs to administer the program between the two agencies.
Another $158,000 was appropriate from the General Fund. The balance was drawn from the Fish and Game Fund, money paid by hunters and anglers, justified as money to protect the wild deer herd.
Hannah, the sole staff dedicated to the program, says she spends more time in court dealing with non-compliant deer breeders than she does out in the field. She relies on field biologists and conservation officers do a lot of the leg work inspecting facilities.
"One by one we are getting there, but it takes awhile to get through 600 facilities," Hannah said. "We are just giving them ultimatums: 'Fix the fence and get the animals tested or you're done."
The alternative, is, of course, unacceptable. Non-compliance puts a $500 million economic boost at risk with deer hunting. That says nothing of the $50 million deer breeding industry.
MDA and MDNR have both reacted admirably in the face of the CWD crisis. Both have done commendable jobs. But neither is adequately funded for the work on an ongoing basis.
That's something the Michigan legislature needs to take to heart.
Source: MLive
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
MICHIGAN NEWS: State Lawmakers To Reverse Deer Baiting Ban
I think I've seen this movie before. It has a bad ending. -TR
A trio of state lawmakers called on DNR Director Rebecca Humphries to rescind a ban on deer baiting in the Lower Peninsula that was enacted in response to an outbreak of Chronic Wasting Disease on a game farm in Kent County.
State Reps. Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, and Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, along with state Sen. James Barcia, D-Bay City, said the economic impact on the growers of bait crops could be devastating, and that reductions in the deer harvest by hunters who stay home rather than go into the field without bait could actually contribute to the spread of the disease (as larger herds congregate).
The Natural Resources Commission put the ban in place last month, citing the danger of the disease spreading among animals gathering over bait piles. But it has been hugely unpopular with many hunters and among farmers who depend on the sale of bait crops like carrots and sugar beets.
The lawmakers said they hope to have the resolutions taken up next week in the House and Senate. But it was not immediately clear what their impact would be because of questions over what authority the Legislature has to dictate policy on natural resources issues.
DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff issued the following statement at mid-day today in response to the proposed resolutions:
“Two diseases have been found in Michigan deer that were not here historically. Those diseases (bovine tuberculosis and CWD) can be spread among deer by close contact with other deer through their saliva, nasal secretions, or (in the case of CWD) droppings. Concentrating deer activity at bait sites increases the likelihood that diseases will be passed from deer to deer.
"The DNR doubts that most people would say 'yes' to the question: Are you willing to risk causing Michigan's deer herd to be sick from chronic disease from this day forward just so that you can use bait?
"We firmly believe hunters want to pass a healthy deer herd on to the next generation. That is why it is important to stop baiting. Deer hunting generates a $500-million economic impact to the state each year, and a disease like CWD poses a grave threat to that if it is in the wild deer population. The impact of CWD in the wild herd would hurt many small businesses around the state -- many of whom do not sell bait.”
Source: Detroit Free Press
A trio of state lawmakers called on DNR Director Rebecca Humphries to rescind a ban on deer baiting in the Lower Peninsula that was enacted in response to an outbreak of Chronic Wasting Disease on a game farm in Kent County.
State Reps. Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, and Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, along with state Sen. James Barcia, D-Bay City, said the economic impact on the growers of bait crops could be devastating, and that reductions in the deer harvest by hunters who stay home rather than go into the field without bait could actually contribute to the spread of the disease (as larger herds congregate).
The Natural Resources Commission put the ban in place last month, citing the danger of the disease spreading among animals gathering over bait piles. But it has been hugely unpopular with many hunters and among farmers who depend on the sale of bait crops like carrots and sugar beets.
The lawmakers said they hope to have the resolutions taken up next week in the House and Senate. But it was not immediately clear what their impact would be because of questions over what authority the Legislature has to dictate policy on natural resources issues.
DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff issued the following statement at mid-day today in response to the proposed resolutions:
“Two diseases have been found in Michigan deer that were not here historically. Those diseases (bovine tuberculosis and CWD) can be spread among deer by close contact with other deer through their saliva, nasal secretions, or (in the case of CWD) droppings. Concentrating deer activity at bait sites increases the likelihood that diseases will be passed from deer to deer.
"The DNR doubts that most people would say 'yes' to the question: Are you willing to risk causing Michigan's deer herd to be sick from chronic disease from this day forward just so that you can use bait?
"We firmly believe hunters want to pass a healthy deer herd on to the next generation. That is why it is important to stop baiting. Deer hunting generates a $500-million economic impact to the state each year, and a disease like CWD poses a grave threat to that if it is in the wild deer population. The impact of CWD in the wild herd would hurt many small businesses around the state -- many of whom do not sell bait.”
Source: Detroit Free Press
TEXAS NEWS: Drought, Sprawl Exacerbate Deer Conflicts
Drought and urban growth continue to contribute to increasing human-deer conflict throughout the state, according to wildlife researchers and specialists.
But while the interaction can be a nuisance and even pose potential hazards, experts say there are ways to help limit contact.
“Drought conditions have forced a lot of deer out of their normal habitat and comfort zone into green spaces we humans have created for ourselves,” said Jim Gallagher, Texas AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde. "Conversely, communities have been expanding into formerly wild or undeveloped areas, also increasing the possibility of contact."
While “aggressive” attacks by deer rarely occur, threats to human life or financial loss continue as a result of deer-vehicle collisions and damage to crops or ornamental plants.
"Human-wildlife conflict occurs throughout the state, but people only tend to hear about it when it affects a significant number of people in a larger metropolitan area,” Gallagher said.
Some of the more notable incidents in recent years have occurred in the residential areas of Lakeway and Horseshoe Bay near Austin, Hollywood Park near San Antonio, and Sun City in the Georgetown area.
“More recently, we’ve seen increased deer-human conflict occurring in the Walden area of Conroe and residential areas around Lake Livingston,” said Dr. Clark Adams, a professor in the wildlife and fisheries sciences department of Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“Although it’s a general and reductionist way of putting it, wherever there is outward human expansion, particularly in metropolitan areas of Texas, it’s inevitable that people will encounter white-tail deer,” Adams said.
Interactions between humans and deer have become much more prevalent in the Texas Hill Country, noted Dr. Susan Cooper, a Texas AgriLife Research scientist at the Uvalde center.Cooper has led several research projects aimed at understanding deer in their natural habitat and as part of the human-wildlife dynamic. Her research has included work on the supplemental feeding of deer, how deer interact with the landscape and improving deer management on rangeland. Most recently, she completed a general survey of increasing deer-human interaction in the Texas Hill Country.
The Hill Country is home to about 1.5 million white-tailed deer, and they are overabundant from both a human or biological perspective, she said. In addition, about a half-million people have moved into the Hill Country in the last six years.
Deer are attracted to residential areas because they provide safety from natural predators and hunters, and the irrigated and fertilized landscaping provides an abundant, accessible, high-quality food source.
“But the tolerance for deer and other wildlife tends to be inversely proportional to the amount of damage or inconvenience they cause,” she said. “This seems to be true even in areas where people move to be closer to nature or where there’s a good amount of eco-tourism. It’s one thing to watch deer, but quite another when they start eating your plants or cause you to have a car accident.”
Deer-vehicle accidents cause more than $1 billion in damage annually, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Institute data also shows 3 of 4 vehicle-wildlife accidents involve deer.
Additionally, the annual cost of ornamental landscape plants damaged by deer throughout the U.S. is estimated at more than $250 million.
“If deer don’t have sufficient food or water in their normal habitat or have too much competition, roadsides and residential areas can be an attractive alternative,” Cooper said.
Cooper and Gallagher said deer damage prevention and control methods range from exclusion, “cultural” methods, frightening and repellents to trapping, contraception and shooting.
Exclusion refers to keeping deer away by using a fence or individual wire or plastic protectors for trees, plants or shrubs deer are known to eat.
Cultural methods include planting deer-resistant trees and shrubs, and harvesting crops early to reduce exposure to deer and other wildlife.
Air horns, gas exploders and pyrotechnics are sometimes used to frighten deer. There are also a number of commercially available repellents that work through smell or direct application to plants or bushes.
“Where deer populations need to be reduced, public sentiment usually favors some type of non-lethal control,” Cooper said. “But immunocontraception is currently in the experimental phase and is not yet legally approved, plus it’s difficult and expensive. And many deer die within a year after being trapped and relocated.”
Though community-wide efforts are generally the most effective solution to human-wildlife issues, people are often divided in their opinions on how to manage deer, said Kevin Schwausch, big game program specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“TPWD provides technical assistance to people in suburban areas who have deer issues and provides guidance,” he said. “But it’s best if people in affected communities work together and form a committee to make sure they’re going in the same direction before taking deer management actions.”
Schwausch said although it seems obvious, one of the first and most useful steps people in suburban communities can take to reduce deer activity is not to feed them.
Gallagher noted that while some deterrents may work at first, their effectiveness may not be consistent, especially if the deer become very hungry.
“Putting up fencing, keeping a dog outside and placing iron or plastic guards around expensive ornamental plants, trees or bushes are among the most effective non-lethal means,” he said. “Of course, it would be best to put up fencing before the deer find out what kind of a ‘buffet’ your landscape provides for them.”
Cooper said even if deer numbers are reduced, follow-up management is needed to ensure their population will not increase as their food supply increases.
More information on deer damage prevention and control can be found at http://www.extension.org/pages/Deer_Damage_Management .
Source: Blanco County News
But while the interaction can be a nuisance and even pose potential hazards, experts say there are ways to help limit contact.
“Drought conditions have forced a lot of deer out of their normal habitat and comfort zone into green spaces we humans have created for ourselves,” said Jim Gallagher, Texas AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde. "Conversely, communities have been expanding into formerly wild or undeveloped areas, also increasing the possibility of contact."
While “aggressive” attacks by deer rarely occur, threats to human life or financial loss continue as a result of deer-vehicle collisions and damage to crops or ornamental plants.
"Human-wildlife conflict occurs throughout the state, but people only tend to hear about it when it affects a significant number of people in a larger metropolitan area,” Gallagher said.
Some of the more notable incidents in recent years have occurred in the residential areas of Lakeway and Horseshoe Bay near Austin, Hollywood Park near San Antonio, and Sun City in the Georgetown area.
“More recently, we’ve seen increased deer-human conflict occurring in the Walden area of Conroe and residential areas around Lake Livingston,” said Dr. Clark Adams, a professor in the wildlife and fisheries sciences department of Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“Although it’s a general and reductionist way of putting it, wherever there is outward human expansion, particularly in metropolitan areas of Texas, it’s inevitable that people will encounter white-tail deer,” Adams said.
Interactions between humans and deer have become much more prevalent in the Texas Hill Country, noted Dr. Susan Cooper, a Texas AgriLife Research scientist at the Uvalde center.Cooper has led several research projects aimed at understanding deer in their natural habitat and as part of the human-wildlife dynamic. Her research has included work on the supplemental feeding of deer, how deer interact with the landscape and improving deer management on rangeland. Most recently, she completed a general survey of increasing deer-human interaction in the Texas Hill Country.
The Hill Country is home to about 1.5 million white-tailed deer, and they are overabundant from both a human or biological perspective, she said. In addition, about a half-million people have moved into the Hill Country in the last six years.
Deer are attracted to residential areas because they provide safety from natural predators and hunters, and the irrigated and fertilized landscaping provides an abundant, accessible, high-quality food source.
“But the tolerance for deer and other wildlife tends to be inversely proportional to the amount of damage or inconvenience they cause,” she said. “This seems to be true even in areas where people move to be closer to nature or where there’s a good amount of eco-tourism. It’s one thing to watch deer, but quite another when they start eating your plants or cause you to have a car accident.”
Deer-vehicle accidents cause more than $1 billion in damage annually, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Institute data also shows 3 of 4 vehicle-wildlife accidents involve deer.
Additionally, the annual cost of ornamental landscape plants damaged by deer throughout the U.S. is estimated at more than $250 million.
“If deer don’t have sufficient food or water in their normal habitat or have too much competition, roadsides and residential areas can be an attractive alternative,” Cooper said.
Cooper and Gallagher said deer damage prevention and control methods range from exclusion, “cultural” methods, frightening and repellents to trapping, contraception and shooting.
Exclusion refers to keeping deer away by using a fence or individual wire or plastic protectors for trees, plants or shrubs deer are known to eat.
Cultural methods include planting deer-resistant trees and shrubs, and harvesting crops early to reduce exposure to deer and other wildlife.
Air horns, gas exploders and pyrotechnics are sometimes used to frighten deer. There are also a number of commercially available repellents that work through smell or direct application to plants or bushes.
“Where deer populations need to be reduced, public sentiment usually favors some type of non-lethal control,” Cooper said. “But immunocontraception is currently in the experimental phase and is not yet legally approved, plus it’s difficult and expensive. And many deer die within a year after being trapped and relocated.”
Though community-wide efforts are generally the most effective solution to human-wildlife issues, people are often divided in their opinions on how to manage deer, said Kevin Schwausch, big game program specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“TPWD provides technical assistance to people in suburban areas who have deer issues and provides guidance,” he said. “But it’s best if people in affected communities work together and form a committee to make sure they’re going in the same direction before taking deer management actions.”
Schwausch said although it seems obvious, one of the first and most useful steps people in suburban communities can take to reduce deer activity is not to feed them.
Gallagher noted that while some deterrents may work at first, their effectiveness may not be consistent, especially if the deer become very hungry.
“Putting up fencing, keeping a dog outside and placing iron or plastic guards around expensive ornamental plants, trees or bushes are among the most effective non-lethal means,” he said. “Of course, it would be best to put up fencing before the deer find out what kind of a ‘buffet’ your landscape provides for them.”
Cooper said even if deer numbers are reduced, follow-up management is needed to ensure their population will not increase as their food supply increases.
More information on deer damage prevention and control can be found at http://www.extension.org/pages/Deer_Damage_Management .
Source: Blanco County News
Monday, September 15, 2008
NORTH CAROLINA NEWS: Duke Forest Deer Targeted
When designated hunters begin hunting deer in Duke University's Duke Forest, white deer will be off limits, said the forest's resource manager.
Hunters with bows were able to begin hunting in four of the six forest divisions Monday. But Judson Edeburn, the Duke Forest resource manager, told The News & Observer of Raleigh that the hunters are under instructions not to take any white deer.
Multiple white deer have been sighted around Duke Forest, a 7,000-acre research property in Durham, Orange and Alamance counties. Some hunters say protecting the albino deer allows a recessive trait to continue.
But Edeburn is aware of the role that white animals have in spiritual and historic legends. "The bottom line is the hunters are under instruction not to take the white deer," he said.
WRAL-TV reports that researchers estimate there are as many 80 white-tail deer per square mile in parts of the forests. That's more than four times the recommended number.
"We've made the decision that we need to try to control the deer herd to some extent," Edeburn said.
The deer eat just about everything in their path, affecting not just the habitat for other animals but also regeneration of the forest, officials said.
"The forest is essentially dying, because the deer are overrunning it," Duke researcher Jeff Pippen said.
Four of the forest's six sections - Blackwood, Durham, Eno and Hillsboro - will be open to hunting Monday through Thursday until Dec. 30 to those designated hunters. No public hunting is allowed.
There's also no hunting Friday through Sunday or on holidays.
Although they believe the hunt is necessary, forest officials say they understand some people are upset.
"This has taken years, on our part, and it's a difficult decision, because we know it affects a lot of people. But we've done it with a lot of thought, with a lot of input," Edeburn said.
Source: Myrtle Beach Sun News
Hunters with bows were able to begin hunting in four of the six forest divisions Monday. But Judson Edeburn, the Duke Forest resource manager, told The News & Observer of Raleigh that the hunters are under instructions not to take any white deer.
Multiple white deer have been sighted around Duke Forest, a 7,000-acre research property in Durham, Orange and Alamance counties. Some hunters say protecting the albino deer allows a recessive trait to continue.
But Edeburn is aware of the role that white animals have in spiritual and historic legends. "The bottom line is the hunters are under instruction not to take the white deer," he said.
WRAL-TV reports that researchers estimate there are as many 80 white-tail deer per square mile in parts of the forests. That's more than four times the recommended number.
"We've made the decision that we need to try to control the deer herd to some extent," Edeburn said.
The deer eat just about everything in their path, affecting not just the habitat for other animals but also regeneration of the forest, officials said.
"The forest is essentially dying, because the deer are overrunning it," Duke researcher Jeff Pippen said.
Four of the forest's six sections - Blackwood, Durham, Eno and Hillsboro - will be open to hunting Monday through Thursday until Dec. 30 to those designated hunters. No public hunting is allowed.
There's also no hunting Friday through Sunday or on holidays.
Although they believe the hunt is necessary, forest officials say they understand some people are upset.
"This has taken years, on our part, and it's a difficult decision, because we know it affects a lot of people. But we've done it with a lot of thought, with a lot of input," Edeburn said.
Source: Myrtle Beach Sun News
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
MICHIGAN NEWS: CWD Fallout Begins
Thousands of hunters and owners of small businesses are in turmoil over a Lower Peninsula-wide ban on baiting and feeding of deer that state officials have imposed because of Michigan's first chronic wasting disease case.
State officials want to protect the state's hunter-based marketplace, but critics say the ban threatens autumn's $500 million hunter-based economy.
Deer feed suppliers, hunters and owners of commercial deer facilities packed a state House hearing on Tuesday. More are expected at a Thursday meeting of the State Natural Resources Commission, which is considering an extension of the six-month ban.
