Preliminary test results indicate the Chronic Wasting Disease agent was present in 16 hunter-harvested deer collected in Hampshire County during the 2009 deer firearms hunting season.
“As part of our agency’s ongoing CWD monitoring effort, samples were collected from 1,091 hunter-harvested deer brought to game checking stations in Hampshire County and one station near the southern Hampshire County line in Hardy County,” notes Frank Jezioro, Director for the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources.
The 16 CWD positive deer included one 4.5 year-old doe, one 2.5 year-old doe, one 1.5 year-old buck, ten 2.5 year-old bucks and three 3.5 year-old bucks. Thirteen of the latest positive deer were harvested within the Hampshire County CWD Containment Area (i.e., that portion of Hampshire County located North of U.S. Route 50). However, three were located outside the containment area but still within Hampshire County.
The area in Hampshire County from which CWD has been detected continues to expand, and the number of infected deer detected this year is 2.5 times more than last year.
CWD has now been detected in a total of 62 deer in Hampshire County (i.e., two road-killed deer, one in 2005 and one in 2008; four deer collected by the WVDNR in 2005; five deer collected by the WVDNR in 2006; one hunter-harvest deer taken during the 2006 deer season; three deer collected by the WVDNR in 2007; six hunter-harvested deer taken during the 2007 deer season; 11 deer collected by the WVDNR in 2008; six hunter-harvested deer taken during the 2008 deer season; eight deer collected by the WVDNR in 2009; and 16 hunter-harvested deer taken during the 2009 deer season).
“The WVDNR will continue to update management actions designed to control the spread of this disease, prevent further introduction of the disease, and possibly eliminate the disease from the state as information from deer testing within West Virginia is gathered and scientists across the country provide more information on how to combat CWD in white-tailed deer,” says Jezioro.
So far, the following disease management actions have been placed into operation by the WVDNR within Hampshire County:
- Implemented CWD testing efforts designed to determine the prevalence and distribution of the disease.
- Established antlerless deer hunting regulations designed to increase hunter opportunity to harvest female deer, adjust deer populations to desired levels and reduce the risk of spreading the disease from deer to deer.
- Established deer carcass transport restrictions designed to lower the risk of moving the disease to other locations.
- Established regulations designed to prohibit the feeding and baiting of deer within the affected area and reduce the risk of spreading the disease from deer to deer.
“Despite our agency’s best efforts, we continue to struggle with CWD in Hampshire County,” says Jezioro. “I am particularly concerned that some individuals are not complying with regulations prohibiting the feeding and baiting of deer within the Hampshire County CWD Containment Area.”
The WVDNR intends to renew its outreach efforts with the public on the critical need for compliance with this regulation. In addition, appropriate enforcement actions will be taken if these problems are not resolved.
“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,” says Jezioro. “The WVDNR remains committed to keeping the public informed and involved in these wildlife disease management actions as we go forward.”
Source: WHSV
Friday, January 15, 2010
TEXAS NEWS: Town Advised to Elimiate 400 Deer
HOLLY LAKE RANCH, TX (KLTV) - Residents of an East Texas community are torn, after being told the way to fix their deer problem is to kill 400 of the furry critters.
The over population problem has gardeners in the community upset, but animals lovers say that they enjoy seeing the deer.
Texas Parks and Wildlife was called in to advise the community on a solution, and suggested 400 deer needed to be put down in order to maintain a balance in the deer population.
Residents also received a letter saying those who continue to feed the deer will be fined $150.
A meeting will take place at 2pm today to discuss the issues and make a decision.
Source: KLTV
The over population problem has gardeners in the community upset, but animals lovers say that they enjoy seeing the deer.
Texas Parks and Wildlife was called in to advise the community on a solution, and suggested 400 deer needed to be put down in order to maintain a balance in the deer population.
Residents also received a letter saying those who continue to feed the deer will be fined $150.
A meeting will take place at 2pm today to discuss the issues and make a decision.
Source: KLTV
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
NORTH CAROLINA NEWS: Chapel Hill City Council Considers Deer Hunt
The Chapel Hill town council agreed Monday night to take applications for an urban deer hunt as it studies the issue further.
Residents have submitted a petition asking the town to hire professional deer bow hunters to reduce the population of deer. Residents said the deer have become a nuisance.
The council called for a public hearing on the issue and asked for more input from experts and residents.
In the meantime, professional bow hunters can submit applications to hold an urban deer hunt with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. No action will be taken on the applications until after the public hearing.
Source: WRAL
Residents have submitted a petition asking the town to hire professional deer bow hunters to reduce the population of deer. Residents said the deer have become a nuisance.
The council called for a public hearing on the issue and asked for more input from experts and residents.
In the meantime, professional bow hunters can submit applications to hold an urban deer hunt with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. No action will be taken on the applications until after the public hearing.
Source: WRAL
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
US NEWS: A Smart Move by Two Politicians
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold is backing legislation to help boost venison donations to the hungry.
The Wisconsin Democrat is co-sponsoring a proposal crafted by New York Democrat Charles Schumer. It would let deer hunters deduct the cost of processing game from their taxable income, when the meat is donated to a soup kitchen or food pantry.
Wisconsin Public Radio says processing fees typically range from $60 to $90.
The senators say the proposal could help charities that have been hurt by the flagging economy.
Edie Miller works for a meat processor in Columbia County. She says she's seen firsthand the dip in venison donations.
She says her company processed about 100 deer last year for food-donation programs, down from more than 200 in previous years.
Source: Chicago Tribune
The Wisconsin Democrat is co-sponsoring a proposal crafted by New York Democrat Charles Schumer. It would let deer hunters deduct the cost of processing game from their taxable income, when the meat is donated to a soup kitchen or food pantry.
Wisconsin Public Radio says processing fees typically range from $60 to $90.
The senators say the proposal could help charities that have been hurt by the flagging economy.
Edie Miller works for a meat processor in Columbia County. She says she's seen firsthand the dip in venison donations.
She says her company processed about 100 deer last year for food-donation programs, down from more than 200 in previous years.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
MANITOBA NEWS: Towns Experience Growth in Deer Population
People in Killarney, Man., are trying to figure out how to deal with a population explosion of roaming deer.
The hungry animals are stripping cedar trees and creating a hazard on the streets, where at least six drivers have collided with them, according to Mayor Rick Pauls.
"We definitely have [had] numerous vehicle accidents around here and it's not just on the highway anymore — you can be driving down the street and hitting a deer," Pauls said.
And now coyotes, which prey on deer, have started to wander into town of about 2,300 people, Pauls said.
Killarney is about 220 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, near the Manitoba border with North Dakota.
Pauls said his Killarney-Turtle council is working with Manitoba Conservation on a plan to deal with the animals. Conservation officers will soon head out in a helicopter to get a better handle on what they're up against.
"They're going to count exactly how many deer are located within the town limits," he said. "Then we'll be able to come up with a number of what we want to take them down to. We're either going to trap and relocate them or trap and destroy them."
But some disgruntled residents have already taken matters into their own hands by poisoning or shooting the deer or putting up illegal electric fences, he said.
Pauls isn't sure how the town will pay for the animal control measures, which he estimates could cost close to $1,000 a deer.
He also isn't sure why the deer have come to Killarney but suspects a decline in the number of hunters might have something to do with it.
Pinawa has problem, too
Manitoba deer have also taken up residence in another Manitoba town in recent years. The animals have become so tame around people in Pinawa, about 110 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, that they pester school kids for their lunches.
Deer in Pinawa, Man., have become tame enough to eat from people's hands. (CBC)They can be seen in backyards, on the sidewalks, in schoolyards and sometimes even in the kitchens of local homes.
Jacquelyn Landry told CBC News earlier this year that she came home one day to find her children feeding one in the family kitchen.
The school in Pinawa had to implement new rules after the deer went after kids' lunches. Students must now eat in the school before going out to play.
Anyone caught feeding deer is subject to a $500 fine, although no tickets have been handed out since the town adopted the bylaw in 2002, according to Deputy Mayor Lynn Patterson. Several warnings have been issued instead.
Source: CBC
The hungry animals are stripping cedar trees and creating a hazard on the streets, where at least six drivers have collided with them, according to Mayor Rick Pauls.
"We definitely have [had] numerous vehicle accidents around here and it's not just on the highway anymore — you can be driving down the street and hitting a deer," Pauls said.
And now coyotes, which prey on deer, have started to wander into town of about 2,300 people, Pauls said.
Killarney is about 220 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, near the Manitoba border with North Dakota.
Pauls said his Killarney-Turtle council is working with Manitoba Conservation on a plan to deal with the animals. Conservation officers will soon head out in a helicopter to get a better handle on what they're up against.
"They're going to count exactly how many deer are located within the town limits," he said. "Then we'll be able to come up with a number of what we want to take them down to. We're either going to trap and relocate them or trap and destroy them."
But some disgruntled residents have already taken matters into their own hands by poisoning or shooting the deer or putting up illegal electric fences, he said.
Pauls isn't sure how the town will pay for the animal control measures, which he estimates could cost close to $1,000 a deer.
He also isn't sure why the deer have come to Killarney but suspects a decline in the number of hunters might have something to do with it.
Pinawa has problem, too
Manitoba deer have also taken up residence in another Manitoba town in recent years. The animals have become so tame around people in Pinawa, about 110 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, that they pester school kids for their lunches.
Deer in Pinawa, Man., have become tame enough to eat from people's hands. (CBC)They can be seen in backyards, on the sidewalks, in schoolyards and sometimes even in the kitchens of local homes.
Jacquelyn Landry told CBC News earlier this year that she came home one day to find her children feeding one in the family kitchen.
The school in Pinawa had to implement new rules after the deer went after kids' lunches. Students must now eat in the school before going out to play.
Anyone caught feeding deer is subject to a $500 fine, although no tickets have been handed out since the town adopted the bylaw in 2002, according to Deputy Mayor Lynn Patterson. Several warnings have been issued instead.
Source: CBC
Monday, December 28, 2009
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Valley Forge NP Hunt Postponed
The National Park Service has called off its plan to deploy silencer-equipped sharpshooters this winter to cull the nearly 1,300 deer overtaking Valley Forge.
With a lawsuit pending and facing the logistics of deploying contract shooters before spring, the government decided to put off a long-planned hunt at Valley Forge National Historical Park until at least next November, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Bernstein told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Where George Washington's tattered troops once scrambled for food and shelter, the exploding white-tailed deer population now enjoys a generous habitat of field and forest. But they eat up so many plants, officials say, they are throwing the park's environmental balance out of whack. They are also blamed for scores of vehicle accidents within the park each year and for wreaking havoc on suburban gardens nearby.
"They cause so much damage to the environment, so many road accidents. And the roadkill — so many deer end up lying on the road. No one wants that, whether you want the deer there or not," said Julia Urwin, 52, of Tredyffrin, who supports the hunt.
After years of heated debate and a congressional mandate to deal with the burgeoning deer colony, the park service decided this fall to cull the herd by 80 percent over four years through nighttime hunts.
Animal-rights activists believe the park should be maintained by natural means, and filed suit to try to block the kill in the 3,500-acre oasis west of Philadelphia.
Others doubt the plan is safe, given that homes, hotels and malls now surround the land where Washington's Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778.
"The culling never works ... and I think it teaches our kids the wrong thing," said Priscilla Cohn of Villanova, a retired philosophy professor who runs a small animal-rights foundation. She argues that deer herds invariably bounce back after a hunt, as better-fed survivors produce more offspring and other deer move in to fill the vacuum.
"I'm a believer in science," she said. "Shooting is from the last couple of centuries."
Cohn's foundation has offered about $120,000 for deer contraception and fencing to protect vegetation, but the offer is only good if no deer are slain. Park officials, she said, have ignored her.
The park management plan endorses the use of contraceptives for herd maintenance, but said their effectiveness should be further studied. Meanwhile, they say the deer problem is too severe to wait.
"Our plan is linked strongly to our mission at Valley Forge ... to preserve the historic resources, the natural resources and certainly the landscape," said park Superintendent Michael Caldwell. "It's science-based, it's safe, and there's been an extensive amount of public involvement."
Deer problems plague many parks throughout the East, and similar debates about how to shrink deer herds have played out for years. In the 1990s, Gettysburg National Military Park's deer population was reduced by a hunt from 4,000 to just over 200.
In Valley Forge, the post-hunt target population is 175.
"This park couldn't be better habitat for white-tailed deer. It is the perfect mix of field and forest," said Kristina Heister, the park's natural resource manager. "If you have 1,300 deer on the landscape, I bet it's hard for a squirrel to even find an acorn on the forest floor."
The habitat loss has caused birds, butterflies and other dependent wildlife to disappear, officials say.
The National Park Service cites restoration of that ecological balance as its primary reason for the cull, with a secondary goal of reducing the risk of chronic wasting disease, a mad-cow-like brain disease. The disease has been found in adjacent states, but not in Pennsylvania, and foes of the hunt question whether a smaller herd size reduces risk.
Meanwhile, about 90 deer-vehicle collisions occur each year on the busy state road and several commuter shortcuts that dissect the park, Heister said. No one was seriously hurt last year, she said.
Logistics may be as much at play as the lawsuit in this week's agreement to delay the hunt until next winter.
Park officials had set a Jan. 5 deadline for contractors to bid on the hunting operation, and said they needed about two months after that to initiate it. That left little time for the culling operation during the key winter months.
A lawyer for the groups involved in the suit, Connecticut-based Friends of Animals and Pennsylvania-based Compassion for Animals, Respect for the Environment, said Wednesday they are thrilled by the one-year reprieve.
"The fact that they're not managing the parks in a natural way is really what's driving our concern," said Michael R. Harris, a University of Denver environmental law professor who represents them. "They're supposed to be managed in a wild state."
Harris endorses the use of coyotes — already present in the region — to thin the deer population. If that means suburbanites must learn to live with predators in their midst, so be it, he said.
That approach startles some who use the park's 26 miles of hiking and biking paths, including economist Philip Senechal of Philadelphia.
"I don't like the idea of introducing predators. I think that's risky," Senechal said.
Source: AP
With a lawsuit pending and facing the logistics of deploying contract shooters before spring, the government decided to put off a long-planned hunt at Valley Forge National Historical Park until at least next November, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Bernstein told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Where George Washington's tattered troops once scrambled for food and shelter, the exploding white-tailed deer population now enjoys a generous habitat of field and forest. But they eat up so many plants, officials say, they are throwing the park's environmental balance out of whack. They are also blamed for scores of vehicle accidents within the park each year and for wreaking havoc on suburban gardens nearby.
"They cause so much damage to the environment, so many road accidents. And the roadkill — so many deer end up lying on the road. No one wants that, whether you want the deer there or not," said Julia Urwin, 52, of Tredyffrin, who supports the hunt.
After years of heated debate and a congressional mandate to deal with the burgeoning deer colony, the park service decided this fall to cull the herd by 80 percent over four years through nighttime hunts.