"If this ban is not lifted, it puts me in bankruptcy," Saginaw grower-wholesaler Tony Benkert told the committee.
Bart's Fruit Market owner Mark Bartholomew of Houghton Lake, which normally supplies 250 deer feed outlets throughout Michigan, said he laid off 17 workers and will have to cut still more.
"The DNR is playing with a lot of people's livelihood," he said, referring to the Department of Natural Resources, which imposed the ban.
Natural Resources wildlife veterinarian Steve Schmitt told lawmakers allowing baiting to continue would be "like playing Russian roulette with the wild deer herd."
First identified in Colorado 40 years ago, the disease has spread eastward to 11 states and two Canadian provinces. None has been able to eradicate it.
In Wisconsin, where it showed up first in wild deer killed in 2001, the effort has included baiting bans in 26 of 72 counties and hiring sharpshooters to thin the deer herd. Schmitt said scientific models, based on experience in Colorado and Wisconsin, suggest it could wipe out three-fourths of the deer herd over 50 years.
DNR Director Rebecca Humphries imposed Michigan's baiting ban after the Aug. 25 confirmation of the fatal brain and nervous system disease in a doe at a Kent County deer breeding facility. That follows protocols set up in 2002 following the early Wisconsin cases.
The State Natural Resources and Agriculture departments also have slapped quarantines on more than 550 private facilities where deer are raised and kept for hunting, breeding and hobby purposes.
What's at stake is personal for Imlay City-area grower John Morocco, whose 40 acres annually produce 120,000 40-pound bags of carrots and $140,000 in income. That deer feed provides most of the essentials for his family of five. "I've been doing this for 30 years and I've been told we now don't have an income," said Morocco, 54. "I'm worried about how I'm going to feed my family."
The order doesn't prevent Morocco from raising or selling his carrots as deer bait. But his phone isn't ringing off the hook, as has been customary with archery deer season three weeks away and hunters making preparations for the Nov. 15 start of the general firearms season.
South of St. Johns in mid-Michigan, Andy Todoscuik expects a sharp drop in the $40,000 his landscaping-nursery-bakery business usually collects from deer feed sales in the fall. "It'll turn us into a ghost town until Thanksgiving," predicted Todoscuik.
Hunters also are perplexed.
Robert Tobolski and fellow workers at the Warren TACOM plant, who have a hunting club, last weekend removed corn and salt licks from their hunting area near Milford.
"I had a few bucks invested, let's put it that way, so it's kind of upsetting," said Tobolski, 52.
Source: Detroit News
State officials want to protect the state's hunter-based marketplace, but critics say the ban threatens autumn's $500 million hunter-based economy.
Deer feed suppliers, hunters and owners of commercial deer facilities packed a state House hearing on Tuesday. More are expected at a Thursday meeting of the State Natural Resources Commission, which is considering an extension of the six-month ban.
"If this ban is not lifted, it puts me in bankruptcy," Saginaw grower-wholesaler Tony Benkert told the committee.
Bart's Fruit Market owner Mark Bartholomew of Houghton Lake, which normally supplies 250 deer feed outlets throughout Michigan, said he laid off 17 workers and will have to cut still more.
"The DNR is playing with a lot of people's livelihood," he said, referring to the Department of Natural Resources, which imposed the ban.
Natural Resources wildlife veterinarian Steve Schmitt told lawmakers allowing baiting to continue would be "like playing Russian roulette with the wild deer herd."
First identified in Colorado 40 years ago, the disease has spread eastward to 11 states and two Canadian provinces. None has been able to eradicate it.
In Wisconsin, where it showed up first in wild deer killed in 2001, the effort has included baiting bans in 26 of 72 counties and hiring sharpshooters to thin the deer herd. Schmitt said scientific models, based on experience in Colorado and Wisconsin, suggest it could wipe out three-fourths of the deer herd over 50 years.
DNR Director Rebecca Humphries imposed Michigan's baiting ban after the Aug. 25 confirmation of the fatal brain and nervous system disease in a doe at a Kent County deer breeding facility. That follows protocols set up in 2002 following the early Wisconsin cases.
The State Natural Resources and Agriculture departments also have slapped quarantines on more than 550 private facilities where deer are raised and kept for hunting, breeding and hobby purposes.
What's at stake is personal for Imlay City-area grower John Morocco, whose 40 acres annually produce 120,000 40-pound bags of carrots and $140,000 in income. That deer feed provides most of the essentials for his family of five. "I've been doing this for 30 years and I've been told we now don't have an income," said Morocco, 54. "I'm worried about how I'm going to feed my family."
The order doesn't prevent Morocco from raising or selling his carrots as deer bait. But his phone isn't ringing off the hook, as has been customary with archery deer season three weeks away and hunters making preparations for the Nov. 15 start of the general firearms season.
South of St. Johns in mid-Michigan, Andy Todoscuik expects a sharp drop in the $40,000 his landscaping-nursery-bakery business usually collects from deer feed sales in the fall. "It'll turn us into a ghost town until Thanksgiving," predicted Todoscuik.
Hunters also are perplexed.
Robert Tobolski and fellow workers at the Warren TACOM plant, who have a hunting club, last weekend removed corn and salt licks from their hunting area near Milford.
"I had a few bucks invested, let's put it that way, so it's kind of upsetting," said Tobolski, 52.
Source: Detroit News
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
MONTANA NEWS: Mule Deer Cull Approved
Helena police will begin killing mule deer in the city limits next week.
Police Chief Troy McGee told city commissioners Monday that he expects officers to reach their quota of 50 deer by the end of October.
The pilot project is part of an effort to control the city's growing population of mule deer. The plan was approved by the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission.
McGee says the project will begin on private land on the city's southeast side. Deer will be trapped and then killed with a bolt gun, which does not fire a projectile. Any fawns that are trapped will be released.
Meat from the deer will be processed by Helena Food Share and distributed to clients.
An estimated 700 deer live in the Helena city limits.
Source: KXMB
Police Chief Troy McGee told city commissioners Monday that he expects officers to reach their quota of 50 deer by the end of October.
The pilot project is part of an effort to control the city's growing population of mule deer. The plan was approved by the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission.
McGee says the project will begin on private land on the city's southeast side. Deer will be trapped and then killed with a bolt gun, which does not fire a projectile. Any fawns that are trapped will be released.
Meat from the deer will be processed by Helena Food Share and distributed to clients.
An estimated 700 deer live in the Helena city limits.
Source: KXMB
Thursday, September 04, 2008
MICHIGAN NEWS: Deer Baiting Banned Following CWD Discovery
When the baiting ban was announced following last week's discovery of chronic wasting disease in a deer in Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources and newspapers got many calls and e-mails from angry hunters.
Most thought the DNR had overacted and predicted a reduction in hunter numbers, and some said they would hunt in other states. One man fumed that he would hunt in Illinois, failing to recognize that baiting is illegal in that state and 23 others.
Explaining why the ban covered the entire Lower Peninsula rather than just Kent County, where the sick deer was found, DNR big game specialist Rod Clute said the agency was simply following a CWD action plan approved six years ago by the DNR, the Agriculture Department and the Legislature.
"We'd rather say no to baiting in the Lower Peninsula now than find out later that we should have said no. This deer is the first, and we're hoping we've found an ice cube rather than an iceberg," he said.
Here are the DNR's answers to some questions hunters have asked.
Will things like salt blocks, mineral licks and attractants like C'Mere Deer be legal?
No. Anything that's designed to draw a deer to eat or lick it is banned. Attractant scents like doe urine and doe-in-estrus are legal.
Some people like to feed deer just to view them, not to hunt. Is that still legal?
No. And food put out for other wildlife, like turkeys, is legal only if it is made inaccessible to deer.
Why isn't baiting banned in the Upper Peninsula?
The CWD plan says that baiting will be banned if an infected deer is found within 50 miles of either of Michigan's peninsulas. The Kent County deer was 250 miles from the UP.
Food plots are still legal. Aren't they just as likely to spread disease as bait?
Many studies have shown that concentrating bait in piles is far more likely to spread deer disease than food plots. The science is sound on this. In addition, the DNR has no control over agricultural practices and can't legally stop people from growing crops.
Bait is still being sold by a lot of stations and mom-and-pop stores. Why doesn't the DNR just ban the sale of bait?
Once again, the DNR has the authority to regulate the method and manner by which we hunt deer. It doesn't have the authority to regulate commerce and tell stores what they can sell. It's up to the hunters to end those sales by refusing to buy bait.
I see deer licking each other all the time. Won't that spread disease?
Deer are social animals and tend to move in groups of three to eight that usually are related, and they do lick each other. What bait piles do is draw in a lot more unrelated deer and increase the amount of contact between them. Bait piles also increase the amount of urine and feces dropped in a small area. Just as a hospital full of sick people is a good place for humans to pick up an infection, a bait pile that draws sick deer is a way to increase the chance of disease spreading among animals.
If I unknowingly eat venison from a deer with CWD, can I catch the disease?
CWD infects deer species that include whitetails, mule deer, elk and moose. Other mammals, including humans, apparently are immune. However, erring on the side of caution, scientists recommend that people avoid eating meat from a deer known to be infected with CWD or that they think may have the disease.
They've found a couple of dozen dead deer along the Clinton River in southeast Michigan in the past couple of weeks. Could they have died from CWD?
The DNR is investigating those deer deaths, but tests so far have ruled out CWD, bovine tuberculosis or any other known disease. Biologists are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to see if the deer were poisoned by something in their environment or in the water.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Most thought the DNR had overacted and predicted a reduction in hunter numbers, and some said they would hunt in other states. One man fumed that he would hunt in Illinois, failing to recognize that baiting is illegal in that state and 23 others.
Explaining why the ban covered the entire Lower Peninsula rather than just Kent County, where the sick deer was found, DNR big game specialist Rod Clute said the agency was simply following a CWD action plan approved six years ago by the DNR, the Agriculture Department and the Legislature.
"We'd rather say no to baiting in the Lower Peninsula now than find out later that we should have said no. This deer is the first, and we're hoping we've found an ice cube rather than an iceberg," he said.
Here are the DNR's answers to some questions hunters have asked.
Will things like salt blocks, mineral licks and attractants like C'Mere Deer be legal?
No. Anything that's designed to draw a deer to eat or lick it is banned. Attractant scents like doe urine and doe-in-estrus are legal.
Some people like to feed deer just to view them, not to hunt. Is that still legal?
No. And food put out for other wildlife, like turkeys, is legal only if it is made inaccessible to deer.
Why isn't baiting banned in the Upper Peninsula?
The CWD plan says that baiting will be banned if an infected deer is found within 50 miles of either of Michigan's peninsulas. The Kent County deer was 250 miles from the UP.
Food plots are still legal. Aren't they just as likely to spread disease as bait?
Many studies have shown that concentrating bait in piles is far more likely to spread deer disease than food plots. The science is sound on this. In addition, the DNR has no control over agricultural practices and can't legally stop people from growing crops.
Bait is still being sold by a lot of stations and mom-and-pop stores. Why doesn't the DNR just ban the sale of bait?
Once again, the DNR has the authority to regulate the method and manner by which we hunt deer. It doesn't have the authority to regulate commerce and tell stores what they can sell. It's up to the hunters to end those sales by refusing to buy bait.
I see deer licking each other all the time. Won't that spread disease?
Deer are social animals and tend to move in groups of three to eight that usually are related, and they do lick each other. What bait piles do is draw in a lot more unrelated deer and increase the amount of contact between them. Bait piles also increase the amount of urine and feces dropped in a small area. Just as a hospital full of sick people is a good place for humans to pick up an infection, a bait pile that draws sick deer is a way to increase the chance of disease spreading among animals.
If I unknowingly eat venison from a deer with CWD, can I catch the disease?
CWD infects deer species that include whitetails, mule deer, elk and moose. Other mammals, including humans, apparently are immune. However, erring on the side of caution, scientists recommend that people avoid eating meat from a deer known to be infected with CWD or that they think may have the disease.
They've found a couple of dozen dead deer along the Clinton River in southeast Michigan in the past couple of weeks. Could they have died from CWD?
The DNR is investigating those deer deaths, but tests so far have ruled out CWD, bovine tuberculosis or any other known disease. Biologists are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to see if the deer were poisoned by something in their environment or in the water.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
VIRGINIA NEWS: Deer Feeding Now Illegal
Effective September 1, it will be illegal to feed deer statewide in Virginia. The prohibition runs through the first Saturday in January (January 3, 2009). The regulation designating the prohibition went into effect in 2006.
This regulation does NOT restrict the planting of crops such as corn and soybeans, wildlife food plots, and backyard or schoolyard habitats. It is intended to curb the artificial feeding of deer that leads to negative consequences.
Problems with feeding deer include: unnaturally increasing population numbers that damage natural habitats; disease transmission, including tuberculosis as well as many deer diseases; and human-deer conflicts such as deer/vehicle collisions and inappropriate semi-taming of wildlife.
In addition, feeding deer has many law enforcement implications. Deer hunting over bait is illegal in Virginia. Prior to the deer feeding prohibition, distinguishing between who was feeding deer and who was hunting over bait often caused law enforcement problems for the Department.
Deer Feeding was Booming Along with the Population
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) Deer Project Coordinators Matt Knox and Nelson Lafon noted when the regulation first took effect that for more than twenty years the practice of feeding deer had expanded across the eastern United States among both deer hunters and the non-hunting general public. The most common reason for feeding deer is to improve their nutrition and to supplement the habitat's ability to support more deer; in other words, to increase the carrying capacity for deer.
According to Knox, many people feed deer because they believe it will keep them from starving, but this is not a legitimate reason to feed deer in Virginia. In Virginia, deer die-offs due to winter starvation have been almost nonexistent and according to Lafon, "We do not need more deer in Virginia. In fact, we need fewer deer in many parts of the state."
Nelson Lafon completed a revision of the Department's Deer Management Plan in June 2007. Based on his research, it appears that the citizens of the Commonwealth would like to see deer populations reduced over most of the state. Lafon noted that Virginia's deer herds could be described as overabundant from a human tolerance perspective and stated that feeding deer only makes this overabundance problem worse.
Is Your Bird Feeder Attracting Deer?
Supplemental feeding artificially concentrates deer on the landscape, leading to over-browsed vegetation, especially in and around feeding sites. Over-browsing destroys habitat needed by other species, including songbirds.
It is not unheard of for deer to take advantage of bird feeders and begin to eat spilled birdseed. Individuals who inadvertently are feeding deer through their bird feeders may be requested by VDGIF conservation police officers to temporarily remove feeders until the deer disperse.
Deer Are Wild Animals
In their natural state, deer are wild animals that have a fear of humans because we have preyed upon deer for thousands of years. However, when deer are fed by people, they lose this fear, becoming less wild and often semi-domesticated.
Fed deer are often emboldened to seek human foods, leading them into conflict with people. Despite their gentle appearance, they can become lethally dangerous during mating season capable of goring and slashing with their sharp hooves and antlers. There are numerous cases across the country of individuals injured, and in some cases even killed, by deer they treated as pets.
People often treat the deer they feed as if they own them, even going so far as to name individual deer. Not only does this association diminish the "wildness" of "wildlife", it also leads to a mistaken notion regarding ownership of wildlife. Deer and other wildlife are owned by citizens of the Commonwealth and are managed by the Department as a public resource.
Deer Feeding Congregates Animals, Increasing the Spread of Disease
The increase in deer feeding that has taken place in Virginia over the past decade now represents one of Virginia's biggest wildlife disease risk factors. According to VDGIF Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Sleeman, deer feeding sets the stage for maintaining and facilitating the spread of disease.
According to Dr. Sleeman, diseases are a big issue in deer management today across the United States. Feeding deer invariably leads to the prolonged crowding of animals in a small area, resulting in more direct animal to animal contact and contamination of feeding sites. Deer feeding has been implicated as a major risk factor and contributor in the three most important deer diseases in North America today. These include tuberculosis, brucellosis, and chronic wasting disease (CWD). Fortunately, none of these diseases have been found in deer in Virginia, although CWD is present in West Virginia, less than 5 miles from Frederick County, Virginia.
Please Don't Feed Deer
It is clear that the negative consequences of feeding deer outweigh the benefits. If you are not feeding deer, you should not start. If you are currently feeding deer, you should now stop. Feeding deer is against the law between September 1 and the first Saturday in January. If anyone sees or suspects someone of illegally feeding deer during this time period, or observes any wildlife violations, please report it to the Department's Wildlife Crime Line at 1-800-237-5712.
Source: Twin County News
This regulation does NOT restrict the planting of crops such as corn and soybeans, wildlife food plots, and backyard or schoolyard habitats. It is intended to curb the artificial feeding of deer that leads to negative consequences.
Problems with feeding deer include: unnaturally increasing population numbers that damage natural habitats; disease transmission, including tuberculosis as well as many deer diseases; and human-deer conflicts such as deer/vehicle collisions and inappropriate semi-taming of wildlife.
In addition, feeding deer has many law enforcement implications. Deer hunting over bait is illegal in Virginia. Prior to the deer feeding prohibition, distinguishing between who was feeding deer and who was hunting over bait often caused law enforcement problems for the Department.