Animal-rights activists believe the park should be maintained by natural means, and filed suit to try to block the kill in the 3,500-acre oasis west of Philadelphia.
Others doubt the plan is safe, given that homes, hotels and malls now surround the land where Washington's Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778.
"The culling never works ... and I think it teaches our kids the wrong thing," said Priscilla Cohn of Villanova, a retired philosophy professor who runs a small animal-rights foundation. She argues that deer herds invariably bounce back after a hunt, as better-fed survivors produce more offspring and other deer move in to fill the vacuum.
"I'm a believer in science," she said. "Shooting is from the last couple of centuries."
Cohn's foundation has offered about $120,000 for deer contraception and fencing to protect vegetation, but the offer is only good if no deer are slain. Park officials, she said, have ignored her.
The park management plan endorses the use of contraceptives for herd maintenance, but said their effectiveness should be further studied. Meanwhile, they say the deer problem is too severe to wait.
"Our plan is linked strongly to our mission at Valley Forge ... to preserve the historic resources, the natural resources and certainly the landscape," said park Superintendent Michael Caldwell. "It's science-based, it's safe, and there's been an extensive amount of public involvement."
Deer problems plague many parks throughout the East, and similar debates about how to shrink deer herds have played out for years. In the 1990s, Gettysburg National Military Park's deer population was reduced by a hunt from 4,000 to just over 200.
In Valley Forge, the post-hunt target population is 175.
"This park couldn't be better habitat for white-tailed deer. It is the perfect mix of field and forest," said Kristina Heister, the park's natural resource manager. "If you have 1,300 deer on the landscape, I bet it's hard for a squirrel to even find an acorn on the forest floor."
The habitat loss has caused birds, butterflies and other dependent wildlife to disappear, officials say.
The National Park Service cites restoration of that ecological balance as its primary reason for the cull, with a secondary goal of reducing the risk of chronic wasting disease, a mad-cow-like brain disease. The disease has been found in adjacent states, but not in Pennsylvania, and foes of the hunt question whether a smaller herd size reduces risk.
Meanwhile, about 90 deer-vehicle collisions occur each year on the busy state road and several commuter shortcuts that dissect the park, Heister said. No one was seriously hurt last year, she said.
Logistics may be as much at play as the lawsuit in this week's agreement to delay the hunt until next winter.
Park officials had set a Jan. 5 deadline for contractors to bid on the hunting operation, and said they needed about two months after that to initiate it. That left little time for the culling operation during the key winter months.
A lawyer for the groups involved in the suit, Connecticut-based Friends of Animals and Pennsylvania-based Compassion for Animals, Respect for the Environment, said Wednesday they are thrilled by the one-year reprieve.
"The fact that they're not managing the parks in a natural way is really what's driving our concern," said Michael R. Harris, a University of Denver environmental law professor who represents them. "They're supposed to be managed in a wild state."
Harris endorses the use of coyotes — already present in the region — to thin the deer population. If that means suburbanites must learn to live with predators in their midst, so be it, he said.
That approach startles some who use the park's 26 miles of hiking and biking paths, including economist Philip Senechal of Philadelphia.
"I don't like the idea of introducing predators. I think that's risky," Senechal said.
Source: AP
NEW YORK NEWS: College to Cull Deer
Vassar College will use sharpshooters next month to reduce the deer herd near its main Town of Poughkeepsie campus — a move that has upset some neighbors who claim they were not notified about the cull until it was already set to occur.
College officials said the herd must be reduced to protect the 530-acre Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve off Hooker Avenue. Officials point out deer are harming the preserve, decimating the forest understory and making it difficult for new trees to grow. Deer also cause safety problems through car-deer collisions and spread tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, they say.
The farm and preserve, which is open to the public, is used for field-based education and research. Officials said the college received a permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to cull the herd.
The sharpshooters will start their work after New Year's Day. Officials hope the herd will be reduced to about 15 deer from the approximately 100 animals living on the preserve.
College officials said there are simply too many deer on the preserve — which is bad for the preserve and for deer.
"We really have to do something to manage this problem," said Keri VanCamp, who manages the Vassar farm and preserve.
Increasing deer populations in urban and suburban areas have become problematic throughout New York as the animals become more common in places where they traditionally were rarely seen. Finding humane ways to deal with the overpopulation problem is an issue more and more property owners must address.
Full story at: Poughkeepsie Journal
College officials said the herd must be reduced to protect the 530-acre Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve off Hooker Avenue. Officials point out deer are harming the preserve, decimating the forest understory and making it difficult for new trees to grow. Deer also cause safety problems through car-deer collisions and spread tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, they say.
The farm and preserve, which is open to the public, is used for field-based education and research. Officials said the college received a permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to cull the herd.
The sharpshooters will start their work after New Year's Day. Officials hope the herd will be reduced to about 15 deer from the approximately 100 animals living on the preserve.
College officials said there are simply too many deer on the preserve — which is bad for the preserve and for deer.
"We really have to do something to manage this problem," said Keri VanCamp, who manages the Vassar farm and preserve.
Increasing deer populations in urban and suburban areas have become problematic throughout New York as the animals become more common in places where they traditionally were rarely seen. Finding humane ways to deal with the overpopulation problem is an issue more and more property owners must address.
Full story at: Poughkeepsie Journal
Thursday, December 17, 2009
WISCONSIN OPINION: I'm Sorry the Natural World Does Not Yield to Your Wishes
Another great column from Pat Durkin
Judging by their press releases on November's deer season, be prepared to pat the hands of state Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, and Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, if you ever sit by them on an airplane bounced by turbulence.
If gentle reassurance doesn't stop their shrieking, suggest the flight attendant slap them.
Decker's hysterical demand on Dec. 3 to fire the state's top deer managers and Gundy's panicky call Dec. 4 to cancel December's four-day antlerless gun season show these lawmakers can't control their emotions.
"It is absolutely imperative the (Natural Resources) Board takes swift action to protect Wisconsin's deer heard (sic) from further harm that may take generations to recover from," Gundy declared.
The Board ignored him, and the low-impact season was held as scheduled. And what about Gundy's nonsense that deer might need "generations" to recover? Even if he meant deer generations, not human generations, he needs schooling in deer biology.
Researchers at Michigan's George Reserve twice showed deer herds capable of 50 percent annual growth. Starting with six whitetails in 1928, the reserve's herd boomed to 222 in seven years. And in 1975, after reducing the herd to 10 deer, most of which were fawns, researchers reported the herd at 212 after six breeding seasons.
But Gundy's outburst was nothing compared to that of Decker, majority leader of our Senate. Does that "D" in "D-Weston" after Decker's name stand for Democrat or Demagogue?
Granted, the DNR should stick to its harvest data and let others suggest wet, warm conditions and uncut corn helped lower the kill. By discussing factors beyond its control, the DNR sounds like it's making excuses.
Likewise, Decker shouldn't use his personal experience in Lincoln County to make statewide generalizations about hunting conditions.
"The swamps were pretty dry where our crew was hunting," he claimed. "We don't let a little water stop us from going after deer."
Bravo, sir! Give yourself another attaboy!
For the record, the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported 41 percent of the state's corn remained uncut because of wet soils as of Nov. 23 (the Monday of deer season). The five-year average is 19 percent uncut. That's a lot of extra hiding room.
The NASS also reported average temperatures were 7 to 11 degrees above normal during deer season, with average daily highs of 46 to 48 degrees. Research shows deer activity basically ceases in late autumn when temperatures hit 45 degrees.