Deer Feeding was Booming Along with the Population
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) Deer Project Coordinators Matt Knox and Nelson Lafon noted when the regulation first took effect that for more than twenty years the practice of feeding deer had expanded across the eastern United States among both deer hunters and the non-hunting general public. The most common reason for feeding deer is to improve their nutrition and to supplement the habitat's ability to support more deer; in other words, to increase the carrying capacity for deer.
According to Knox, many people feed deer because they believe it will keep them from starving, but this is not a legitimate reason to feed deer in Virginia. In Virginia, deer die-offs due to winter starvation have been almost nonexistent and according to Lafon, "We do not need more deer in Virginia. In fact, we need fewer deer in many parts of the state."
Nelson Lafon completed a revision of the Department's Deer Management Plan in June 2007. Based on his research, it appears that the citizens of the Commonwealth would like to see deer populations reduced over most of the state. Lafon noted that Virginia's deer herds could be described as overabundant from a human tolerance perspective and stated that feeding deer only makes this overabundance problem worse.
Is Your Bird Feeder Attracting Deer?
Supplemental feeding artificially concentrates deer on the landscape, leading to over-browsed vegetation, especially in and around feeding sites. Over-browsing destroys habitat needed by other species, including songbirds.
It is not unheard of for deer to take advantage of bird feeders and begin to eat spilled birdseed. Individuals who inadvertently are feeding deer through their bird feeders may be requested by VDGIF conservation police officers to temporarily remove feeders until the deer disperse.
Deer Are Wild Animals
In their natural state, deer are wild animals that have a fear of humans because we have preyed upon deer for thousands of years. However, when deer are fed by people, they lose this fear, becoming less wild and often semi-domesticated.
Fed deer are often emboldened to seek human foods, leading them into conflict with people. Despite their gentle appearance, they can become lethally dangerous during mating season capable of goring and slashing with their sharp hooves and antlers. There are numerous cases across the country of individuals injured, and in some cases even killed, by deer they treated as pets.
People often treat the deer they feed as if they own them, even going so far as to name individual deer. Not only does this association diminish the "wildness" of "wildlife", it also leads to a mistaken notion regarding ownership of wildlife. Deer and other wildlife are owned by citizens of the Commonwealth and are managed by the Department as a public resource.
Deer Feeding Congregates Animals, Increasing the Spread of Disease
The increase in deer feeding that has taken place in Virginia over the past decade now represents one of Virginia's biggest wildlife disease risk factors. According to VDGIF Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Sleeman, deer feeding sets the stage for maintaining and facilitating the spread of disease.
According to Dr. Sleeman, diseases are a big issue in deer management today across the United States. Feeding deer invariably leads to the prolonged crowding of animals in a small area, resulting in more direct animal to animal contact and contamination of feeding sites. Deer feeding has been implicated as a major risk factor and contributor in the three most important deer diseases in North America today. These include tuberculosis, brucellosis, and chronic wasting disease (CWD). Fortunately, none of these diseases have been found in deer in Virginia, although CWD is present in West Virginia, less than 5 miles from Frederick County, Virginia.
Please Don't Feed Deer
It is clear that the negative consequences of feeding deer outweigh the benefits. If you are not feeding deer, you should not start. If you are currently feeding deer, you should now stop. Feeding deer is against the law between September 1 and the first Saturday in January. If anyone sees or suspects someone of illegally feeding deer during this time period, or observes any wildlife violations, please report it to the Department's Wildlife Crime Line at 1-800-237-5712.
Source: Twin County News
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
DELAWARE NEWS: Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Found in Delaware Deer
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Division of Fish & Wildlife is reassuring Delaware residents and hunters that an insect-borne disease that has been killing white-tailed deer throughout North America does not affect humans and has little long-range ramifications for the health of the state’s deer herd.
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), also known as “blue tongue,” is the most significant disease afflicting white-tailed deer in North America but is also the best known and most widely studied, having first been identified in 1955 with regular, almost annual outbreaks since. By Delaware standards, last year was an uncommonly severe year, with 132 EHD-related deer fatalities.
“We recently received the first report of a suspected EHD deer casualty this year, so we want to begin educating hunters and the public about the disease. While the virus is often fatal, it apparently did not have much of an impact on the Delaware deer population, as the overall harvest from the 2007-2008 season was the third all-time highest. If EHD had significantly impacted the deer herd, we would have expected the harvest to be down, but we didn’t see that,” said Game Mammal Biologist Joe Rogerson.
Humans cannot be infected by EHD, nor can the disease be transmitted by consuming venison from infected animals. However, hunters are advised to avoid eating visibly sick deer because they may be stricken by a secondary infection that could affect people, Rogerson noted.
EHD is transmitted by small biting flies commonly called midges or “no-see-ums.” All known outbreaks of EHD in Delaware have occurred in late summer and early fall, and are abruptly curtailed with the onset of frost, which kills the midges and suspends the hatch of larvae. No pesticides can be sprayed to kill the insects that cause EHD, nor can white-tailed deer be vaccinated against the disease.
“We are in a position of allowing nature to run its course and waiting for a hard frost to kill the midges,” Rogerson said.
Symptoms of the disease in deer resemble another sickness, chronic wasting disease, or CWD, which is not yet known to have occurred in Delaware. Afflicted animals exhibit pronounced swelling of, and bleeding from the head, neck, tongue and eyes. Deer can die from EHD as soon as one day after contracting it, but more commonly survive for three to five days. Carcasses are often recovered near water and the EHD outbreaks are most often associated with periods of drought.
As with many viruses, not all deer will die once they are infected. Some will be able to enact an immune response and fight off the infection. These deer will then have the antibodies to ward off any potential future infections. The virus deteriorates less than 24 hours after a deer dies, and cannot be spread from carcasses. EHD does not generally have a significant impact on livestock.
Hunters or members of the public who see a deer carcass with no readily apparent cause of death are asked to report it to Game Mammal Biologist Joe Rogerson, Division of Fish & Wildlife, at 302-735-3600.
“While nothing can be done to prevent the further spread of EHD until colder weather halts the midges from infecting deer, the Division would like to document deer mortality for research and to obtain data for future references to the disease,” Rogerson said.
Source: Delmarva Now!
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), also known as “blue tongue,” is the most significant disease afflicting white-tailed deer in North America but is also the best known and most widely studied, having first been identified in 1955 with regular, almost annual outbreaks since. By Delaware standards, last year was an uncommonly severe year, with 132 EHD-related deer fatalities.
“We recently received the first report of a suspected EHD deer casualty this year, so we want to begin educating hunters and the public about the disease. While the virus is often fatal, it apparently did not have much of an impact on the Delaware deer population, as the overall harvest from the 2007-2008 season was the third all-time highest. If EHD had significantly impacted the deer herd, we would have expected the harvest to be down, but we didn’t see that,” said Game Mammal Biologist Joe Rogerson.
Humans cannot be infected by EHD, nor can the disease be transmitted by consuming venison from infected animals. However, hunters are advised to avoid eating visibly sick deer because they may be stricken by a secondary infection that could affect people, Rogerson noted.
EHD is transmitted by small biting flies commonly called midges or “no-see-ums.” All known outbreaks of EHD in Delaware have occurred in late summer and early fall, and are abruptly curtailed with the onset of frost, which kills the midges and suspends the hatch of larvae. No pesticides can be sprayed to kill the insects that cause EHD, nor can white-tailed deer be vaccinated against the disease.
“We are in a position of allowing nature to run its course and waiting for a hard frost to kill the midges,” Rogerson said.
Symptoms of the disease in deer resemble another sickness, chronic wasting disease, or CWD, which is not yet known to have occurred in Delaware. Afflicted animals exhibit pronounced swelling of, and bleeding from the head, neck, tongue and eyes. Deer can die from EHD as soon as one day after contracting it, but more commonly survive for three to five days. Carcasses are often recovered near water and the EHD outbreaks are most often associated with periods of drought.
As with many viruses, not all deer will die once they are infected. Some will be able to enact an immune response and fight off the infection. These deer will then have the antibodies to ward off any potential future infections. The virus deteriorates less than 24 hours after a deer dies, and cannot be spread from carcasses. EHD does not generally have a significant impact on livestock.
Hunters or members of the public who see a deer carcass with no readily apparent cause of death are asked to report it to Game Mammal Biologist Joe Rogerson, Division of Fish & Wildlife, at 302-735-3600.
“While nothing can be done to prevent the further spread of EHD until colder weather halts the midges from infecting deer, the Division would like to document deer mortality for research and to obtain data for future references to the disease,” Rogerson said.
Source: Delmarva Now!
MICHIGAN NEWS: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Deer
A whitetail deer at a captive facility in Kent County has been confirmed to have chronic wasting disease. The fatal illness in its latter stages has symptoms similar to mad cow disease but affects only cervids like moose, elk and deer, state officials said Monday.
The Michigan Agriculture Department placed an immediate quarantine on all of the 580 captive cervid facilities in Michigan, and Becky Humphries, director of the Department of Natural Resources, said she would announce a total ban on the baiting and feeding of wild deer in the Lower Peninsula as of today.
Even before the single case was confirmed in a 3-year-old doe that was born at the Kent County facility, the state had quarantined five other deer operations in Montcalm and Osceola counties that bought deer from it or sold deer to it.
Humphries said the state's primary concern was to ensure that the disease has not spread from the captive deer to the state's wild deer herd of about 1.5 million whitetails.
DNR veterinarian Steve Schmitt said that under a chronic wasting disease plan the state wrote in 2002, a so-called hot zone was declared in the area within five miles of the infection site, including all or parts of Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield and Cannon townships.
Testing will be required for all deer killed within that zone.
Schmitt said that even before deer hunting starts with the archery season Oct. 1, the DNR will try to test 300 deer in the hot zone that will be taken under crop damage permits or by roadkills. Another 300 will be tested in surrounding counties.
About a dozen years ago, baiting was banned in some localized areas after bovine tuberculosis was discovered in wild whitetail deer in several counties in the northeastern Lower Peninsula.
But often hunters ignored that ban, and bait continued to be sold even at the heart of the TB zone.
Biologists believed it was a only a matter of time before the wasting disease, first identified about 40 years ago in captive deer in Colorado, reached Michigan after spreading to a dozen other states in the last three years, including Wisconsin and Illinois.
Chronic wasting disease is caused by mutated proteins called prions, which cause nearby proteins to mutate. This usually happens in the brain and spinal column.
Source: Detroit Free Press
The Michigan Agriculture Department placed an immediate quarantine on all of the 580 captive cervid facilities in Michigan, and Becky Humphries, director of the Department of Natural Resources, said she would announce a total ban on the baiting and feeding of wild deer in the Lower Peninsula as of today.
Even before the single case was confirmed in a 3-year-old doe that was born at the Kent County facility, the state had quarantined five other deer operations in Montcalm and Osceola counties that bought deer from it or sold deer to it.
Humphries said the state's primary concern was to ensure that the disease has not spread from the captive deer to the state's wild deer herd of about 1.5 million whitetails.
DNR veterinarian Steve Schmitt said that under a chronic wasting disease plan the state wrote in 2002, a so-called hot zone was declared in the area within five miles of the infection site, including all or parts of Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield and Cannon townships.
Testing will be required for all deer killed within that zone.
Schmitt said that even before deer hunting starts with the archery season Oct. 1, the DNR will try to test 300 deer in the hot zone that will be taken under crop damage permits or by roadkills. Another 300 will be tested in surrounding counties.
About a dozen years ago, baiting was banned in some localized areas after bovine tuberculosis was discovered in wild whitetail deer in several counties in the northeastern Lower Peninsula.
But often hunters ignored that ban, and bait continued to be sold even at the heart of the TB zone.
Biologists believed it was a only a matter of time before the wasting disease, first identified about 40 years ago in captive deer in Colorado, reached Michigan after spreading to a dozen other states in the last three years, including Wisconsin and Illinois.
Chronic wasting disease is caused by mutated proteins called prions, which cause nearby proteins to mutate. This usually happens in the brain and spinal column.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Sunday, August 17, 2008
MARYLAND NEWS: Deer Versus Biodiversity at a Unique Serpentine Barren
As fragile ecosystems go, Soldiers Delight might be Maryland's Faberge egg -- rare, beautiful and valuable.
Walk along its 7 miles of trails and see rare plants, at least 39 varieties, and insects.
"You can't step off the trail without stepping on something rare," Wayne Tyndall, the state restoration ecologist, says during a recent hike.
So we tread lightly, putting our feet on clumps of grass as we hopscotch our way to view delicate Eastern Blazing Star, 3 inches high with little round buds about to blossom into purple flowers.
But we had better look quickly, Tyndall advises.
"It's getting hammered. It's being eaten before it even flowers," he says. "The deer eat new shoots because they're tender."
That's the way it is for so much of Soldiers Delight's flora: 15 wildflowers on the state's endangered and threatened list and seven grasses on the endangered list.
What scientists think of as rare, deer see as an all-you-can-eat salad bar.
And that's a big problem.
Labeled a "Natural Environment Area" by the state, Soldiers Delight is 1,900 acres of serpentine barren located between Owings Mills and Liberty Reservoir in western Baltimore County.
Serpentine is a bedrock that began its life as magma oozing from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean about 500 million years ago. Soldiers Delight is the largest remaining serpentine barren in the eastern United States, so it attracts a lot of living things that find it tough going elsewhere. It is Maryland's richest concentration of rare and endangered species.
Keeping the area safe requires constant battles, some more successful than others.
Take, for example, the invasion of the invasive species. Over decades, groves of Virginia pines took root, followed by massive patches of greenbrier, both of which threaten rare grasslands. But in recent years, the Department of Natural Resources has fought back with axes and fire to restore the land, which allowed the oak trees to flourish as they did decades ago.
"We started seeing the oaks expand, and we started getting excited," Tyndall says. "Now, the oaks are on hold."
What has stopped the oaks in their tracks are deer, eight times as many as the area should have.
The deer have eaten every oak seedling in sight, leaving behind an area with mature trees and saplings but no next generation in the pipeline.
That's bad news for a species of rare butterfly that uses only oak saplings to lay its eggs and complete its life cycle. (I'm not naming the butterfly because history shows that some collectors will swoop in and turn the entire population of rare critters into an extinct one.)
In a double whammy for the butterflies, browsing deer are digging up the living quarters of Allegheny mound ants and using them for salt licks. The aggressive ants, attracted by a sugary secretion from the butterfly caterpillars, provide protection from predatory wasps and birds when the caterpillars venture out to feed. Without their bodyguards, the caterpillars are as dead as Sonny Corleone at the causeway toll booth.
It gets worse. Even if the caterpillars make it to adult stage, the deer have eaten the wildflowers that are a major food source.
"Oak suppression, ant suppression, wildflower suppression -- what's a butterfly to do?" Tyndall asks.
Wildflower devastation also hurts migrating hummingbirds searching for fuel. The loss of Eastern Blazing Star is bad for songbirds that feast when the flowers turn to seed. Sassafras seedlings are being chewed, too.
In another area of Soldiers Delight just a stone's throw from Interstate 795, deer have cleared out all the small oaks with the efficiency of a wood chipper.
"We're looking at a dead forest. These trees aren't going to life forever, and when they die ... " Tyndall's voice trails off.
The death of oak trees has opened the door for invasive species, such as Chinese sumac -- called "Trees of Heaven" by nurseries once eager to sell them -- and Japanese barberry, a prolific and popular spiny shrub with red berries.
Efforts by volunteers and students from Stevenson University to repel the invaders have had limited success.
"Do you see any hiding places for box turtles or raccoons? It's pretty sterile. There's no cover," says Glenn Therres, who leads DNR's endangered species conservation work.
Despite some fuss from hunting haters, the state began allowing archers in two remote sections of Soldiers Delight. But in two seasons, bow hunters have taken fewer than 40 deer, not enough to slow the burgeoning population.
"If you don't put the hunters where the deer are, you're not going to have a successful hunt," says Paul Peditto, head of DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service.
So wildlife managers are drafting a new proposal that could include a short-term managed shotgun hunt in late winter, when plants are dormant and trail use is low. Similar hunts are used at Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Gunpowder Falls State Park in Baltimore County and Susquehanna State Park near Havre de Grace. The proposal is expected to be ready by mid-September.
Peditto says it's not realistic to think other measures will work at Soldiers Delight.
"It's one thing to be able to fence in a few dozen plants. It's another to fence in an entire thousand-acre ecosystem. Where do I start?" he says.
Tyndall says the clock is running on Soldiers Delight's future.
"We still have a chance here," Tyndall says. "But time is limited. You reach a point where you just have to walk away."
Source: Baltimore Sun
Walk along its 7 miles of trails and see rare plants, at least 39 varieties, and insects.
"You can't step off the trail without stepping on something rare," Wayne Tyndall, the state restoration ecologist, says during a recent hike.
So we tread lightly, putting our feet on clumps of grass as we hopscotch our way to view delicate Eastern Blazing Star, 3 inches high with little round buds about to blossom into purple flowers.
But we had better look quickly, Tyndall advises.
"It's getting hammered. It's being eaten before it even flowers," he says. "The deer eat new shoots because they're tender."
That's the way it is for so much of Soldiers Delight's flora: 15 wildflowers on the state's endangered and threatened list and seven grasses on the endangered list.
What scientists think of as rare, deer see as an all-you-can-eat salad bar.
And that's a big problem.
Labeled a "Natural Environment Area" by the state, Soldiers Delight is 1,900 acres of serpentine barren located between Owings Mills and Liberty Reservoir in western Baltimore County.