But Decker went beyond weather with his pandering. He pleased barbershop biologists with this gem:
"The DNR has mismanaged the deer herd and a new team needs to be brought in that can do the job."
Unfortunately for Sen. Decker, the candidate pool appears thin. The Minnesota DNR reported a statewide kill of about 200,000 deer, the state's lowest figure in about 10 years. The agency also reported standing corn in 80 percent of Minnesota's fields.
Meanwhile, the Michigan DNR reported the deer kill fell 20 to 30 percent in the Upper Peninsula, 15 to 25 percent in the northern Lower Peninsula, and 5 to 10 percent in southern Michigan. Agency biologists said the main reasons for the slump were "unseasonably hot weather" during hunting season and harsh winter a year ago.
In addition, Michigan's corn harvest was 35 percent by Nov. 16, the second day of its 16-day season. "In an average year, it's 80 percent, " said Brent Rudolph, Michigan DNR deer program leader. "It's likely some deer never left the standing corn."
How about Illinois? Even though Illinois lacks northern forests and severe winters, its gun-hunters failed to kill 100,000 deer for the first time since 1999. The reasons cited? Warm weather and a 33 percent harvest of its corn crop.
Despite these declines in herd sizes and harvest figures across the Great Lakes, the bigger question remains: Why is anyone surprised?
The Wisconsin DNR issued a reminder before the season — Nov. 10, to be exact — that this year's deer kill would be lower than in 2008.
In addition, the mission of wildlife agencies isn't to match previous kills or produce records annually. Their task is to manage the herd to publicly approved biological and sociological goals. For much of the past three decades, that meant reducing herds.
That the Wisconsin DNR might finally be succeeding is hardly a firing offense. The same can't be said of Sen. Decker's childish tantrum.
Source: Green Bay Gazette
Judging by their press releases on November's deer season, be prepared to pat the hands of state Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, and Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, if you ever sit by them on an airplane bounced by turbulence.
If gentle reassurance doesn't stop their shrieking, suggest the flight attendant slap them.
Decker's hysterical demand on Dec. 3 to fire the state's top deer managers and Gundy's panicky call Dec. 4 to cancel December's four-day antlerless gun season show these lawmakers can't control their emotions.
"It is absolutely imperative the (Natural Resources) Board takes swift action to protect Wisconsin's deer heard (sic) from further harm that may take generations to recover from," Gundy declared.
The Board ignored him, and the low-impact season was held as scheduled. And what about Gundy's nonsense that deer might need "generations" to recover? Even if he meant deer generations, not human generations, he needs schooling in deer biology.
Researchers at Michigan's George Reserve twice showed deer herds capable of 50 percent annual growth. Starting with six whitetails in 1928, the reserve's herd boomed to 222 in seven years. And in 1975, after reducing the herd to 10 deer, most of which were fawns, researchers reported the herd at 212 after six breeding seasons.
But Gundy's outburst was nothing compared to that of Decker, majority leader of our Senate. Does that "D" in "D-Weston" after Decker's name stand for Democrat or Demagogue?
Granted, the DNR should stick to its harvest data and let others suggest wet, warm conditions and uncut corn helped lower the kill. By discussing factors beyond its control, the DNR sounds like it's making excuses.
Likewise, Decker shouldn't use his personal experience in Lincoln County to make statewide generalizations about hunting conditions.
"The swamps were pretty dry where our crew was hunting," he claimed. "We don't let a little water stop us from going after deer."
Bravo, sir! Give yourself another attaboy!
For the record, the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported 41 percent of the state's corn remained uncut because of wet soils as of Nov. 23 (the Monday of deer season). The five-year average is 19 percent uncut. That's a lot of extra hiding room.
The NASS also reported average temperatures were 7 to 11 degrees above normal during deer season, with average daily highs of 46 to 48 degrees. Research shows deer activity basically ceases in late autumn when temperatures hit 45 degrees.
But Decker went beyond weather with his pandering. He pleased barbershop biologists with this gem:
"The DNR has mismanaged the deer herd and a new team needs to be brought in that can do the job."
Unfortunately for Sen. Decker, the candidate pool appears thin. The Minnesota DNR reported a statewide kill of about 200,000 deer, the state's lowest figure in about 10 years. The agency also reported standing corn in 80 percent of Minnesota's fields.
Meanwhile, the Michigan DNR reported the deer kill fell 20 to 30 percent in the Upper Peninsula, 15 to 25 percent in the northern Lower Peninsula, and 5 to 10 percent in southern Michigan. Agency biologists said the main reasons for the slump were "unseasonably hot weather" during hunting season and harsh winter a year ago.
In addition, Michigan's corn harvest was 35 percent by Nov. 16, the second day of its 16-day season. "In an average year, it's 80 percent, " said Brent Rudolph, Michigan DNR deer program leader. "It's likely some deer never left the standing corn."
How about Illinois? Even though Illinois lacks northern forests and severe winters, its gun-hunters failed to kill 100,000 deer for the first time since 1999. The reasons cited? Warm weather and a 33 percent harvest of its corn crop.
Despite these declines in herd sizes and harvest figures across the Great Lakes, the bigger question remains: Why is anyone surprised?
The Wisconsin DNR issued a reminder before the season — Nov. 10, to be exact — that this year's deer kill would be lower than in 2008.
In addition, the mission of wildlife agencies isn't to match previous kills or produce records annually. Their task is to manage the herd to publicly approved biological and sociological goals. For much of the past three decades, that meant reducing herds.
That the Wisconsin DNR might finally be succeeding is hardly a firing offense. The same can't be said of Sen. Decker's childish tantrum.
Source: Green Bay Gazette
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
INDIANA NEWS: State Park Hunting Totals
Deer hunts last month in 17 state parks resulted in 1,334 deer being harvested, a decrease of 134 deer from last year.
The controlled hunts occurred Nov. 16 and 17 and Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at Chain O'Lakes, Charlestown, Harmonie, Lincoln, Ouabache, Pokagon, Potato Creek, Prophetstown, Shades, Shakamak, Spring Mill, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Versailles, Whitewater Memorial, Fort Harrison and Clifty Falls.
Hunters killed 42 deer in Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, 28 in Shakamak State Park near Jasonville and 60 in Shades State Park near Waveland.
Officials first opened state parks to deer hunters in 1993, harvesting 392 deer. The hunts were halted in 1994 and resumed in 1995. Turkey Run State Park has been involved in the hunts since 1999, but now deer numbers may be at a point where the park is taken off as a hunting site for a year, Mycroft said.
“Turkey Run in 2009 had 11 deer [harvested] per square mile. Last year it was 20 deer per square mile. Turkey Run is probably in a position where the deer are having much less impact [on vegetation] than they did five years ago. That park started at 39 deer per square mile [in 1999],” Mycroft said.
“We will take a closer look to make sure of this so we do not lose any ground. Turkey Run is somewhat odd as it does not have a smooth trend [in reduction of deer],” Mycroft said, adding that corn still standing in nearby property could be influencing this year’s deer numbers at that park.
The breakdown by parks shows 93 deer killed at Chain O’Lakes, 133 at Charlestown, 26 at Clifty Falls, 43 at Fort Harrison, 111 at Harmonie, 43 at Lincoln, 29 at Ouabache, 40 at Pokagon, 186 at Potato Creek, 80 at Prophetstown, 60 at Shades, 28 at Shakamak, 16 at Spring Mill, 119 at Tippecanoe, 42 at Turkey Run, 202 at Versailles and 83 at Whitewater.