Serpentine is a bedrock that began its life as magma oozing from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean about 500 million years ago. Soldiers Delight is the largest remaining serpentine barren in the eastern United States, so it attracts a lot of living things that find it tough going elsewhere. It is Maryland's richest concentration of rare and endangered species.
Keeping the area safe requires constant battles, some more successful than others.
Take, for example, the invasion of the invasive species. Over decades, groves of Virginia pines took root, followed by massive patches of greenbrier, both of which threaten rare grasslands. But in recent years, the Department of Natural Resources has fought back with axes and fire to restore the land, which allowed the oak trees to flourish as they did decades ago.
"We started seeing the oaks expand, and we started getting excited," Tyndall says. "Now, the oaks are on hold."
What has stopped the oaks in their tracks are deer, eight times as many as the area should have.
The deer have eaten every oak seedling in sight, leaving behind an area with mature trees and saplings but no next generation in the pipeline.
That's bad news for a species of rare butterfly that uses only oak saplings to lay its eggs and complete its life cycle. (I'm not naming the butterfly because history shows that some collectors will swoop in and turn the entire population of rare critters into an extinct one.)
In a double whammy for the butterflies, browsing deer are digging up the living quarters of Allegheny mound ants and using them for salt licks. The aggressive ants, attracted by a sugary secretion from the butterfly caterpillars, provide protection from predatory wasps and birds when the caterpillars venture out to feed. Without their bodyguards, the caterpillars are as dead as Sonny Corleone at the causeway toll booth.
It gets worse. Even if the caterpillars make it to adult stage, the deer have eaten the wildflowers that are a major food source.
"Oak suppression, ant suppression, wildflower suppression -- what's a butterfly to do?" Tyndall asks.
Wildflower devastation also hurts migrating hummingbirds searching for fuel. The loss of Eastern Blazing Star is bad for songbirds that feast when the flowers turn to seed. Sassafras seedlings are being chewed, too.
In another area of Soldiers Delight just a stone's throw from Interstate 795, deer have cleared out all the small oaks with the efficiency of a wood chipper.
"We're looking at a dead forest. These trees aren't going to life forever, and when they die ... " Tyndall's voice trails off.
The death of oak trees has opened the door for invasive species, such as Chinese sumac -- called "Trees of Heaven" by nurseries once eager to sell them -- and Japanese barberry, a prolific and popular spiny shrub with red berries.
Efforts by volunteers and students from Stevenson University to repel the invaders have had limited success.
"Do you see any hiding places for box turtles or raccoons? It's pretty sterile. There's no cover," says Glenn Therres, who leads DNR's endangered species conservation work.
Despite some fuss from hunting haters, the state began allowing archers in two remote sections of Soldiers Delight. But in two seasons, bow hunters have taken fewer than 40 deer, not enough to slow the burgeoning population.
"If you don't put the hunters where the deer are, you're not going to have a successful hunt," says Paul Peditto, head of DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service.
So wildlife managers are drafting a new proposal that could include a short-term managed shotgun hunt in late winter, when plants are dormant and trail use is low. Similar hunts are used at Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Gunpowder Falls State Park in Baltimore County and Susquehanna State Park near Havre de Grace. The proposal is expected to be ready by mid-September.
Peditto says it's not realistic to think other measures will work at Soldiers Delight.
"It's one thing to be able to fence in a few dozen plants. It's another to fence in an entire thousand-acre ecosystem. Where do I start?" he says.
Tyndall says the clock is running on Soldiers Delight's future.
"We still have a chance here," Tyndall says. "But time is limited. You reach a point where you just have to walk away."
Source: Baltimore Sun
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
OHIO NEWS: Special Hunts in State Nature Preserves, Trillium Protection Invoked
An increasing deer population, resulting in extensive damage to native plant communities, has led the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves to coordinate special archery deer hunts at state nature preserves across the state.
High quality habitats at these state nature preserves have been negatively impacted by over-browsing deer. For example, several acres of large flowered trillium, Ohio's state wildflower, have nearly disappeared at Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve because of foraging deer. Similar situations occur at 24 other sites.
There will be six two-week archery hunts beginning Nov. 2 through Jan. 24, 2009. Hunters may harvest two deer, but must harvest an antlerless deer first. Antlerless deer permits are allowed.
To apply for the special archery hunt lotteries, applicants must send in a postcard with their name, address, daytime phone number and the hunt name along with a $5 processing fee. Cash not accepted -- checks and money orders must be made out to Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. Processing fees are not refundable.
To enter, applicants must submit a separate postcard and $5 processing fee for each hunt. Entries must be mailed to the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, 2045 Morse Road, Bldg. F-1, Columbus, OH 43229.Lottery entries must be received by Sept. 6. Successful archery hunt applicants will be notified by mail.
Local hunts include: Huron County, Augusta-Anne Olsen Archery Hunt; Lucas County, Lou Campbell Archery Hunt; and in Seneca County, Howard Collier Archery Hunt and Springville Marsh Archery Hunt.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/6ltjwr
High quality habitats at these state nature preserves have been negatively impacted by over-browsing deer. For example, several acres of large flowered trillium, Ohio's state wildflower, have nearly disappeared at Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve because of foraging deer. Similar situations occur at 24 other sites.
There will be six two-week archery hunts beginning Nov. 2 through Jan. 24, 2009. Hunters may harvest two deer, but must harvest an antlerless deer first. Antlerless deer permits are allowed.
To apply for the special archery hunt lotteries, applicants must send in a postcard with their name, address, daytime phone number and the hunt name along with a $5 processing fee. Cash not accepted -- checks and money orders must be made out to Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. Processing fees are not refundable.
To enter, applicants must submit a separate postcard and $5 processing fee for each hunt. Entries must be mailed to the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, 2045 Morse Road, Bldg. F-1, Columbus, OH 43229.Lottery entries must be received by Sept. 6. Successful archery hunt applicants will be notified by mail.
Local hunts include: Huron County, Augusta-Anne Olsen Archery Hunt; Lucas County, Lou Campbell Archery Hunt; and in Seneca County, Howard Collier Archery Hunt and Springville Marsh Archery Hunt.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/6ltjwr
Monday, August 11, 2008
MASSACHUSETTS NEWS: Lyme Disease and the Complexities of Deer Management in the Suburbs
State and town officials are grappling with what will happen if Dover implements an expanded deer-hunting season to combat Lyme disease this year, and the question has started a dialogue about a regional evaluation of hunting in the suburbs.
Dover hopes to reduce its share of the deer population, which the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife puts at 20 deer per square mile in a region that should support only six to eight per square mile.
"The feeling is Dover is really close to ground zero for Lyme disease," said Harvey George, chairman of Dover's Board of Health. "The only reliable way to reduce Lyme disease appears to be to reduce the deer population and the amount of deer ticks," which can transmit the disease to humans.
But increased hunting could create a problem for neighboring towns.
"If Dover undertook a culling program, the deer would move out," George said.
Thomas K. O'Shea, assistant director of wildlife at the state agency, said expanding Dover's season, depending on what kind of additional hunting is allowed, could send deer temporarily into neighboring communities
Natick's Conservation Commission agent, Robert Bois, said he isn't as worried about deer from Dover - he thinks they already come and go across the town borders - as he is eager for a regional plan to tackle the problem.
"Overall, the deer population is out of control, and we've had Lyme disease incidents in this area," Bois said.
However, he said, the interlocking parcels of private and public land in Natick and neighboring towns, and the differing rules about how they can be hunted, represent a potential roadblock to that goal.
"It's a real maze, and the state would have to be party to that bigger issue," Bois said.
Opening land to hunters is not a simple process, O'Shea said. The patchwork of land-control interests, and differing limitations on what kind of weapons can be fired near residences, he said, pose "one of the biggest limits to deer management in Eastern Massachusetts. The fragmented suburban landscape presents barriers."
Needham is one example of that fragmentation, said the town's conservation officer, Kristen Phelps, who cited the various municipal entities that control deer habitat potentially involved in an expanded hunting arrangement.
"Ownership of large parcels is split here between four departments," Phelps said. "Park and Recreation manages town forests, the Conservation Commission manages Ridge Hill Reservation, then there's the School Department and the Board of Selectmen," she said.
Phelps supports a regional dialogue about hunting.
"There needs to be a broader conversation," she said. "I think it's a good conversation to initiate."
So does Jennifer Steel, assistant conservation agent at the Framingham Conservation Commission, a town in which O'Shea said only a portion of 4,000 acres of forest are huntable.
Steel and her colleagues have brought Sudbury Conservation Commission officials - who have worked to expand hunting on town lands since 1999 - to meetings of the Framingham board.
Steel said Framingham "leaned heavily on Sudbury's regulation and experience" in drafting a pilot program to open two previously protected habitats to deer hunters. And then the dialogue went further.
"The concept of a regional approach was broached," and the Framingham commission "at that time seemed to be very supportive of that idea," Steel said. "Is it needed? I would say, according to state statistics, yes. It's a question of the will" of area commissions, she added.
It's also a question of ecological sustainability, according to Lou Wagner, a Massachusetts Audubon Society scientist for Greater Boston. Wagner said deer numbers have strained the region's suburbs.
"Automobile accidents, incidents of Lyme disease, and, from a conservation point of view, many species of plants are beginning to disappear," Wagner said in citing problems from large deer populations. "The long-term regeneration of the forest is affected. In some areas, you can look through the forest floors and there's no vegetation left. That has an impact on a wide range of species of wildlife."
It is a relatively recent imbalance, according to Wagner, who said 20 years ago deer were harder to find in the area. Coordinated management is an encouraging development, he said.
"If just one community allows for expanded hunting, and one community does not, it creates less of an impact than a concerted effort," said Wagner. "What they're talking about sounds like the best approach. Getting more communities on board to help control deer population."
Edward Dennison, chairman of the Dover Conservation Commission, said cooperation among communities is the only practical solution.
"My personal view is to simply open public land to hunting," Dennison said. "But the deer population isn't going to go down appreciably. There are not enough hunters bagging enough deer to make a difference" in one town. "If you want to do this seriously, do something organized and systematic."
Steel said it would take the state's help to build the kind of regional plan that conservation commissions want.
"MassWildlife is centrally coordinated and the most efficient way of doing that," Steel said. "It would then have to grow and subdivide organically. Many towns have fairly broad bans on hunting, so the regulatory framework would have to be evaluated to figure out what units of management would make most sense."
O'Shea said his agency could help with the evaluation.
"What we can do is look at our data from the landscape perspective and identify areas and towns where it would be suitable to open areas for hunting," said O'Shea. "It's good that communities have identified access as the key to managing deer. We'd certainly be glad to work with towns together."
Source: http://tiny.cc/GUd02
Dover hopes to reduce its share of the deer population, which the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife puts at 20 deer per square mile in a region that should support only six to eight per square mile.
"The feeling is Dover is really close to ground zero for Lyme disease," said Harvey George, chairman of Dover's Board of Health. "The only reliable way to reduce Lyme disease appears to be to reduce the deer population and the amount of deer ticks," which can transmit the disease to humans.
But increased hunting could create a problem for neighboring towns.
"If Dover undertook a culling program, the deer would move out," George said.
Thomas K. O'Shea, assistant director of wildlife at the state agency, said expanding Dover's season, depending on what kind of additional hunting is allowed, could send deer temporarily into neighboring communities
Natick's Conservation Commission agent, Robert Bois, said he isn't as worried about deer from Dover - he thinks they already come and go across the town borders - as he is eager for a regional plan to tackle the problem.
"Overall, the deer population is out of control, and we've had Lyme disease incidents in this area," Bois said.
However, he said, the interlocking parcels of private and public land in Natick and neighboring towns, and the differing rules about how they can be hunted, represent a potential roadblock to that goal.
"It's a real maze, and the state would have to be party to that bigger issue," Bois said.
Opening land to hunters is not a simple process, O'Shea said. The patchwork of land-control interests, and differing limitations on what kind of weapons can be fired near residences, he said, pose "one of the biggest limits to deer management in Eastern Massachusetts. The fragmented suburban landscape presents barriers."
Needham is one example of that fragmentation, said the town's conservation officer, Kristen Phelps, who cited the various municipal entities that control deer habitat potentially involved in an expanded hunting arrangement.
"Ownership of large parcels is split here between four departments," Phelps said. "Park and Recreation manages town forests, the Conservation Commission manages Ridge Hill Reservation, then there's the School Department and the Board of Selectmen," she said.
Phelps supports a regional dialogue about hunting.
"There needs to be a broader conversation," she said. "I think it's a good conversation to initiate."
So does Jennifer Steel, assistant conservation agent at the Framingham Conservation Commission, a town in which O'Shea said only a portion of 4,000 acres of forest are huntable.
Steel and her colleagues have brought Sudbury Conservation Commission officials - who have worked to expand hunting on town lands since 1999 - to meetings of the Framingham board.
Steel said Framingham "leaned heavily on Sudbury's regulation and experience" in drafting a pilot program to open two previously protected habitats to deer hunters. And then the dialogue went further.
"The concept of a regional approach was broached," and the Framingham commission "at that time seemed to be very supportive of that idea," Steel said. "Is it needed? I would say, according to state statistics, yes. It's a question of the will" of area commissions, she added.
It's also a question of ecological sustainability, according to Lou Wagner, a Massachusetts Audubon Society scientist for Greater Boston. Wagner said deer numbers have strained the region's suburbs.
"Automobile accidents, incidents of Lyme disease, and, from a conservation point of view, many species of plants are beginning to disappear," Wagner said in citing problems from large deer populations. "The long-term regeneration of the forest is affected. In some areas, you can look through the forest floors and there's no vegetation left. That has an impact on a wide range of species of wildlife."
It is a relatively recent imbalance, according to Wagner, who said 20 years ago deer were harder to find in the area. Coordinated management is an encouraging development, he said.
"If just one community allows for expanded hunting, and one community does not, it creates less of an impact than a concerted effort," said Wagner. "What they're talking about sounds like the best approach. Getting more communities on board to help control deer population."
Edward Dennison, chairman of the Dover Conservation Commission, said cooperation among communities is the only practical solution.
"My personal view is to simply open public land to hunting," Dennison said. "But the deer population isn't going to go down appreciably. There are not enough hunters bagging enough deer to make a difference" in one town. "If you want to do this seriously, do something organized and systematic."
Steel said it would take the state's help to build the kind of regional plan that conservation commissions want.
"MassWildlife is centrally coordinated and the most efficient way of doing that," Steel said. "It would then have to grow and subdivide organically. Many towns have fairly broad bans on hunting, so the regulatory framework would have to be evaluated to figure out what units of management would make most sense."
O'Shea said his agency could help with the evaluation.
"What we can do is look at our data from the landscape perspective and identify areas and towns where it would be suitable to open areas for hunting," said O'Shea. "It's good that communities have identified access as the key to managing deer. We'd certainly be glad to work with towns together."
Source: http://tiny.cc/GUd02
Friday, July 25, 2008
NEW JERSEY NEWS: Another Township Combats Deer Population
Sparta — The township council introduced an ordinance last Tuesday that would allow deer hunting on certain township owned land designated as open space. If the ordinance is passed, hunting would be by permit only and would be strictly controlled.
The public will have the opportunity to ask questions or offer suggestions and opinions on the ordinance at the Aug. 21 council meeting. Township Manager Henry Underhill said he will show maps of Sparta’s open space so the council can discuss specific parcels of land that would be conducive to recreational hunting. Underhill said the township owns a lot of such land and thinks it should be available to citizens.
Representatives from the Sparta Police Department will attend the next meeting to offer their recommendations as to the safety and feasibility of hunting in specific areas. They will also be very involved in setting rules and guidelines for hunters and in providing a mandatory orientation class for those who plan to participate.
The white-tailed deer is the most abundant and best-known large herbivore in the United States and eastern Canada. According to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, New Jersey’s deer are a major part of the state’s landscape in all but highly urban areas.
The population was almost wiped out in the early 1900’s but rebounded throughout the century and is a thriving herd today. Deer management studies show that for every square mile, as many as 30 deer forage on the Garden State’s flora. Adult does can produce triplets and fawns can give birth in their first year. In the absence of predators or hunters, this kind of reproduction can result in a deer herd doubling its size in one year. A lactating doe or a young buck growing antlers can consume as much as ten pounds of food a day. If those ten pounds of food come from neighborhood yards, it creates a lot of headaches for homeowners.
Some enjoy watching Sparta’s plentiful deer grazing gracefully in yards and fields. Others think less kindly when they snack on gardens and strip buds off young trees. Deer will eat over 1,000 varieties of plants which makes the Garden State more like the ‘garden plate’ for hungry herds. Their voracious appetites are a persistent problem for gardeners.
But motorists face a worse problem. Deer frequently dart across Sparta’s roads, both day and night, and often cause costly accidents. This keeps car repair shops busy because all too often that cute distant cousin of Bambi ends up as road-kill. Since January of this year, Sparta Police Sergeant Ron Casteel reported 61 deer-related accidents in the township.
Township officials hope the new deer ordinance can reduce the herds enough to lessen the number of traffic-related deer incidents. It could also give some homeowners a break from the smelly sprays and concoctions they need just to keep their plants and shrubs from becoming a deer buffet.
Casteel said last week, “Deer cause a tremendous amount of damage in the township.”