Source: Terre Haute News
The controlled hunts occurred Nov. 16 and 17 and Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at Chain O'Lakes, Charlestown, Harmonie, Lincoln, Ouabache, Pokagon, Potato Creek, Prophetstown, Shades, Shakamak, Spring Mill, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Versailles, Whitewater Memorial, Fort Harrison and Clifty Falls.
Hunters killed 42 deer in Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, 28 in Shakamak State Park near Jasonville and 60 in Shades State Park near Waveland.
Officials first opened state parks to deer hunters in 1993, harvesting 392 deer. The hunts were halted in 1994 and resumed in 1995. Turkey Run State Park has been involved in the hunts since 1999, but now deer numbers may be at a point where the park is taken off as a hunting site for a year, Mycroft said.
“Turkey Run in 2009 had 11 deer [harvested] per square mile. Last year it was 20 deer per square mile. Turkey Run is probably in a position where the deer are having much less impact [on vegetation] than they did five years ago. That park started at 39 deer per square mile [in 1999],” Mycroft said.
“We will take a closer look to make sure of this so we do not lose any ground. Turkey Run is somewhat odd as it does not have a smooth trend [in reduction of deer],” Mycroft said, adding that corn still standing in nearby property could be influencing this year’s deer numbers at that park.
The breakdown by parks shows 93 deer killed at Chain O’Lakes, 133 at Charlestown, 26 at Clifty Falls, 43 at Fort Harrison, 111 at Harmonie, 43 at Lincoln, 29 at Ouabache, 40 at Pokagon, 186 at Potato Creek, 80 at Prophetstown, 60 at Shades, 28 at Shakamak, 16 at Spring Mill, 119 at Tippecanoe, 42 at Turkey Run, 202 at Versailles and 83 at Whitewater.
Source: Terre Haute News
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
MISSOURI NEWS: Municipality Opts for Controlled Archery Hunts to Combat Deer
In an effort to reduce the booming deer population, the Springfield City Council approved a measure for controlled deer hunts on public property next fall. The managed deer hunts would be done with bows and arrows, not firearms. The proposal passed at the council's meeting on Monday night.
Skilled archers would be eligible for the hunts around the state Veterans Cemetery near Lake Springfield, and a wooded area off the western banks of the James River northwest of the U.S. 60/65 interchange.
Source: KY3
Skilled archers would be eligible for the hunts around the state Veterans Cemetery near Lake Springfield, and a wooded area off the western banks of the James River northwest of the U.S. 60/65 interchange.
Source: KY3
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Lower Merion Hunt Scheduled, Friends of Animals Dismayed
As a planned federal deer shoot was scheduled to begin last night in Lower Merion Township, animal-rights activists expressed their opposition and compared it to the deer cull they have sued to stop in Valley Forge.
"The ethical issues are basically the same," said Lee Hall of Devon, legal director of the Friends of Animals organization.
Although the group sued to stop the plan to shoot more than 1,500 deer in Valley Forge National Historical Park, similar action has not been taken over the culling of 576 deer planned in the next several years in Lower Merion.
A two-person team, one shooter and one spotter, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be shooting deer in baited fields on township and private land all week from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. A USDA spokeswoman said the team will return for another weeklong cull in December, with the aim of reducing Lower Merion's deer population by 100 this year.
On a good night, the team could harvest up to 20 deer, whose meat will be donated to food banks, said Carol Bannerman, spokeswoman for the USDA. She would not specify where the cull would happen within the township. She said safety and efficiency concerns would prevent allowing private citizens to observe the hunt, which Lower Merion police are supervising.
"It can be a rather quiet operation," Bannerman said.
No township roads are being closed during the nighttime cull, in which the sharpshooter uses a silenced rifle and night-vision accessories.
Lower Merion and federal officials said the township's population is 44 to 58 deer per square mile, far above recommendations that suburbs have 10 deer, or fewer, per square mile. The cull is intended in part to reduce car-deer collisions in the township and the risk of Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks.
Hall said that safe, slower driving would be a better means to reduce auto accidents with deer, and that deer ticks could shift to family dogs and cats if the deer population is suddenly reduced. Deer culls, she added, are a brutal form of population control and often kill mainly the strongest animals.
"We are affecting evolution," she said.
Hall said legal action might be considered over the Lower Merion shoot, though the township is not subject to the national-parks laws under which Valley Forge was sued. No protest is planned against this round of culling, Hall said, though her group has a plan to distribute literature and post signs at the time of the planned December shoot.
Another area animal-rights activist and plaintiff from the Valley Forge lawsuit said she was unlikely to take similar action over the Lower Merion kill.
Though "definitely opposed" to all deer culls, Allison Memmo Geiger - president of Compassion for Animals, Respect the Environment - said her West Chester-based group, which sued over the Valley Forge shoot, has not been as active against the Lower Merion one.
"Valley Forge is a national park, so we were able to join with people on a national level for support," Geiger said. "I don't live in Lower Merion, so I have very little say there."
Source: Philly.com
"The ethical issues are basically the same," said Lee Hall of Devon, legal director of the Friends of Animals organization.
Although the group sued to stop the plan to shoot more than 1,500 deer in Valley Forge National Historical Park, similar action has not been taken over the culling of 576 deer planned in the next several years in Lower Merion.
A two-person team, one shooter and one spotter, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be shooting deer in baited fields on township and private land all week from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. A USDA spokeswoman said the team will return for another weeklong cull in December, with the aim of reducing Lower Merion's deer population by 100 this year.
On a good night, the team could harvest up to 20 deer, whose meat will be donated to food banks, said Carol Bannerman, spokeswoman for the USDA. She would not specify where the cull would happen within the township. She said safety and efficiency concerns would prevent allowing private citizens to observe the hunt, which Lower Merion police are supervising.
"It can be a rather quiet operation," Bannerman said.
No township roads are being closed during the nighttime cull, in which the sharpshooter uses a silenced rifle and night-vision accessories.
Lower Merion and federal officials said the township's population is 44 to 58 deer per square mile, far above recommendations that suburbs have 10 deer, or fewer, per square mile. The cull is intended in part to reduce car-deer collisions in the township and the risk of Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks.
Hall said that safe, slower driving would be a better means to reduce auto accidents with deer, and that deer ticks could shift to family dogs and cats if the deer population is suddenly reduced. Deer culls, she added, are a brutal form of population control and often kill mainly the strongest animals.
"We are affecting evolution," she said.
Hall said legal action might be considered over the Lower Merion shoot, though the township is not subject to the national-parks laws under which Valley Forge was sued. No protest is planned against this round of culling, Hall said, though her group has a plan to distribute literature and post signs at the time of the planned December shoot.
Another area animal-rights activist and plaintiff from the Valley Forge lawsuit said she was unlikely to take similar action over the Lower Merion kill.
Though "definitely opposed" to all deer culls, Allison Memmo Geiger - president of Compassion for Animals, Respect the Environment - said her West Chester-based group, which sued over the Valley Forge shoot, has not been as active against the Lower Merion one.
"Valley Forge is a national park, so we were able to join with people on a national level for support," Geiger said. "I don't live in Lower Merion, so I have very little say there."
Source: Philly.com
Friday, November 13, 2009
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Valley Forge NP Sued Over Deer Management
Valley Forge is 5.5 square miles. There are an estimated 232 per square mile, or about 10 times more than the park can support. I would love to see the parasite loads on these deer.
Two animal-rights groups filed suit in federal court yesterday to stop officials at Valley Forge National Historical Park from going ahead with a plan to shoot more than 1,500 deer.
Deploying sharpshooters in winter, the season when George Washington's troops suffered at Valley Forge, "is not only an appalling twist on the park's history," the suit says, but "another sign that the National Park Service has abandoned its century-old mission to strive for parks in which conservation of nature is paramount."