Source: http://tinyurl.com/59hm7e
The public will have the opportunity to ask questions or offer suggestions and opinions on the ordinance at the Aug. 21 council meeting. Township Manager Henry Underhill said he will show maps of Sparta’s open space so the council can discuss specific parcels of land that would be conducive to recreational hunting. Underhill said the township owns a lot of such land and thinks it should be available to citizens.
Representatives from the Sparta Police Department will attend the next meeting to offer their recommendations as to the safety and feasibility of hunting in specific areas. They will also be very involved in setting rules and guidelines for hunters and in providing a mandatory orientation class for those who plan to participate.
The white-tailed deer is the most abundant and best-known large herbivore in the United States and eastern Canada. According to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, New Jersey’s deer are a major part of the state’s landscape in all but highly urban areas.
The population was almost wiped out in the early 1900’s but rebounded throughout the century and is a thriving herd today. Deer management studies show that for every square mile, as many as 30 deer forage on the Garden State’s flora. Adult does can produce triplets and fawns can give birth in their first year. In the absence of predators or hunters, this kind of reproduction can result in a deer herd doubling its size in one year. A lactating doe or a young buck growing antlers can consume as much as ten pounds of food a day. If those ten pounds of food come from neighborhood yards, it creates a lot of headaches for homeowners.
Some enjoy watching Sparta’s plentiful deer grazing gracefully in yards and fields. Others think less kindly when they snack on gardens and strip buds off young trees. Deer will eat over 1,000 varieties of plants which makes the Garden State more like the ‘garden plate’ for hungry herds. Their voracious appetites are a persistent problem for gardeners.
But motorists face a worse problem. Deer frequently dart across Sparta’s roads, both day and night, and often cause costly accidents. This keeps car repair shops busy because all too often that cute distant cousin of Bambi ends up as road-kill. Since January of this year, Sparta Police Sergeant Ron Casteel reported 61 deer-related accidents in the township.
Township officials hope the new deer ordinance can reduce the herds enough to lessen the number of traffic-related deer incidents. It could also give some homeowners a break from the smelly sprays and concoctions they need just to keep their plants and shrubs from becoming a deer buffet.
Casteel said last week, “Deer cause a tremendous amount of damage in the township.”
Source: http://tinyurl.com/59hm7e
Thursday, July 24, 2008
OHIO NEWS: Akron Metroparks Move From Sharpshooters to Bow Hunting
GREATER AKRON — Bow hunters will be allowed into four areas of Summit County to hunt deer this fall and winter through a program planned by the local parks district.
Metro Parks, Serving Summit County announced July 16 that permits will be available for bow hunters as part of its deer management program.
The district has used sharpshooters, who are trained Metro Parks employees, for the past several years, according to Metro Parks spokesman Nathan Eppink. That program will continue this year as well.
The bow hunters, who must be Summit County residents, will be allowed into portions of the Columbia Run and Quick Road conservation areas in Boston Township; Furnace Run Metro Park in Richfield Township; and the Pond Brook Conservation Area in Liberty Park in Twinsburg. The areas are remote with limited public access.
“The reason we’ve opted for bow hunting is because of access,” Eppink said. “It’s easier for bow hunters to go in there than it would be for sharpshooters. It would be difficult to get equipment into those areas, and the deer densities there are much higher than we would like.”
Countywide, the deer population is high, Eppink said. He added Summit County has consistently ranked in the top five locations in the state for deer-auto collisions.
“They don’t have any natural predators here in Ohio,” Eppink said. “Wolves are no longer in the state and haven’t been for 100 years. The deer have learned to live among people.”
The large population also has led the animals to seek out food they wouldn’t normally choose, such as shrubs and birdseed.
“When density levels get to the level they are, not only do deer-vehicle collisions increase, but they are a threat to biodiversity,” Eppink said.
article continues at original site
Source: http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-community-news.asp?aID=2963
Metro Parks, Serving Summit County announced July 16 that permits will be available for bow hunters as part of its deer management program.
The district has used sharpshooters, who are trained Metro Parks employees, for the past several years, according to Metro Parks spokesman Nathan Eppink. That program will continue this year as well.
The bow hunters, who must be Summit County residents, will be allowed into portions of the Columbia Run and Quick Road conservation areas in Boston Township; Furnace Run Metro Park in Richfield Township; and the Pond Brook Conservation Area in Liberty Park in Twinsburg. The areas are remote with limited public access.
“The reason we’ve opted for bow hunting is because of access,” Eppink said. “It’s easier for bow hunters to go in there than it would be for sharpshooters. It would be difficult to get equipment into those areas, and the deer densities there are much higher than we would like.”
Countywide, the deer population is high, Eppink said. He added Summit County has consistently ranked in the top five locations in the state for deer-auto collisions.
“They don’t have any natural predators here in Ohio,” Eppink said. “Wolves are no longer in the state and haven’t been for 100 years. The deer have learned to live among people.”
The large population also has led the animals to seek out food they wouldn’t normally choose, such as shrubs and birdseed.
“When density levels get to the level they are, not only do deer-vehicle collisions increase, but they are a threat to biodiversity,” Eppink said.
article continues at original site
Source: http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-community-news.asp?aID=2963
Saturday, July 19, 2008
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: College Campus Deer Cull
SWARTHMORE - The borough is moving forward with securing agreements with Swarthmore College before a deer culling can take place on campus.
The cull, which will be conducted by professionals, may be scheduled during the college's 2008-09 winter break.
Information on the college's Web site indicates the idea resulted from a 2003 recommendation made to the Crum Woods Stewardship Committee.
Formed in 2001, the committee worked with Natural Lands Trust and Continental Conservation on a plan that would protect and restore the woods, which span the borough and Nether Providence.
Among the recommendations of the stewardship plan was the need to control the deer population living in and depleting the woods. The proposal was made to college's board of managers and brought before the public within the last seven months, resulting in the decision to approve the cull.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/5p3l5n
The cull, which will be conducted by professionals, may be scheduled during the college's 2008-09 winter break.
Information on the college's Web site indicates the idea resulted from a 2003 recommendation made to the Crum Woods Stewardship Committee.
Formed in 2001, the committee worked with Natural Lands Trust and Continental Conservation on a plan that would protect and restore the woods, which span the borough and Nether Providence.
Among the recommendations of the stewardship plan was the need to control the deer population living in and depleting the woods. The proposal was made to college's board of managers and brought before the public within the last seven months, resulting in the decision to approve the cull.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/5p3l5n
Friday, June 27, 2008
MISSOURI NEWS: Floods Move Deer on to Highway
Motorists were urged to watch for fleeing deer on Highway 370 Wednesday as sprawling floodwaters invaded the animals' natural habitat.
On Tuesday night, the Missouri Department of Transportation shut down Highway 370 between the exits for Elm Street in St. Charles and Truman Boulevard/Cave Springs Road in St. Peters after deer were wandering onto the highway and being struck by vehicles.
The highway was reopened at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.MoDOT officials said they could close the highway a few more nights as flooding of the Mississippi River continues.
"We're going to evaluate the situation to determine whether or not we will close the highway again," MoDOT Engineer Jim Gremaud said Wednesday. "Deer don't move during the day and if the deer move a lot at night we will close it."
Gremaud said the Missouri State Highway Patrol had reported about nine incidents Tuesday in which deer had been hit.
"That's a very high number of deer accidents and that's what makes this a hazard," he said. "We don't want to put motorists at undue risk."
Lisa Bedian, a spokeswoman for the city of St. Peters, said city officials contacted emergency crews after noticing deer flocking to toward the highway.
The city owns a 300-acre park just north of the highway called Lakeside 370. A 140-acre lake is the park's centerpiece, which also includes wetland areas that have become home to at least two herds of deer.
"We are keeping updates on our city Web site and are trying not to disturb the deer living at Lakeside 370," she said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/3rjlwm
On Tuesday night, the Missouri Department of Transportation shut down Highway 370 between the exits for Elm Street in St. Charles and Truman Boulevard/Cave Springs Road in St. Peters after deer were wandering onto the highway and being struck by vehicles.
The highway was reopened at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.MoDOT officials said they could close the highway a few more nights as flooding of the Mississippi River continues.
"We're going to evaluate the situation to determine whether or not we will close the highway again," MoDOT Engineer Jim Gremaud said Wednesday. "Deer don't move during the day and if the deer move a lot at night we will close it."
Gremaud said the Missouri State Highway Patrol had reported about nine incidents Tuesday in which deer had been hit.
"That's a very high number of deer accidents and that's what makes this a hazard," he said. "We don't want to put motorists at undue risk."
Lisa Bedian, a spokeswoman for the city of St. Peters, said city officials contacted emergency crews after noticing deer flocking to toward the highway.
The city owns a 300-acre park just north of the highway called Lakeside 370. A 140-acre lake is the park's centerpiece, which also includes wetland areas that have become home to at least two herds of deer.
"We are keeping updates on our city Web site and are trying not to disturb the deer living at Lakeside 370," she said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/3rjlwm
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
SOUTH DAKOTA NEWS: Record Deer Harvest in 2007
According to harvest surveys compiled by the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department, last year saw the all-time highest recorded deer harvest in the state and it was the eighth straight year that deer harvest has increased.
GFP Game Harvest Survey Coordinator Corey Huxoll said that estimates indicate approximately 70,000 white-tailed deer and 17,000 mule deer were harvested during the 2007 hunting seasons, for a total of more than 87,000 deer. That is a slight increase of about 300 deer from 2006 and a significant increase of more than 41,000 deer since 1999.
"We have harvest records back to 1929, a time when deer hunting was only allowed in the Black Hills, and never have hunters harvested as many deer as they did in 2007," Huxoll said. "Continued increases in the number of licenses available, the number an individual hunter could possess, season dates which include the harvest of antlerless deer only, and a decrease in the fees for antlerless licenses have combined to result in the increase over the last few years."
Overall harvest success has declined in recent years to 48 percent from 54 percent in 2005, but remains relatively high despite an increase of more than 20,000 in the number of tags issued. The number of deer tags issued has more than doubled from 88,000 in 1999 to 181,000 in 2007. Most of the harvest increase consisted of whitetail does, which has also more than doubled from 16,500 in 1999 to 36,600 in 2007.
"The decrease in harvest success in some areas is a good sign that the steps taken by the department to reduce the size of the deer population are having the desired effect," Huxoll said.
"However, the department remains cautious regarding backing off on the pressure that has been applied to reduce and control the population in recent years. Some areas of the state will likely see reductions in tag numbers in 2008, but other areas will likely increase or remain steady."
The 2007 Big Game Harvest Projections Report is complete and can be accessed through the GFP website at http://www.sdgfp.info in the "What's New" section, or it can be requested by mail or in person in printed form from the Pierre office at 523 E. Capitol Ave.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/4mos9t
GFP Game Harvest Survey Coordinator Corey Huxoll said that estimates indicate approximately 70,000 white-tailed deer and 17,000 mule deer were harvested during the 2007 hunting seasons, for a total of more than 87,000 deer. That is a slight increase of about 300 deer from 2006 and a significant increase of more than 41,000 deer since 1999.
"We have harvest records back to 1929, a time when deer hunting was only allowed in the Black Hills, and never have hunters harvested as many deer as they did in 2007," Huxoll said. "Continued increases in the number of licenses available, the number an individual hunter could possess, season dates which include the harvest of antlerless deer only, and a decrease in the fees for antlerless licenses have combined to result in the increase over the last few years."
Overall harvest success has declined in recent years to 48 percent from 54 percent in 2005, but remains relatively high despite an increase of more than 20,000 in the number of tags issued. The number of deer tags issued has more than doubled from 88,000 in 1999 to 181,000 in 2007. Most of the harvest increase consisted of whitetail does, which has also more than doubled from 16,500 in 1999 to 36,600 in 2007.
"The decrease in harvest success in some areas is a good sign that the steps taken by the department to reduce the size of the deer population are having the desired effect," Huxoll said.
"However, the department remains cautious regarding backing off on the pressure that has been applied to reduce and control the population in recent years. Some areas of the state will likely see reductions in tag numbers in 2008, but other areas will likely increase or remain steady."
The 2007 Big Game Harvest Projections Report is complete and can be accessed through the GFP website at http://www.sdgfp.info in the "What's New" section, or it can be requested by mail or in person in printed form from the Pierre office at 523 E. Capitol Ave.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/4mos9t
Friday, June 06, 2008
NEW ZEALAND NEWS: RFID Tags for All Farmed Deer By 2011
Can the U.S. be far behind? Sadly, yes.
New Zealand's Stuff has reported that by 2011 all cattle and deer on the island nation of four million people are likely to be RFID tagged. The initiative is part of a multimillion dollar allocation by the New Zealand government to strengthen biosecurity protections.
While there are already a dozen RFID trials underway at farms around the country, there is as yet no centralized, national database to track tagged animals. This according to Ian Corney, chair of the National Animal Identification and Tracing project and a farmer himself. Clearly such a database is necessary for livestock tracking to be effective. "What it means, now, is the traceability database can get built and we can get on with the job," Corney was quoted in reference to the new government funding.
Corney indicated that the tagging will be essentially mandatory but that there will not be new legislation for it. "There are several mechanisms that can be worked around," he said.
The total biosecurity allocation is NZ$23.3 million, or roughly US$19 million. The money for the animal tagging will be a subset of that. In addition to containing the outbreak of disease, predicted benefits from the RFID system include improved livestock management for farmers, as well as the ability to present consumers with more information about where their meat comes from.
Cattle are slated to be tagged first, with deer to follow. Depending on the success of the system, other animals could be tagged after that, including sheep (no small feat given the nation's claim that sheep outnumber people ten-to-one).
Source: http://www.rfidupdate.com/news/06052008.html
New Zealand's Stuff has reported that by 2011 all cattle and deer on the island nation of four million people are likely to be RFID tagged. The initiative is part of a multimillion dollar allocation by the New Zealand government to strengthen biosecurity protections.
While there are already a dozen RFID trials underway at farms around the country, there is as yet no centralized, national database to track tagged animals. This according to Ian Corney, chair of the National Animal Identification and Tracing project and a farmer himself. Clearly such a database is necessary for livestock tracking to be effective. "What it means, now, is the traceability database can get built and we can get on with the job," Corney was quoted in reference to the new government funding.
Corney indicated that the tagging will be essentially mandatory but that there will not be new legislation for it. "There are several mechanisms that can be worked around," he said.
The total biosecurity allocation is NZ$23.3 million, or roughly US$19 million. The money for the animal tagging will be a subset of that. In addition to containing the outbreak of disease, predicted benefits from the RFID system include improved livestock management for farmers, as well as the ability to present consumers with more information about where their meat comes from.
Cattle are slated to be tagged first, with deer to follow. Depending on the success of the system, other animals could be tagged after that, including sheep (no small feat given the nation's claim that sheep outnumber people ten-to-one).
Source: http://www.rfidupdate.com/news/06052008.html
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
COLORADO NEWS: Winter Feeding of Elk a "Success"
While 90% of the elk survived the winter, the feeding also weakened the gene pool and increased the population's susceptibility to disease.
KUSA – The Colorado Division of Wildlife is counting last winter's deer feeding program in the Gunnison Valley a tremendous success.
Extremely heavy snow all winter kept deer in the area from reaching normal forage, according to the DOW.
More than 200 DOW volunteers and staff provided food for much of the winter. The cost of the feeding program was approximately $1.5 million.
According to a DOW spokesperson, they were able to feed about 9,600 deer in the valley, saving more than 90 percent of the population.
DOW was unable to reach all the deer in the valley during last winter's heavy snow storms because many were in inaccessible areas.
The number of 2008 fall hunting licenses for doe mule deer will be extremely limited in the Gunnison Valley. DOW is using caution this season to ensure a healthy, stable population of deer.
Division of Wildlife's winter feeding program in the Eagle valley was also a success. Licenses in the Eagle Valley area will not be cut back as dramatically as in the Gunnison Valley.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/489lec
KUSA – The Colorado Division of Wildlife is counting last winter's deer feeding program in the Gunnison Valley a tremendous success.
Extremely heavy snow all winter kept deer in the area from reaching normal forage, according to the DOW.
More than 200 DOW volunteers and staff provided food for much of the winter. The cost of the feeding program was approximately $1.5 million.
According to a DOW spokesperson, they were able to feed about 9,600 deer in the valley, saving more than 90 percent of the population.
DOW was unable to reach all the deer in the valley during last winter's heavy snow storms because many were in inaccessible areas.
The number of 2008 fall hunting licenses for doe mule deer will be extremely limited in the Gunnison Valley. DOW is using caution this season to ensure a healthy, stable population of deer.
Division of Wildlife's winter feeding program in the Eagle valley was also a success. Licenses in the Eagle Valley area will not be cut back as dramatically as in the Gunnison Valley.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/489lec
WYOMING NEWS: Lawsuit Filed to Block Feeding Elk
Environmentalists filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in an effort to stop a federal wildlife refuge in Wyoming from continuing its longtime practice of feeding wild elk. They say such feeding could lead to or worsen an outbreak of chronic wasting disease in the large wildlife populations around Yellowstone National Park.
Chronic wasting disease causes brain lesions in elk and deer that result in neurological damage and death. Animals with the disease must be killed to avoid spreading it, but there is no evidence it can be passed to humans by exposure although more research is being done.
Discovered in a Colorado research facility in the 1960s, chronic wasting disease has forced biologists to kill hundreds of infected wild deer from Wisconsin to Wyoming and thousands of others that are not infected to keep the disease from spreading.
Chronic wasting disease has been found just 70 or so miles from the ecosystem that includes the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyo., and Yellowstone National Park, worrying environmentalists that it could sicken and kill animals in and around the park.
Wildlife biologists warn that feeding the animals that crowd together at the National Elk Refuge and at 22 other state feeding grounds in Wyoming is likely to worsen any outbreak of chronic wasting disease. Conditions at feed lots increase disease rates up to 10 times those found in the wild because diseases are passed rapidly among animals in close contact.
“If you crowd animals together, you’ll increase the probability of transmission,” said Markus Peterson, a wildlife-disease scientist from Texas A&M University. “They really need to rethink the feeding of elk in Wyoming.”
Environmentalists and others say the crowding of elk into the refuge at Jackson has sharply altered natural conditions. About 8,300 elk winter there.
“Basically, we’ve got way too many animals on too small an area for too long a time,” said Barry Reiswig, a retired refuge manager who now lives near Cody, Wyo. “They’re way over the elk refuge’s carrying capacity.”
The refuge’s current manager, Steve Kallin, said he had not seen the lawsuit. Asked about concern that feeding the elk could foster disease, Mr. Kallin said, “We’re looking at managing to minimize that potential.”
Wyoming’s economy would be affected by ending the feeding of elk at the refuge, which has become a tourist attraction. Last winter more than 25,000 people paid $16 each to ride on sleighs pulled by horses among herds of elk on snow-covered landscapes. In addition, ranchers do not want hungry wild elk competing with their cattle for food, and hunting outfitters want assurances that plenty of animals will be available for their clients to stalk.
The adjacent states of Montana and Idaho have banned the feeding of elk because of the risk of disease. Environmentalists said a plan completed by the refuge in 2007 acknowledged the seriousness of the threat, but did not recommend ending the feeding, which began a century ago during a harsh winter, to keep the elk from starvation.
If prions, the agents that cause chronic wasting disease, were to sweep through the refuge, experts say, they could live in the soil for decades and force the 25,000-acre refuge to close.
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., by Earthjustice, on behalf of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Wyoming Outdoor Council and the National Wildlife Refuge Association, was against only the National Elk Refuge, and not the State of Wyoming, because the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act requires that wildlife refuges be managed in a way that keeps the land and wildlife healthy. The law does not apply to state-managed wildlife.
Signs of other diseases that are spread more quickly through crowding, like brucellosis, scabies and hoof rot are present in the refuge, environmentalists say. Brucellosis, which causes cattle to abort their young, has been a particular problem in the Great Yellowstone Ecosystem. In Wyoming and Idaho the disease has been passed from elk or bison to cattle.
source: http://tinyurl.com/3hopp6
Chronic wasting disease causes brain lesions in elk and deer that result in neurological damage and death. Animals with the disease must be killed to avoid spreading it, but there is no evidence it can be passed to humans by exposure although more research is being done.
Discovered in a Colorado research facility in the 1960s, chronic wasting disease has forced biologists to kill hundreds of infected wild deer from Wisconsin to Wyoming and thousands of others that are not infected to keep the disease from spreading.
Chronic wasting disease has been found just 70 or so miles from the ecosystem that includes the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyo., and Yellowstone National Park, worrying environmentalists that it could sicken and kill animals in and around the park.
Wildlife biologists warn that feeding the animals that crowd together at the National Elk Refuge and at 22 other state feeding grounds in Wyoming is likely to worsen any outbreak of chronic wasting disease. Conditions at feed lots increase disease rates up to 10 times those found in the wild because diseases are passed rapidly among animals in close contact.
“If you crowd animals together, you’ll increase the probability of transmission,” said Markus Peterson, a wildlife-disease scientist from Texas A&M University. “They really need to rethink the feeding of elk in Wyoming.”
Environmentalists and others say the crowding of elk into the refuge at Jackson has sharply altered natural conditions. About 8,300 elk winter there.
“Basically, we’ve got way too many animals on too small an area for too long a time,” said Barry Reiswig, a retired refuge manager who now lives near Cody, Wyo. “They’re way over the elk refuge’s carrying capacity.”
The refuge’s current manager, Steve Kallin, said he had not seen the lawsuit. Asked about concern that feeding the elk could foster disease, Mr. Kallin said, “We’re looking at managing to minimize that potential.”
Wyoming’s economy would be affected by ending the feeding of elk at the refuge, which has become a tourist attraction. Last winter more than 25,000 people paid $16 each to ride on sleighs pulled by horses among herds of elk on snow-covered landscapes. In addition, ranchers do not want hungry wild elk competing with their cattle for food, and hunting outfitters want assurances that plenty of animals will be available for their clients to stalk.
The adjacent states of Montana and Idaho have banned the feeding of elk because of the risk of disease. Environmentalists said a plan completed by the refuge in 2007 acknowledged the seriousness of the threat, but did not recommend ending the feeding, which began a century ago during a harsh winter, to keep the elk from starvation.
If prions, the agents that cause chronic wasting disease, were to sweep through the refuge, experts say, they could live in the soil for decades and force the 25,000-acre refuge to close.
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., by Earthjustice, on behalf of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Wyoming Outdoor Council and the National Wildlife Refuge Association, was against only the National Elk Refuge, and not the State of Wyoming, because the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act requires that wildlife refuges be managed in a way that keeps the land and wildlife healthy. The law does not apply to state-managed wildlife.
Signs of other diseases that are spread more quickly through crowding, like brucellosis, scabies and hoof rot are present in the refuge, environmentalists say. Brucellosis, which causes cattle to abort their young, has been a particular problem in the Great Yellowstone Ecosystem. In Wyoming and Idaho the disease has been passed from elk or bison to cattle.
source: http://tinyurl.com/3hopp6
MASSACHUSETTS NEWS: Deer in the Suburbs
Joanne Whooten knew deer had been near her Middleboro home this past winter by looking at the shrubs on her front lawn.
“The deer came and they ate them,” said Whooten, 46, a Purchade Street resident. “They ate the buds right off of them.”
The deer population in southeastern Massachusetts has more than doubled in the past decade, wildlife officials say, and it is showing up in nibbled shrubs, chewed up vegetable gardens and more close calls and collisions for motorists.
“We get it all the time,” said Philip Wyman, owner of Wyman’s Nursery in Hanson.
“People come in with the branch of a shrub that’s obviously been eaten by a deer,” he said. “They say, ‘I don’t have deer in my yard. I don’t live in the woods.’ But that’s what it is.”
The goal of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is a deer population of 15 to 20 deer per square mile in Bristol and Plymouth counties. But estimates from the 2007 hunting season place the area’s deer population at between 20 and 25 deer per square mile, with some areas as high as 30 per square mile. Brockton, Abington, Hanover, Whitman, Rockland, Taunton and Norton are all on the higher end of that range, said Jason Zimmer, southeast district supervisor for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Overall, deer populations are down from the all-time highs reached in 2005, but development, a declining number of hunters and more restrictions on people who do hunt are keeping the populations up.
“It’s been getting much worse,” Wyman said. “People around here are seeing a lot more deer.”
In some other parts of the state, hunting has kept the deer population in check. But residential development in this region has reduced wooded areas, where hunting is easier and more efficient.
Additionally, several towns have enacted recent firearm laws that have further restricted hunting.
In 2006, Brockton city councilors tabled a proposed ordinance that would have banned bow hunting, one of the primary ways to manage the deer population.
“It’s sometimes more trouble than it’s worth to hunt around here, and to me, it’s a straight line between that and the deer problem,” said William Hart, Pembroke’s animal control officer and an avid hunter.
Nature may also be playing a role this time of year. May and June are fawn season, when the doe population is especially active.
Without a revival of hunting in southeastern Massachusetts, the deer population will likely remain high, wildlife officials said.
The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife will present its recommendations next month to the Fish and Game Board, which will allocate hunting permits for the 2008 season.
State wildlife officials do not expect drastic changes from last year, when 9,300 antlerless-deer permits were issued.
Meanwhile, doctors treating suspected cases of Lyme disease are also on the lookout for other tick-borne diseases — babesiosis and anaplasmosis — that are on the rise as the local deer population increases.
“When we try to inform doctors about tick-borne diseases, we mention all three,” said Dr. Bela Matyas, medical director of epidemiology for the state Department of Public Health.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/59g8ak
“The deer came and they ate them,” said Whooten, 46, a Purchade Street resident. “They ate the buds right off of them.”
The deer population in southeastern Massachusetts has more than doubled in the past decade, wildlife officials say, and it is showing up in nibbled shrubs, chewed up vegetable gardens and more close calls and collisions for motorists.
“We get it all the time,” said Philip Wyman, owner of Wyman’s Nursery in Hanson.
“People come in with the branch of a shrub that’s obviously been eaten by a deer,” he said. “They say, ‘I don’t have deer in my yard. I don’t live in the woods.’ But that’s what it is.”
The goal of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is a deer population of 15 to 20 deer per square mile in Bristol and Plymouth counties. But estimates from the 2007 hunting season place the area’s deer population at between 20 and 25 deer per square mile, with some areas as high as 30 per square mile. Brockton, Abington, Hanover, Whitman, Rockland, Taunton and Norton are all on the higher end of that range, said Jason Zimmer, southeast district supervisor for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Overall, deer populations are down from the all-time highs reached in 2005, but development, a declining number of hunters and more restrictions on people who do hunt are keeping the populations up.
“It’s been getting much worse,” Wyman said. “People around here are seeing a lot more deer.”
In some other parts of the state, hunting has kept the deer population in check. But residential development in this region has reduced wooded areas, where hunting is easier and more efficient.
Additionally, several towns have enacted recent firearm laws that have further restricted hunting.
In 2006, Brockton city councilors tabled a proposed ordinance that would have banned bow hunting, one of the primary ways to manage the deer population.
“It’s sometimes more trouble than it’s worth to hunt around here, and to me, it’s a straight line between that and the deer problem,” said William Hart, Pembroke’s animal control officer and an avid hunter.
Nature may also be playing a role this time of year. May and June are fawn season, when the doe population is especially active.
Without a revival of hunting in southeastern Massachusetts, the deer population will likely remain high, wildlife officials said.
The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife will present its recommendations next month to the Fish and Game Board, which will allocate hunting permits for the 2008 season.
State wildlife officials do not expect drastic changes from last year, when 9,300 antlerless-deer permits were issued.
Meanwhile, doctors treating suspected cases of Lyme disease are also on the lookout for other tick-borne diseases — babesiosis and anaplasmosis — that are on the rise as the local deer population increases.
“When we try to inform doctors about tick-borne diseases, we mention all three,” said Dr. Bela Matyas, medical director of epidemiology for the state Department of Public Health.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/59g8ak
Thursday, May 22, 2008
NEW BRUNSWICK NEWS: Significant Winter Deer Mortality in 2008
Fewer deer hunting licences will be available this year because of the high mortality rate for deer over the winter, says the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources.
About 25,000 deer died over the winter months in New Brunswick, because of starvation, predation and collisions with cars, said Rod Cumberland, a biologist with the department.
About a quarter of the province's deer population died during the winter, Cumberland said.
In the north, where the most snow fell, the mortality rate reached about 34 per cent, he said.
The heavy snow cover in the province made it difficult for deer to find food, and the crusty snow conditions made them easy prey for predators, Cumberland said.
The mortality rate is about double the usual figure for a winter in the province, he said, which means the province will offer fewer hunting licences for deer.
"Two-thirds of the province will see a decline in their licences," he said. "They might even be as scarce as hen's teeth in some places."
Regulating the number of licences, especially for does, will give the herd time to recuperate from the winter's losses, he said.
"It minimizes what we take as hunters, so the herd can get a jump start and start growing again in some of these areas where we'd like to see more deer."
It will take about two years for the province's deer herd to recover from the winter, Cumberland said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/6axf9g
About 25,000 deer died over the winter months in New Brunswick, because of starvation, predation and collisions with cars, said Rod Cumberland, a biologist with the department.
About a quarter of the province's deer population died during the winter, Cumberland said.
In the north, where the most snow fell, the mortality rate reached about 34 per cent, he said.
The heavy snow cover in the province made it difficult for deer to find food, and the crusty snow conditions made them easy prey for predators, Cumberland said.
The mortality rate is about double the usual figure for a winter in the province, he said, which means the province will offer fewer hunting licences for deer.
"Two-thirds of the province will see a decline in their licences," he said. "They might even be as scarce as hen's teeth in some places."
Regulating the number of licences, especially for does, will give the herd time to recuperate from the winter's losses, he said.
"It minimizes what we take as hunters, so the herd can get a jump start and start growing again in some of these areas where we'd like to see more deer."
It will take about two years for the province's deer herd to recover from the winter, Cumberland said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/6axf9g
UK NEWS: Muntjac Cull at Bardney's Limewoods
A TWO-DAY deer cull took place in Bardney's Limewoods, including Chambers Farm Wood in early April, the Forestry Commission revealed. It was part of a county wide ongoing operation.
A spokesperson for the Forestry Commission said: “The aim for this species is to create a sustainable and healthy deer population.“
“If left unchecked, increasing deer numbers would cause significant damage to the biodiversity of our woodlands Muntjac deer in particular uproot wildflowers, like bluebells, and over time destroy the flora of ancient woodlands like Chambers.”
Wildlife ranger Malcolm Armstrong said the growing population of deer was endangering certain species of plant in woodland across the county.
He said reports of road accidents involving deer were also increasing.
"There's certain plants that grow in here that deer favour, so when the deer population expands they are going to eat those plants out of existence.”
Mr Armstrong, who is also head of field operations for the Lincolnshire Deer Group, said the cull would be ongoing and carried out by qualified marksmen.
"Shooting is by far the most humane method," he said.
Mr Armstrong said an ongoing cull was also expected to take place next year.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/4n2uq3
A spokesperson for the Forestry Commission said: “The aim for this species is to create a sustainable and healthy deer population.“
“If left unchecked, increasing deer numbers would cause significant damage to the biodiversity of our woodlands Muntjac deer in particular uproot wildflowers, like bluebells, and over time destroy the flora of ancient woodlands like Chambers.”
Wildlife ranger Malcolm Armstrong said the growing population of deer was endangering certain species of plant in woodland across the county.
He said reports of road accidents involving deer were also increasing.
"There's certain plants that grow in here that deer favour, so when the deer population expands they are going to eat those plants out of existence.”
Mr Armstrong, who is also head of field operations for the Lincolnshire Deer Group, said the cull would be ongoing and carried out by qualified marksmen.
"Shooting is by far the most humane method," he said.
Mr Armstrong said an ongoing cull was also expected to take place next year.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/4n2uq3
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
NEW JERSEY NEWS: Arboretum Considers $142000 Deer Fence
Erecting a deer fence completely around the 22-acre Shaw Arboretum at Holmdel Park may not be neighbor-friendly or cost-efficient, members of the Monmouth County Board of Recreation Commissioners said at their meeting at Tatum Park on Monday night.
The project will cost at least $142,000 based on bids that have been received, but the board is not expected to take action until its June 9 meeting.
The proposal was spurred by increasing amounts of damage caused by deer to expensive specimen trees donated to the arboretum local arborists, said Bruce A. Gollnick, assistant director of the parks.
"We're not interested in putting up fences. We don't like it," Gollnick said. "Fences cost money, they cause problems, they need repairs."
A handful of residents have communicated concerns about the placement of a 10-foot-high fence near their properties, though board Chairman Edward Loud said he believes that issue has been exaggerated.
"If I wasn't looking for it, I wouldn't see it," Loud said of the proposed fence.
But other commissioners pushed for more study of the matter.
"Is it necessary to encapsulate the entire area and spend that kind of money?" Commissioner N. Britt Raynor asked, while fellow board member Michael G. Harmon said such fences tend to corral creatures — not only deer — that enter the fenced property at gate openings but can't escape.
"I'm not sure that fencing in 22 acres is not overreaching," Harmon said. "I also think we do what we can to be good neighbors. I don't think somebody who lives right next to the property should need to get in their car and drive all the way around to an entry point. We also push the deer onto nearby properties if we use the fence."
The $142,000 price was the lower of two bids opened last Friday. It was submitted by Accent Fence Inc. of Egg Harbor City; the other bid was a $202,000 offer from National Fence Systems Inc. of Woodbridge.
The fence would stretch about 1,650 feet. The park system in 2003 spent more than $180,000 to fence the 52-acre Deep Cut Gardens in Middletown.
The arboretum is named for David C. Shaw, former superintendent of the Shade Tree Commission. According to the Monmouth County government Web site, the arboretum was started in 1963 with plantings of crab apples, cherries and hollies, and the area now contains nearly 3,000 trees and shrubs.
Park system officials said future donations of materials could be withheld if steps aren't taken to protect the existing stock.
Source: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/NEWS01/805210427
The project will cost at least $142,000 based on bids that have been received, but the board is not expected to take action until its June 9 meeting.
The proposal was spurred by increasing amounts of damage caused by deer to expensive specimen trees donated to the arboretum local arborists, said Bruce A. Gollnick, assistant director of the parks.
"We're not interested in putting up fences. We don't like it," Gollnick said. "Fences cost money, they cause problems, they need repairs."
A handful of residents have communicated concerns about the placement of a 10-foot-high fence near their properties, though board Chairman Edward Loud said he believes that issue has been exaggerated.
"If I wasn't looking for it, I wouldn't see it," Loud said of the proposed fence.
But other commissioners pushed for more study of the matter.