The filing by Friends of Animals, a national advocacy group, and Compassion for Animals, Respect the Environment (CARE), a West Chester organization, was lodged against park Superintendent Michael Caldwell, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the National Park Service as an agency, and other park service officials.
Caldwell, reached yesterday evening, said he had not seen the lawsuit but knows that the park is acting properly.
"I'm confident in the proficiency of the plan, and we believe in its scientific validity, and we've had a transparent process," he said. "I believe in the plan and where it's headed."
Anthony Conte, an attorney for the park service, said he had not seen the lawsuit. Frank Quimby, a spokesman for the Department of the Interior, said the agency does not comment on litigation.
Park officials intend to reduce the herd by 86 percent - from an estimated 1,277 deer to between 165 and 185 - during the next four years. Federal employees or contractors are to fire silencer-equipped rifles, mostly at night, at deer lured to areas baited with apples and grain. The shooting is to take place between November and March, but administrators have refused to provide specific dates.
Valley Forge officials say the action is necessary to reduce a herd that has grown big and destructive, gobbling so many plants and saplings that the forest can't regenerate.
Administrators plan to shoot 500 deer the first year, 500 the second, and between 250 and 300 in years three and four.
After four years, officials say, they'll maintain a smaller herd through contraceptives and additional shoots. They estimate that shooting deer will cost between $2.0 million and $2.9 million during the next 15 years.
The plan has provoked enormous controversy among people who live near Valley Forge, site of the Continental Army's 1777-78 winter encampment, with residents both opposed and in favor.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court for the Eastern District, said that the park study that blamed deer for ruined vegetation was flawed, and that the law requires the park to protect and conserve natural resources - including deer.
"We want the park to just let them be," said Allison Memmo Geiger, president of CARE.
Unlike the paved roads, concrete buildings, and rebuilt log cabins in the park, the suit says, deer were present before, during and after Washington's encampment, making them part of the cultural and historical resources.
The suit claims that park service officials failed to follow federal laws and regulations in developing their plan to control deer. Among those failures, the suit said, is that the park gave short shrift to the idea of introducing coyotes as natural predators.
Studies show that coyotes can safely and effectively reduce urban deer populations, and improve the health of plants, said Michael Harris, who prepared the suit as director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Denver. Coyotes kill the sick and weak, but more than that, they harass the herd, making deer wary of grazing and limiting their ability to freely reproduce.
The suit said the park also failed to consider how gunfire could endanger park visitors, local residents, and drivers on surrounding highways.
"The government's desire to deploy a rifle team to war on the deer," said Lee Hall, legal director for Friends of Animals, "lacks biological, ecological, and ethical sense."
Source: Philly.com
Two animal-rights groups filed suit in federal court yesterday to stop officials at Valley Forge National Historical Park from going ahead with a plan to shoot more than 1,500 deer.
Deploying sharpshooters in winter, the season when George Washington's troops suffered at Valley Forge, "is not only an appalling twist on the park's history," the suit says, but "another sign that the National Park Service has abandoned its century-old mission to strive for parks in which conservation of nature is paramount."
The filing by Friends of Animals, a national advocacy group, and Compassion for Animals, Respect the Environment (CARE), a West Chester organization, was lodged against park Superintendent Michael Caldwell, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the National Park Service as an agency, and other park service officials.
Caldwell, reached yesterday evening, said he had not seen the lawsuit but knows that the park is acting properly.
"I'm confident in the proficiency of the plan, and we believe in its scientific validity, and we've had a transparent process," he said. "I believe in the plan and where it's headed."
Anthony Conte, an attorney for the park service, said he had not seen the lawsuit. Frank Quimby, a spokesman for the Department of the Interior, said the agency does not comment on litigation.
Park officials intend to reduce the herd by 86 percent - from an estimated 1,277 deer to between 165 and 185 - during the next four years. Federal employees or contractors are to fire silencer-equipped rifles, mostly at night, at deer lured to areas baited with apples and grain. The shooting is to take place between November and March, but administrators have refused to provide specific dates.
Valley Forge officials say the action is necessary to reduce a herd that has grown big and destructive, gobbling so many plants and saplings that the forest can't regenerate.
Administrators plan to shoot 500 deer the first year, 500 the second, and between 250 and 300 in years three and four.
After four years, officials say, they'll maintain a smaller herd through contraceptives and additional shoots. They estimate that shooting deer will cost between $2.0 million and $2.9 million during the next 15 years.
The plan has provoked enormous controversy among people who live near Valley Forge, site of the Continental Army's 1777-78 winter encampment, with residents both opposed and in favor.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court for the Eastern District, said that the park study that blamed deer for ruined vegetation was flawed, and that the law requires the park to protect and conserve natural resources - including deer.
"We want the park to just let them be," said Allison Memmo Geiger, president of CARE.
Unlike the paved roads, concrete buildings, and rebuilt log cabins in the park, the suit says, deer were present before, during and after Washington's encampment, making them part of the cultural and historical resources.
The suit claims that park service officials failed to follow federal laws and regulations in developing their plan to control deer. Among those failures, the suit said, is that the park gave short shrift to the idea of introducing coyotes as natural predators.
Studies show that coyotes can safely and effectively reduce urban deer populations, and improve the health of plants, said Michael Harris, who prepared the suit as director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Denver. Coyotes kill the sick and weak, but more than that, they harass the herd, making deer wary of grazing and limiting their ability to freely reproduce.
The suit said the park also failed to consider how gunfire could endanger park visitors, local residents, and drivers on surrounding highways.
"The government's desire to deploy a rifle team to war on the deer," said Lee Hall, legal director for Friends of Animals, "lacks biological, ecological, and ethical sense."
Source: Philly.com
Thursday, November 12, 2009
MAYRLAND NEWS: Sligo Creek Park Battles Deer
One day in 2007, after a morning spent at Sligo Creek Park removing invasive plants so native plants could survive, Sally Gagne took a moment to look back on the acre of parkland she had proudly worked to save.
Her pride turned quickly to panic.
"I couldn't believe how little was left," said Gagne, a Silver Spring resident and founder of the Friends of Sligo Creek, a group dedicated to improving the quality of the Sligo Creek watershed, which covers 11.6 square miles from Wheaton to Hyattsville. "There were very few young trees and even fewer native plants."
A new adversary -- a rapidly increasing deer population in Sligo Creek -- had eaten almost all of the native plants and saplings.
The deer problem was bad in 2007, she said, and is worse now. For the first time, members of the Friends group are debating whether to cull the deer population in Sligo Creek before the ecosystem is ruined.
"It will happen slowly, but the woods will be gone," Gagne said. "The whole community of woods, the animals that live there and the birds that fly through."
By the group's count, between 98 and 123 deer live within one square mile along Sligo Creek Parkway between Colesville Road and Arcola Avenue in Silver Spring. Depending on the area, the deer population should be between 15 and 30 deer per square mile for the ecosystem to be unaffected, Montgomery County Parks Department officials said.
A deer-management program is in place at 19 county parks, using some form of sharpshooting or controlled hunting. The program covers more than 15,000 acres and 44 percent of county parkland.
The sharpshooting takes place three to four times at each park between January and April, said Rob Gibbs, the department's natural resources manager. Trained marksmen kill 25 to more than 100 deer a night, Gibbs said.
But sharpshooting is rare downcounty, where the parks are too small, too narrow or too urban for sharpshooting or controlled hunting, Gibbs said. Those areas have attracted deer that have grown wise to some of the long-standing upcounty sharpshooting programs, he said.
The deer population at Sligo Creek has increased almost twofold since 2007, leaving the Friends of Sligo Creek with a difficult predicament: Lobbying for sharpshooting or controlled hunts to manage deer could anger some members who say that sharpshooting would be too dangerous at Sligo Creek or that it is inhumane.
"It could end up being a lose-lose: not controlling deer and losing a lot of members," said Bruce Sidwell, the group's president.
At least part of the watershed is among sites in which the county would like to begin sharpshooting. The Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park, units 3, 4 and 5 -- the square mile between Colesville and Arcola -- is among six locations marked for future deer-management programs. The programs would cost about $150,000 and remove an estimated 355 deer initially.
The money would go a long way toward assisting a program that is "stretched as far as we can go," Gibbs told the Montgomery County Council's Public Safety Committee in a work session last Thursday. The deer-management program has two full-time employees covering 15,000 acres and was budgeted $121,000 for fiscal 2009 and $91,000 for fiscal 2010, according to a letter from Parks Department Director Mary Bradford to the council in August.
At Thursday's meeting, Council President Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville) praised the deer-management program's work but was noncommittal about allocating more money.
Even if Friends of Sligo Creek members can come to an agreement on sharpshooting at the park, by the time a program could be implemented, the ecosystem would be damaged beyond repair, Gagne said.
She resigned from running the group's Removal of Invasive Plants program because her efforts were no match for the deer.
"Everybody is affected by it," Gagne said. "I can't imagine letting all these plants disappear."
Source: Washington Post
Her pride turned quickly to panic.
"I couldn't believe how little was left," said Gagne, a Silver Spring resident and founder of the Friends of Sligo Creek, a group dedicated to improving the quality of the Sligo Creek watershed, which covers 11.6 square miles from Wheaton to Hyattsville. "There were very few young trees and even fewer native plants."
A new adversary -- a rapidly increasing deer population in Sligo Creek -- had eaten almost all of the native plants and saplings.
The deer problem was bad in 2007, she said, and is worse now. For the first time, members of the Friends group are debating whether to cull the deer population in Sligo Creek before the ecosystem is ruined.
"It will happen slowly, but the woods will be gone," Gagne said. "The whole community of woods, the animals that live there and the birds that fly through."
By the group's count, between 98 and 123 deer live within one square mile along Sligo Creek Parkway between Colesville Road and Arcola Avenue in Silver Spring. Depending on the area, the deer population should be between 15 and 30 deer per square mile for the ecosystem to be unaffected, Montgomery County Parks Department officials said.
A deer-management program is in place at 19 county parks, using some form of sharpshooting or controlled hunting. The program covers more than 15,000 acres and 44 percent of county parkland.
The sharpshooting takes place three to four times at each park between January and April, said Rob Gibbs, the department's natural resources manager. Trained marksmen kill 25 to more than 100 deer a night, Gibbs said.
But sharpshooting is rare downcounty, where the parks are too small, too narrow or too urban for sharpshooting or controlled hunting, Gibbs said. Those areas have attracted deer that have grown wise to some of the long-standing upcounty sharpshooting programs, he said.
The deer population at Sligo Creek has increased almost twofold since 2007, leaving the Friends of Sligo Creek with a difficult predicament: Lobbying for sharpshooting or controlled hunts to manage deer could anger some members who say that sharpshooting would be too dangerous at Sligo Creek or that it is inhumane.
"It could end up being a lose-lose: not controlling deer and losing a lot of members," said Bruce Sidwell, the group's president.
At least part of the watershed is among sites in which the county would like to begin sharpshooting. The Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park, units 3, 4 and 5 -- the square mile between Colesville and Arcola -- is among six locations marked for future deer-management programs. The programs would cost about $150,000 and remove an estimated 355 deer initially.
The money would go a long way toward assisting a program that is "stretched as far as we can go," Gibbs told the Montgomery County Council's Public Safety Committee in a work session last Thursday. The deer-management program has two full-time employees covering 15,000 acres and was budgeted $121,000 for fiscal 2009 and $91,000 for fiscal 2010, according to a letter from Parks Department Director Mary Bradford to the council in August.
At Thursday's meeting, Council President Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville) praised the deer-management program's work but was noncommittal about allocating more money.
Even if Friends of Sligo Creek members can come to an agreement on sharpshooting at the park, by the time a program could be implemented, the ecosystem would be damaged beyond repair, Gagne said.
She resigned from running the group's Removal of Invasive Plants program because her efforts were no match for the deer.
"Everybody is affected by it," Gagne said. "I can't imagine letting all these plants disappear."
Source: Washington Post
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
WISCONSIN NEWS: Possible Word Record-Setting Deer, DNR to Receive No Credit
Do not let this record buck fool you--the DNR has ruined the herd! I read that on the internet somewhere.
A Wisconsin hunter is holding his breath and waiting to hear whether he will hold a hunting world record.
Michael Gregoire of Sheboygan Falls may break the current record for the largest whitetail rack of a buck he shot with a bow and arrow Thursday on his brother's farm.
The 12-point buck weighed 240 pounds and the rack was unofficially set at 217 5/8 inches.
The current record was set back in 1993 in Canada, with a rack of 213 5/8 inches. The state record is 206 1/8 inches.
There is a 60-day drying period Gregoire must sustain before the official measurements and scores are released.
Source: wkowtv
A Wisconsin hunter is holding his breath and waiting to hear whether he will hold a hunting world record.
Michael Gregoire of Sheboygan Falls may break the current record for the largest whitetail rack of a buck he shot with a bow and arrow Thursday on his brother's farm.
The 12-point buck weighed 240 pounds and the rack was unofficially set at 217 5/8 inches.
The current record was set back in 1993 in Canada, with a rack of 213 5/8 inches. The state record is 206 1/8 inches.
There is a 60-day drying period Gregoire must sustain before the official measurements and scores are released.
Source: wkowtv
KANSAS NEWS: Shawnee Mission Park Cull Nets 313 Deer
Shawnee Mission State Park is 1250 acres, 150 of which is a lake. This harvest is the equivalent of 182 deer per square mile of habitat.
Volunteer sharpshooters killed 313 deer in Shawnee Mission Park last week, park officials reported Monday.
Randy Knight, a spokesman for the Johnson County Park and Recreation District, said the first phase of the park’s deer harvest has ended and the herd will be surveyed later this month to determine whether more deer should be killed.
If a second phase is needed, bow hunters would be brought in beginning Dec. 7.
Source: KansasCity.com
Volunteer sharpshooters killed 313 deer in Shawnee Mission Park last week, park officials reported Monday.
Randy Knight, a spokesman for the Johnson County Park and Recreation District, said the first phase of the park’s deer harvest has ended and the herd will be surveyed later this month to determine whether more deer should be killed.
If a second phase is needed, bow hunters would be brought in beginning Dec. 7.
Source: KansasCity.com
Thursday, October 29, 2009
NEW YORK NEWS: Municipality Supports Deer Management
Cayuga Heights village residents spoke overwhelmingly Wednesday evening in favor of a plan to either sterilize or cull all the deer in the village.
The village trustees held a special public hearing at Cayuga Heights Elementary School as part of their environmental review process on a deer remediation plan that calls for sterilizing 20-60 does, then culling or killing the remainder of the deer. The meeting drew more than 100 people.
Among villagers who spoke, supporters of the plan outnumbered detractors 4 to 1. Supporters recounted stories of car-deer accidents and near-misses, neighbors and friends with Lyme disease, and deer unafraid of dogs or people.