"Is it necessary to encapsulate the entire area and spend that kind of money?" Commissioner N. Britt Raynor asked, while fellow board member Michael G. Harmon said such fences tend to corral creatures — not only deer — that enter the fenced property at gate openings but can't escape.
"I'm not sure that fencing in 22 acres is not overreaching," Harmon said. "I also think we do what we can to be good neighbors. I don't think somebody who lives right next to the property should need to get in their car and drive all the way around to an entry point. We also push the deer onto nearby properties if we use the fence."
The $142,000 price was the lower of two bids opened last Friday. It was submitted by Accent Fence Inc. of Egg Harbor City; the other bid was a $202,000 offer from National Fence Systems Inc. of Woodbridge.
The fence would stretch about 1,650 feet. The park system in 2003 spent more than $180,000 to fence the 52-acre Deep Cut Gardens in Middletown.
The arboretum is named for David C. Shaw, former superintendent of the Shade Tree Commission. According to the Monmouth County government Web site, the arboretum was started in 1963 with plantings of crab apples, cherries and hollies, and the area now contains nearly 3,000 trees and shrubs.
Park system officials said future donations of materials could be withheld if steps aren't taken to protect the existing stock.
Source: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/NEWS01/805210427
UK NEWS: Muntjac Deer Cull Underway in Lincolnshire
Hundreds of deer will be killed across Lincolnshire in a bid to control the population.
Malcolm Armstrong, a wildlife ranger for the Forestry Commission and head of field operations for the Lincolnshire Deer Group, said the cull would be ongoing and be carried out by qualified marksmen.
He said: "Culls have always happened in the area but deer are becoming more and more prevalent in Lincolnshire."
Around 200 deer are usually killed in Lincolnshire every year in an attempt to manage populations but this year's total may be higher.
A one-off cull in April has already seen the killing of 41 deer.
The small muntjac deer browse on low-lying plant life and have been damaging populations of bluebells and wild orchids.
Mr Armstrong said: "Muntjac really like to eat low ground plants and that really creates a problem with the flora and fauna in some woods.
"If populations get really high then rather than deer being a cute animal that people want to see they can become a pest.
"If the general deer population gets too large then they can start to pick up diseases and we need to strike a balance in management."
Muntjac deer thrive in temperate conditions and have become increasingly common in England due to climatic change and warmer winters.
Any deer killed in the operations will be sold on for human consumption.
To find out more about the cull of Lincolnshire deer, see Wednesday's Echo.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/4yj9nw
Malcolm Armstrong, a wildlife ranger for the Forestry Commission and head of field operations for the Lincolnshire Deer Group, said the cull would be ongoing and be carried out by qualified marksmen.
He said: "Culls have always happened in the area but deer are becoming more and more prevalent in Lincolnshire."
Around 200 deer are usually killed in Lincolnshire every year in an attempt to manage populations but this year's total may be higher.
A one-off cull in April has already seen the killing of 41 deer.
The small muntjac deer browse on low-lying plant life and have been damaging populations of bluebells and wild orchids.
Mr Armstrong said: "Muntjac really like to eat low ground plants and that really creates a problem with the flora and fauna in some woods.
"If populations get really high then rather than deer being a cute animal that people want to see they can become a pest.
"If the general deer population gets too large then they can start to pick up diseases and we need to strike a balance in management."
Muntjac deer thrive in temperate conditions and have become increasingly common in England due to climatic change and warmer winters.
Any deer killed in the operations will be sold on for human consumption.
To find out more about the cull of Lincolnshire deer, see Wednesday's Echo.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/4yj9nw
HOW TO: Build A Deer-Proof Fence For Your Garden
When I moved to our property on Farm To Market Road in Whitefish, Montana, I chose to build a deer-proof fence to last 100 years. Though there is a path around the outside liberally sprinkled with deer dropping, no deer have gotten in for the past seven years. And I did it all myself.
Materials
Field fencing (4 ft. high hog wire)
5 six inch pieces of iron pipe, 10 ft long
Fencing pliers
Roll of smooth wire
Cement and sand/gravel mix
Fence post digger
Chain link gate, or one made from pipe and wire
Drill for hinge attachment
Fence stretcher
Coffee cans
L Bolt for hinge
T posts, 10 ft tall
1. Dig holes 2-3 feet deep (to frost line) at the corners of your garden, and one extra for a gatepost.
2. Mix cement as directed on the package with sand and gravel.
3. Insert the iron pipe into the holes, plumb with a strong and plumb bob.
4. Fill with cement mixture and let set for a couple of days.
5. Run a string between your posts and measure every 8 to 10 feet for placement of T-bars.
6. Pound the T-bars for a 2-foot depth, in line between the iron posts (I stood on the truck cab to do this).
7. Cut vertical cross wires out of two feet of the end of your field fencing.
8. Starting at the bottom, wrap horizontal wires around the post. Secure by twisting ends of wire around the first vertical wire tightly.
9. Unroll wire past the T posts to the gate and corner posts.
10. Attach a fence stretcher to the wire to tighten it along the fence posts, or pull with an attachment to your truck, or use a come along. Attach stretched fencing to the posts with wire fencing clips.
11. On fence corners, use smooth wire to attach each horizontal strand to the pipe.
12. At the end post, cut off vertical cross wires for two feet of horizontal wire to wrap and twist around the end post for secure fastening.
13. Repeat for the top 4 feet of field fence.
14. Wire top to the bottom strands by weaving smooth wire between the middle edges of the two fencing pieces.
15. Fit gate between the gate and corner post. Position so it is 6" off the ground for snow clearance and possible sagging.
16. Mark the hinge placement of the gatepost. Drill holes straight through the gatepost, and fit with a long L shaped bolt that can be tightened on the far side of the gatepost.
17. Use commercial chain link attachments or fit pipe gate with pipe clamps to hook onto the hinge.
Source: http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-65-70-1558,00.html
Materials
Field fencing (4 ft. high hog wire)
5 six inch pieces of iron pipe, 10 ft long
Fencing pliers
Roll of smooth wire
Cement and sand/gravel mix
Fence post digger
Chain link gate, or one made from pipe and wire
Drill for hinge attachment
Fence stretcher
Coffee cans
L Bolt for hinge
T posts, 10 ft tall
1. Dig holes 2-3 feet deep (to frost line) at the corners of your garden, and one extra for a gatepost.
2. Mix cement as directed on the package with sand and gravel.
3. Insert the iron pipe into the holes, plumb with a strong and plumb bob.
4. Fill with cement mixture and let set for a couple of days.
5. Run a string between your posts and measure every 8 to 10 feet for placement of T-bars.
6. Pound the T-bars for a 2-foot depth, in line between the iron posts (I stood on the truck cab to do this).
7. Cut vertical cross wires out of two feet of the end of your field fencing.
8. Starting at the bottom, wrap horizontal wires around the post. Secure by twisting ends of wire around the first vertical wire tightly.
9. Unroll wire past the T posts to the gate and corner posts.
10. Attach a fence stretcher to the wire to tighten it along the fence posts, or pull with an attachment to your truck, or use a come along. Attach stretched fencing to the posts with wire fencing clips.
11. On fence corners, use smooth wire to attach each horizontal strand to the pipe.
12. At the end post, cut off vertical cross wires for two feet of horizontal wire to wrap and twist around the end post for secure fastening.
13. Repeat for the top 4 feet of field fence.
14. Wire top to the bottom strands by weaving smooth wire between the middle edges of the two fencing pieces.
15. Fit gate between the gate and corner post. Position so it is 6" off the ground for snow clearance and possible sagging.
16. Mark the hinge placement of the gatepost. Drill holes straight through the gatepost, and fit with a long L shaped bolt that can be tightened on the far side of the gatepost.
17. Use commercial chain link attachments or fit pipe gate with pipe clamps to hook onto the hinge.
Source: http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-65-70-1558,00.html
Monday, May 19, 2008
IOWA NEWS: Sustained Cull Reduces Urban Deer in Dubuque
Urban deer-population surveys are inexact science, but the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Commission will present its deer-management plan to the Dubuque City Council on Monday with some good news.
The aerial count conducted in February recorded the fewest deer in the city limits since the bow-hunting program began in 1998, at 219. That figure comes after an unusually high number in 2007, when 466 deer were counted.
Greg Harris, wildlife depredation biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, monitors the aerial surveys in eastern Iowa. He said counts are down or stable everywhere except Muscatine, which saw a spike.
"It's nice to see the numbers down, but you can't explain it by the harvest," Harris said. "There are other factors involved and habitat destruction is one. That's something you can see through the air."
Harris also said the bitter winter probably forced deer to travel farther afield.
"If they're starving and there are food sources outside the city, they will move, and (they) won't move back in right away," Harris said.
The Dubuque City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Historic Federal Building, 350 West Sixth St. "Those does will drift back in."
The bow hunt, which opens in late October and runs through late January, targets does to control population growth. The city's goal is to stabilize the population below 20 deer per square mile. While that measure is often met north of U.S. 20, it hasn't been accomplished south of that line. According to Harris, reaching that "magic number" isn't of high importance.
"The better goal to shoot for is a reduction in damage and in deer/vehicle accidents," Harris said.
Mary Rose Corrigan, public health specialist for the city of Dubuque, reports deer/vehicle crashes dropped significantly in 2007 to 29. There were 48 in 2006, which bucked a trend of fewer accidents in recent years. From 1998 to 2001, deer/vehicle crashes averaged in the 40s, Corrigan said.
The city is divided into 12 deer-management zones. Harris said two zones that regularly have the highest deer concentrations also have some larger-property owners that don't allow hunters. One area encompasses nearly 2,100 acres in the northeast corner of the city, south of John Deere Dubuque Works and east of Central Avenue. The other is 536 acres south of U.S. 20, mostly between Fremont Avenue and Cedar Cross Road.
"The bottom line is there is always going to be a problem because of private-property rights," Harris said. "It would be easier if everyone allowed the hunters in, but that doesn't happen in rural areas, so it sure isn't going to happen in the city.
He said the key to population control is consistency.
"Once you start hunting, you can't stop. Let's say you hit this man-made magical number of 20 per mile and let up for a couple of years -- you're right back to square one. We come up with these parameters and want to fit wildlife into them. Wildlife doesn't play by man's rules."
Source: http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=202217
The aerial count conducted in February recorded the fewest deer in the city limits since the bow-hunting program began in 1998, at 219. That figure comes after an unusually high number in 2007, when 466 deer were counted.
Greg Harris, wildlife depredation biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, monitors the aerial surveys in eastern Iowa. He said counts are down or stable everywhere except Muscatine, which saw a spike.
"It's nice to see the numbers down, but you can't explain it by the harvest," Harris said. "There are other factors involved and habitat destruction is one. That's something you can see through the air."
Harris also said the bitter winter probably forced deer to travel farther afield.
"If they're starving and there are food sources outside the city, they will move, and (they) won't move back in right away," Harris said.
The Dubuque City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Historic Federal Building, 350 West Sixth St. "Those does will drift back in."
The bow hunt, which opens in late October and runs through late January, targets does to control population growth. The city's goal is to stabilize the population below 20 deer per square mile. While that measure is often met north of U.S. 20, it hasn't been accomplished south of that line. According to Harris, reaching that "magic number" isn't of high importance.
"The better goal to shoot for is a reduction in damage and in deer/vehicle accidents," Harris said.
Mary Rose Corrigan, public health specialist for the city of Dubuque, reports deer/vehicle crashes dropped significantly in 2007 to 29. There were 48 in 2006, which bucked a trend of fewer accidents in recent years. From 1998 to 2001, deer/vehicle crashes averaged in the 40s, Corrigan said.
The city is divided into 12 deer-management zones. Harris said two zones that regularly have the highest deer concentrations also have some larger-property owners that don't allow hunters. One area encompasses nearly 2,100 acres in the northeast corner of the city, south of John Deere Dubuque Works and east of Central Avenue. The other is 536 acres south of U.S. 20, mostly between Fremont Avenue and Cedar Cross Road.
"The bottom line is there is always going to be a problem because of private-property rights," Harris said. "It would be easier if everyone allowed the hunters in, but that doesn't happen in rural areas, so it sure isn't going to happen in the city.
He said the key to population control is consistency.
"Once you start hunting, you can't stop. Let's say you hit this man-made magical number of 20 per mile and let up for a couple of years -- you're right back to square one. We come up with these parameters and want to fit wildlife into them. Wildlife doesn't play by man's rules."
Source: http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=202217
Thursday, May 15, 2008
WISCONSIN NEWS: City Bans Deer Feeding
OSHKOSH, Wis. - Oshkosh residents can no longer feed deer in the city.
The Oshkosh Common Council approved a ban on deer feeding Tuesday in an effort to discourage deer from entering urban areas.
People caught feeding deer can be fined nearly $220, when court costs are added to a base fine of $75.
Council members agreed to seek other suggestions for detering deer from the residents and the Humane Society of the United States. They also are looking at killing some deer in the fall or early winter.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/6r94qx
The Oshkosh Common Council approved a ban on deer feeding Tuesday in an effort to discourage deer from entering urban areas.
People caught feeding deer can be fined nearly $220, when court costs are added to a base fine of $75.
Council members agreed to seek other suggestions for detering deer from the residents and the Humane Society of the United States. They also are looking at killing some deer in the fall or early winter.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/6r94qx
MINNESOTA NEWS: Over 1200 Deer Killed in TB Cull
A total of 1,207 deer were killed by state and federal sharpshooters, hunters and landowners the past six months in bovine tuberculosis-infected northwest Minnesota, the state Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday.
The sharpshooting effort to remove deer started in February and ended Friday, the DNR said. Free-ranging deer, believed to be carriers of bovine TB to cattle, were targets of removal since the deer-hunting season closed last fall.
The concentrated bovine TB area for deer removal is basically northwest Beltrami County and southeast Roseau County, in the Skime area.
Brad Swenson Archive The deer population in the 164-square-mile core of the bovine TB disease management area was estimated at 800 animals during an aerial survey conducted in January before sharpshooting efforts began, the DNR said. Aerial sharpshooters took 416 deer and ground sharpshooters took 546 deer in and near the core area, bringing the 2008 sharpshooting total to 962 animals.
During the regular deer seasons, 1,449 deer were harvested in the bovine TB deer permit area, the DNR said. Hunters harvested an additional 120 deer a January special hunt. Since the close of the deer hunting seasons, landowners have taken an additional 125 deer in an area that was expanded to include private lands to the north of deer permit Area 101. In total, 2,656 deer have been taken from September 2007 to May 2008.
“The large take is evidence of the extraordinary effort that has been underway since autumn,” Dave Schad, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division director, said in a statement. “This has been a highly successful operation that has gone a long way toward achieving our goal of eliminating bovine TB in deer.”
The state of Minnesota is under the federal designation of Modified Accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the third of five categories which outlines strict regulations for the testing and movement of cattle across state lines for bovine TB.
Hopes are to see the state split into two zones, with a concentrated bovine TB management area in northwest Minnesota, and classifying the rest of the state as TB Free.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed into law last week measures to allow the Minnesota Board of Animal Health authority to increase livestock testing, tighten restrictions on animal movement, provide cost-share assistance for fencing in certain areas and offers to “buy out” livestock owners in the bovine TB management zone.
“This disease is an economic burden for our beef producers, and we are committed to eradicating it as quickly as possible,” state Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Joe Martin, the state’s bovine TB response coordinator, said last week.
“We had strong, bipartisan support for this legislation from legislators, producers, and industry groups such as the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association,” he said.
“This critical legislation will provide the Board of Animal Health the authority they need to restrict movement of livestock within the bovine TB management zone and implement split-state status,” said Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation President Kevin Paap. “The bill also provides significant resources to control and eradicate bovine TB, including a voluntary herd buyout for cattle producers in the management zone and cost-share money for fencing.”
Paap added that the new law “bans wildlife feeding in the zone and establishes a temporary assessment of $1 per head on all beef cattle sold in Minnesota. Money collected from this assessment will go to the Board of Animal Health for bovine TB control efforts. This assessment shows how cattlemen across Minnesota are willing to contribute toward the eradication of bovine TB.”
Since the initial 2005 discovery of bovine TB in Minnesota, the state has identified 11 infected beef cattle herds—all in the northwest Minnesota counties of Beltrami and Roseau, the state Animal Health Board said. In addition, 20 infected deer have been confirmed to date in the same area, with several additional suspect deer awaiting final test results.
“This bill puts Minnesota in the position of being a national leader in controlling and combating bovine TB,” said Sen. Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, an author of the bill.
“Up to this point, there really has been no road map for dealing with this issue and other states have had only marginal success,” Skoe said. “This bill helps Minnesota lead the way toward eradicating the disease in our state and helping other states develop aggressive and successful plans.”
The final legislative plan will lay the groundwork for USDA split-state status in order to focus bovine TB eradication efforts only in affected areas, he said. The plan offers cattle producers an option to accept an animal-buyout or extensive fencing to control animal movement and help control the spread of the disease.
In addition, herd testing will continue to be required until TB-free status is regained, and deer eradication efforts will continue. The Department of Agriculture, Board of Animal Health and DNR all cooperated on the comprehensive plan, he said.
“With this bill, we’ll make significant progress toward no additional TB-positive test results in the state,” Skoe said.
Landowners and tenants, and their agents designated in writing, can continue to take deer without a permit in the landowner/tenant area under the provisions of a special emergency rule that took effect March 31, said the DNR’s Schad. The rule is currently scheduled to expire Aug. 31, but the rule may be modified or ended earlier in the summer based on discussions with local residents and landowners. A final decision will be made in the next several weeks.
The DNR will finalize plans for the fall hunting seasons in that area by July, he said. Specific details on permit area boundaries, special and regular hunts, and other provisions will be announced mid-summer.
Schad added that he appreciates the cooperation of private landowners during a difficult time. “We couldn’t have accomplished what we did without the assistance of local citizens and federal sharpshooters. Both deserve our thanks,” he said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/5ez2s5
The sharpshooting effort to remove deer started in February and ended Friday, the DNR said. Free-ranging deer, believed to be carriers of bovine TB to cattle, were targets of removal since the deer-hunting season closed last fall.
The concentrated bovine TB area for deer removal is basically northwest Beltrami County and southeast Roseau County, in the Skime area.
Brad Swenson Archive The deer population in the 164-square-mile core of the bovine TB disease management area was estimated at 800 animals during an aerial survey conducted in January before sharpshooting efforts began, the DNR said. Aerial sharpshooters took 416 deer and ground sharpshooters took 546 deer in and near the core area, bringing the 2008 sharpshooting total to 962 animals.
During the regular deer seasons, 1,449 deer were harvested in the bovine TB deer permit area, the DNR said. Hunters harvested an additional 120 deer a January special hunt. Since the close of the deer hunting seasons, landowners have taken an additional 125 deer in an area that was expanded to include private lands to the north of deer permit Area 101. In total, 2,656 deer have been taken from September 2007 to May 2008.
“The large take is evidence of the extraordinary effort that has been underway since autumn,” Dave Schad, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division director, said in a statement. “This has been a highly successful operation that has gone a long way toward achieving our goal of eliminating bovine TB in deer.”
The state of Minnesota is under the federal designation of Modified Accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the third of five categories which outlines strict regulations for the testing and movement of cattle across state lines for bovine TB.
Hopes are to see the state split into two zones, with a concentrated bovine TB management area in northwest Minnesota, and classifying the rest of the state as TB Free.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed into law last week measures to allow the Minnesota Board of Animal Health authority to increase livestock testing, tighten restrictions on animal movement, provide cost-share assistance for fencing in certain areas and offers to “buy out” livestock owners in the bovine TB management zone.
“This disease is an economic burden for our beef producers, and we are committed to eradicating it as quickly as possible,” state Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Joe Martin, the state’s bovine TB response coordinator, said last week.
“We had strong, bipartisan support for this legislation from legislators, producers, and industry groups such as the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association,” he said.
“This critical legislation will provide the Board of Animal Health the authority they need to restrict movement of livestock within the bovine TB management zone and implement split-state status,” said Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation President Kevin Paap. “The bill also provides significant resources to control and eradicate bovine TB, including a voluntary herd buyout for cattle producers in the management zone and cost-share money for fencing.”
Paap added that the new law “bans wildlife feeding in the zone and establishes a temporary assessment of $1 per head on all beef cattle sold in Minnesota. Money collected from this assessment will go to the Board of Animal Health for bovine TB control efforts. This assessment shows how cattlemen across Minnesota are willing to contribute toward the eradication of bovine TB.”
Since the initial 2005 discovery of bovine TB in Minnesota, the state has identified 11 infected beef cattle herds—all in the northwest Minnesota counties of Beltrami and Roseau, the state Animal Health Board said. In addition, 20 infected deer have been confirmed to date in the same area, with several additional suspect deer awaiting final test results.
“This bill puts Minnesota in the position of being a national leader in controlling and combating bovine TB,” said Sen. Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, an author of the bill.
“Up to this point, there really has been no road map for dealing with this issue and other states have had only marginal success,” Skoe said. “This bill helps Minnesota lead the way toward eradicating the disease in our state and helping other states develop aggressive and successful plans.”
The final legislative plan will lay the groundwork for USDA split-state status in order to focus bovine TB eradication efforts only in affected areas, he said. The plan offers cattle producers an option to accept an animal-buyout or extensive fencing to control animal movement and help control the spread of the disease.
In addition, herd testing will continue to be required until TB-free status is regained, and deer eradication efforts will continue. The Department of Agriculture, Board of Animal Health and DNR all cooperated on the comprehensive plan, he said.
“With this bill, we’ll make significant progress toward no additional TB-positive test results in the state,” Skoe said.
Landowners and tenants, and their agents designated in writing, can continue to take deer without a permit in the landowner/tenant area under the provisions of a special emergency rule that took effect March 31, said the DNR’s Schad. The rule is currently scheduled to expire Aug. 31, but the rule may be modified or ended earlier in the summer based on discussions with local residents and landowners. A final decision will be made in the next several weeks.
The DNR will finalize plans for the fall hunting seasons in that area by July, he said. Specific details on permit area boundaries, special and regular hunts, and other provisions will be announced mid-summer.
Schad added that he appreciates the cooperation of private landowners during a difficult time. “We couldn’t have accomplished what we did without the assistance of local citizens and federal sharpshooters. Both deserve our thanks,” he said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/5ez2s5
Friday, May 09, 2008
WEST VIRGINIA NEWS: More CWD Appears in Hampshire County
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Hampshire County remains an enigma to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources in its campaign to track down and understand why Chronic Wasting Disease is haunting deer in that popular hunting region.
Now that 11 more deer the DNR killed this spring have tested positive, the mystery has only deepened.
All told, 31 deer now have been afflicted with the ailment, a fatal neurological disorder found in deer and elk. To date, the only affected deer have turned up in Hampshire — a fact that puzzles the DNR’s assistant wildlife chief, Paul Johansen.
“That’s the $64,000 question,” he said Thursday.
“I’ve stayed up nights pondering that question. Why did it show up? How did it get here? The reality is we may never know. I guess the important thing is to make sure we do engage our management plan to try to put in place appropriate management strategies to try to address the disease.”
While not harmful to humans, cattle or other domestic animals, CWD is a death sentence to any deer or elk that contracts it.
Some hunter-harvested deer tested positive last fall in Hampshire, but so far, not a single CWD-infected whitetail has been discovered outside that county.
“We’re pleased to see from a distribution standpoint, looking at the landscape, all of those positives were pretty tightly confined to that geographic area around Slanesville, where the original index animal was,” Johansen said.
“We did not pick up any additional positives in that Yellow Springs area.”
For the past few years, the DNR has performed a statewide surveillance program but hasn’t found any CWD outside a small pocket of Hampshire, he said.
In fact, the original index animal surfaced Sept. 2, 2005, as part of the DNR’s roadkill surveillance, Johansen pointed out.
Besides roadkill vigilance, the DNR looks for the disease in targeted areas, seeking out any animals that exhibit the clinical signs of it.
“We try to get our hands on those as well,” he said.
Scientists believe the disorder is caused by abnormal, proteinaceous particles known as prions engaged in a slow assault of the brain, causing deer and elk to progressively become emaciated, display bizarre behavior and invariably die.
DNR Director Frank Jezioro said in a statement from his office that “some of the best wildlife biologists and veterinarians in the world” are working on CWD, including those at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Ga.
“Landowner and hunter cooperation throughout this entire CWD surveillance effort in Hampshire County has been excellent,” he said.
“As we strive to meet this wildlife disease challenge and implement appropriate management strategies, the continued support and involvement of landowners and hunters will be essential.”
Source: http://tinyurl.com/3gm9j3
Now that 11 more deer the DNR killed this spring have tested positive, the mystery has only deepened.
All told, 31 deer now have been afflicted with the ailment, a fatal neurological disorder found in deer and elk. To date, the only affected deer have turned up in Hampshire — a fact that puzzles the DNR’s assistant wildlife chief, Paul Johansen.
“That’s the $64,000 question,” he said Thursday.
“I’ve stayed up nights pondering that question. Why did it show up? How did it get here? The reality is we may never know. I guess the important thing is to make sure we do engage our management plan to try to put in place appropriate management strategies to try to address the disease.”
While not harmful to humans, cattle or other domestic animals, CWD is a death sentence to any deer or elk that contracts it.
Some hunter-harvested deer tested positive last fall in Hampshire, but so far, not a single CWD-infected whitetail has been discovered outside that county.
“We’re pleased to see from a distribution standpoint, looking at the landscape, all of those positives were pretty tightly confined to that geographic area around Slanesville, where the original index animal was,” Johansen said.
“We did not pick up any additional positives in that Yellow Springs area.”
For the past few years, the DNR has performed a statewide surveillance program but hasn’t found any CWD outside a small pocket of Hampshire, he said.
In fact, the original index animal surfaced Sept. 2, 2005, as part of the DNR’s roadkill surveillance, Johansen pointed out.
Besides roadkill vigilance, the DNR looks for the disease in targeted areas, seeking out any animals that exhibit the clinical signs of it.
“We try to get our hands on those as well,” he said.
Scientists believe the disorder is caused by abnormal, proteinaceous particles known as prions engaged in a slow assault of the brain, causing deer and elk to progressively become emaciated, display bizarre behavior and invariably die.
DNR Director Frank Jezioro said in a statement from his office that “some of the best wildlife biologists and veterinarians in the world” are working on CWD, including those at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Ga.
“Landowner and hunter cooperation throughout this entire CWD surveillance effort in Hampshire County has been excellent,” he said.
“As we strive to meet this wildlife disease challenge and implement appropriate management strategies, the continued support and involvement of landowners and hunters will be essential.”
Source: http://tinyurl.com/3gm9j3
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
NEW YORK NEWS: Deer Sightings on Staten Island Continue to Rise
There will be no deer hunting on Staten Island. Not anytime soon, probably not ever.
But there are deer aplenty, and in growing numbers, on Staten Island, the closest thing New York City has to a suburban borough, browsing in people’s yards, drawing double-takes at highway interchanges, getting hit by cars. There are so many deer that the state decided it needed to study them and figure out what to do about them.
According to the study, released on Friday, there are at least 24 deer, concentrated on the western side of the island, including at least two fawns. It is enough to constitute an unusual pest-control challenge in the nation’s largest city.
“Deer are beautiful animals, and we love to see them in the wild,” Suzanne Mattei, the regional director for the State Department of Environmental Conservation, said at an outdoor news conference at the Greenbelt Nature Center in the island’s lushly wooded heart. “But when they come into urban areas, we have to manage them carefully.”
The proposals made in the study are modest ones: more deer-crossing signs (eight were installed along the West Shore Expressway last year at the urging of Assemblyman Michael Cusick), some fencing and a public-education campaign.
“We want Staten Islanders to be deer-savvy,” said the deputy borough president, Ed Burke.
Officials warn that in addition to endangering drivers, deer are host to the ticks that carry Lyme disease.
And if unchecked, the deer could put a serious dent in Staten Island’s greenery, which is already threatened by development, said Joseph Pane, the state biologist who conducted the survey by traipsing through the woods for most of January and February.
“They’ll eat everything within reach, to the point where you have nothing growing,” Mr. Pane said, as if describing an attack by 350-pound rats with antlers. “They go after things as soon as they sprout and you have no seed source.”
While the survey took in only a fraction of the island’s wooded areas, Ms. Mattei said the department felt that 24 deer counted represented most of the herd.
“At least now we have data,” she said. “We have something more than just, ‘Golly gee, I saw a deer.’ ”
Deer sightings began to be reported with some frequency on Staten Island around 2000. State officials say the deer swam across the Arthur Kill from New Jersey, decades after having been wiped out on the island.
But old-timers in the island’s rugged southwest corner say the deer never left. “There have always been deer on Staten Island,” said Cherryl Mitchell, who runs a stable called Richer Farm in Charleston, just north of the Outerbridge Crossing. “My husband is a native Staten Islander, he’s 66 years old, and he’s seen them since he was 6 years old.”
Mrs. Mitchell, 57, said that when she moved to Charleston in 1979, she would see deer tracks, but after a wave of construction nearby, she started to see deer. She said she had been spotting one deer, which she named Grandpa, recognizable by a distinctly crooked nostril, for 18 years.
Mrs. Mitchell said she had also seen men with bows and arrows hunting the deer in Clay Pit Ponds State Park, adjoining her property. Last year, the conservation department received a spate of complaints about hunters shooting at deer.
Hunting, whether with bow and arrow or firearm, is illegal in New York City, which is why a harvest is not among the management options the state is considering. And though deer have natural predators elsewhere in the state, there are no plans to introduce bears or coyotes to Staten Island either.
“I think it’s going to be challenging enough dealing with the coexistence of the deer and the people,” Ms. Mattei said.
The deer survey, which will become an annual event, was based on sightings called in by residents in January and February. The sighting log reads like a tour of the island’s back roads and parking lots.
“Three deer, gully behind Target near Englewood Ave.”
“1/27/2008, six deer, skating pavilion, Arthur Kill Road.”
The sightings were concentrated in four areas: near Howland Hook in the northwest corner of the island, near Clay Pit Ponds State Park, near Mount Loretto and Tottenville at the southern tip, and around the Greenbelt. Mr. Pane bundled up, took clipboard in hand and went on the prowl.
Friday afternoon, Mrs. Mitchell led a reporter on her own deer tour in the woods just beyond her riding ring. In five minutes, she pointed out the tracks of at least six deer: does with rounded hoofprints, bucks with big pointy prints the length of a man’s finger, fawns with little prints.
Mrs. Mitchell had little use for the state and its scientist-bureaucrats. But she said she agreed with the conclusions of the study.
“They need to just properly put some fences along the highways, put some signs up and leave them the hell alone,” she said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/5doymf
But there are deer aplenty, and in growing numbers, on Staten Island, the closest thing New York City has to a suburban borough, browsing in people’s yards, drawing double-takes at highway interchanges, getting hit by cars. There are so many deer that the state decided it needed to study them and figure out what to do about them.
According to the study, released on Friday, there are at least 24 deer, concentrated on the western side of the island, including at least two fawns. It is enough to constitute an unusual pest-control challenge in the nation’s largest city.
“Deer are beautiful animals, and we love to see them in the wild,” Suzanne Mattei, the regional director for the State Department of Environmental Conservation, said at an outdoor news conference at the Greenbelt Nature Center in the island’s lushly wooded heart. “But when they come into urban areas, we have to manage them carefully.”
The proposals made in the study are modest ones: more deer-crossing signs (eight were installed along the West Shore Expressway last year at the urging of Assemblyman Michael Cusick), some fencing and a public-education campaign.
“We want Staten Islanders to be deer-savvy,” said the deputy borough president, Ed Burke.
Officials warn that in addition to endangering drivers, deer are host to the ticks that carry Lyme disease.
And if unchecked, the deer could put a serious dent in Staten Island’s greenery, which is already threatened by development, said Joseph Pane, the state biologist who conducted the survey by traipsing through the woods for most of January and February.
“They’ll eat everything within reach, to the point where you have nothing growing,” Mr. Pane said, as if describing an attack by 350-pound rats with antlers. “They go after things as soon as they sprout and you have no seed source.”
While the survey took in only a fraction of the island’s wooded areas, Ms. Mattei said the department felt that 24 deer counted represented most of the herd.
“At least now we have data,” she said. “We have something more than just, ‘Golly gee, I saw a deer.’ ”
Deer sightings began to be reported with some frequency on Staten Island around 2000. State officials say the deer swam across the Arthur Kill from New Jersey, decades after having been wiped out on the island.
But old-timers in the island’s rugged southwest corner say the deer never left. “There have always been deer on Staten Island,” said Cherryl Mitchell, who runs a stable called Richer Farm in Charleston, just north of the Outerbridge Crossing. “My husband is a native Staten Islander, he’s 66 years old, and he’s seen them since he was 6 years old.”
Mrs. Mitchell, 57, said that when she moved to Charleston in 1979, she would see deer tracks, but after a wave of construction nearby, she started to see deer. She said she had been spotting one deer, which she named Grandpa, recognizable by a distinctly crooked nostril, for 18 years.
Mrs. Mitchell said she had also seen men with bows and arrows hunting the deer in Clay Pit Ponds State Park, adjoining her property. Last year, the conservation department received a spate of complaints about hunters shooting at deer.
Hunting, whether with bow and arrow or firearm, is illegal in New York City, which is why a harvest is not among the management options the state is considering. And though deer have natural predators elsewhere in the state, there are no plans to introduce bears or coyotes to Staten Island either.
“I think it’s going to be challenging enough dealing with the coexistence of the deer and the people,” Ms. Mattei said.
The deer survey, which will become an annual event, was based on sightings called in by residents in January and February. The sighting log reads like a tour of the island’s back roads and parking lots.
“Three deer, gully behind Target near Englewood Ave.”
“1/27/2008, six deer, skating pavilion, Arthur Kill Road.”
The sightings were concentrated in four areas: near Howland Hook in the northwest corner of the island, near Clay Pit Ponds State Park, near Mount Loretto and Tottenville at the southern tip, and around the Greenbelt. Mr. Pane bundled up, took clipboard in hand and went on the prowl.
Friday afternoon, Mrs. Mitchell led a reporter on her own deer tour in the woods just beyond her riding ring. In five minutes, she pointed out the tracks of at least six deer: does with rounded hoofprints, bucks with big pointy prints the length of a man’s finger, fawns with little prints.
Mrs. Mitchell had little use for the state and its scientist-bureaucrats. But she said she agreed with the conclusions of the study.
“They need to just properly put some fences along the highways, put some signs up and leave them the hell alone,” she said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/5doymf
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