Forty-year village resident Barbara Collier said she was annoyed by people telling her to plant a garden the deer won't like, because she doesn't like it either.
"I'm an animal lover, but I don't need my herd of 11 deer coming through my yard," she said.
Robert Harris, a 35-year resident, said he was jogging early in the morning and saw a small herd of deer. He continued on his path, assuming the deer would move but instead, "the deer hissed at me," he said, to appreciative laughter from some of the audience.
Villager Corinne Frantz said she spoke with her children around the dinner table about the deer problem and told them that it's possible to have strong, conflicting emotions about killing the deer, but that with no natural predators, humans have a responsibility to reduce the deer herd.
"We can cry. We can cry and we can cull," she said.
In two hours of comment from villagers, with each speaker limited to two minutes, roughly half a dozen villagers spoke against the plan to kill the deer.
Full story is available at: Ithaca Journal
The village trustees held a special public hearing at Cayuga Heights Elementary School as part of their environmental review process on a deer remediation plan that calls for sterilizing 20-60 does, then culling or killing the remainder of the deer. The meeting drew more than 100 people.
Among villagers who spoke, supporters of the plan outnumbered detractors 4 to 1. Supporters recounted stories of car-deer accidents and near-misses, neighbors and friends with Lyme disease, and deer unafraid of dogs or people.
Forty-year village resident Barbara Collier said she was annoyed by people telling her to plant a garden the deer won't like, because she doesn't like it either.
"I'm an animal lover, but I don't need my herd of 11 deer coming through my yard," she said.
Robert Harris, a 35-year resident, said he was jogging early in the morning and saw a small herd of deer. He continued on his path, assuming the deer would move but instead, "the deer hissed at me," he said, to appreciative laughter from some of the audience.
Villager Corinne Frantz said she spoke with her children around the dinner table about the deer problem and told them that it's possible to have strong, conflicting emotions about killing the deer, but that with no natural predators, humans have a responsibility to reduce the deer herd.
"We can cry. We can cry and we can cull," she said.
In two hours of comment from villagers, with each speaker limited to two minutes, roughly half a dozen villagers spoke against the plan to kill the deer.
Full story is available at: Ithaca Journal
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
WISCONSIN NEWS: Where the Deer Are
The Wisconsin DNR just published this map, showing where deer exceed population goals and where deer are relatively scarce.
ARKANSAS NEWS: A Look at Historic Deer Harvests
From the low three figures to a steady six figures — that's the story of Arkansas' deer harvest records.
Numerous hunters in the state, sometimes after an unproductive session in the woods, many grumble that "deer hunting just isn't what it was in the old days."
The statistics are not on their side, however.
Many other hunters realistically realize that the state has many, many more deer here in 2009 than it did a couple of generations back. They may also have gripes about not enough deer in this area, few bucks in that county, too small racks on the bucks somewhere else. But the numbers are indisputable — Arkansas deer are plentiful, although not to everyone's satisfaction.
The first year of official checking of deer taken by hunters by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission was 1938.
Picture that autumn. The state and the nation were still in the grips of the Great Depression. Many Arkansans sought deer for the most basic of objectives. They needed food on the table. That hunting season, 203 were checked by hunters with AGFC's representatives.
The economy was bleak, but restoration of Arkansas's deer had been under way for more than a decade, most as the efforts may seem today. Deer "farms" were in operation in several locations. Deer were being relocated to places where they were absent and had been scarce for years since the late 19th century and early 20th century.
It is a reasonable assumption that some deer were taken by hunters in the fall of 1938 and were not checked, but were taken straight to kitchen use.
The next year, 1939, there were 540 deer checked as information spread around the state about this new requirement for hunters. In 1940, just 408 deer were checked, and in 1941, 433 deer were checked.
These totals seem tiny compared to recent years of Arkansas hunting.
Last season, the 2008 hunt that stretched into early 2009, 184,991 deer were tallied by Arkansas hunters, a total second only to the peak season of 1999 when 194,687 deer were logged across the state in records of all three hunting methods archery, muzzle-loader and modern gun.
long with the outright poaching and night-hunting, is present today as it was in 1938. Unknown, of course, is the extent of these illegal takings of deer. Does poaching account for a small percentage of the deer taken each year or a large amount?
Deer hunting numbers rose steadily from the early years, especially after the AGFC was reorganized into its present form by Amendment 35 of the Arkansas Constitution which went into effect in 1945. From the 1,687 deer checked that year, the state total was 5,122 just five years later. Fifteen years later, in 1960, the deer harvest total was 15,000.
Deer harvest growth continued through the 1960s and see-sawed a bit in the 1970s as the first steps toward hunting of female deer, does, in some areas began. Some protests came forth after the 1978 season when 43,452 deer were checked. Doe hunting was reduced, and in 1979 the total for the state was 36,074.
About this time, more tailored deer hunting regulations were crafted by the AGFC, allowing for more hunting days and more taking of does in areas where deer had become plentiful. Restricted rules were in effect for areas of lesser deer numbers.
It was 1987 when Arkansas's deer take reached six figures, with 106,392 checked that year by hunters. The total dipped in 1990, again with tightened hunting rules. Then it returned to six figures in 1991. The peak of 1999 climaxed five years of impressive numbers on the deer hunting scene.
Some hunters protested that too many deer were falling to hunters. New strategies in deer management came forth, including quality deer objectives on both private land and some public land.
After a dip in 2003, when tighter deer hunting rules were coupled with unfavorable weather, the statewide deer totals have climbed again to approach the peak of a decade ago.
Source: Baxter Bulletin
Numerous hunters in the state, sometimes after an unproductive session in the woods, many grumble that "deer hunting just isn't what it was in the old days."
The statistics are not on their side, however.
Many other hunters realistically realize that the state has many, many more deer here in 2009 than it did a couple of generations back. They may also have gripes about not enough deer in this area, few bucks in that county, too small racks on the bucks somewhere else. But the numbers are indisputable — Arkansas deer are plentiful, although not to everyone's satisfaction.
The first year of official checking of deer taken by hunters by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission was 1938.
Picture that autumn. The state and the nation were still in the grips of the Great Depression. Many Arkansans sought deer for the most basic of objectives. They needed food on the table. That hunting season, 203 were checked by hunters with AGFC's representatives.
The economy was bleak, but restoration of Arkansas's deer had been under way for more than a decade, most as the efforts may seem today. Deer "farms" were in operation in several locations. Deer were being relocated to places where they were absent and had been scarce for years since the late 19th century and early 20th century.
It is a reasonable assumption that some deer were taken by hunters in the fall of 1938 and were not checked, but were taken straight to kitchen use.
The next year, 1939, there were 540 deer checked as information spread around the state about this new requirement for hunters. In 1940, just 408 deer were checked, and in 1941, 433 deer were checked.
These totals seem tiny compared to recent years of Arkansas hunting.
Last season, the 2008 hunt that stretched into early 2009, 184,991 deer were tallied by Arkansas hunters, a total second only to the peak season of 1999 when 194,687 deer were logged across the state in records of all three hunting methods archery, muzzle-loader and modern gun.
long with the outright poaching and night-hunting, is present today as it was in 1938. Unknown, of course, is the extent of these illegal takings of deer. Does poaching account for a small percentage of the deer taken each year or a large amount?
Deer hunting numbers rose steadily from the early years, especially after the AGFC was reorganized into its present form by Amendment 35 of the Arkansas Constitution which went into effect in 1945. From the 1,687 deer checked that year, the state total was 5,122 just five years later. Fifteen years later, in 1960, the deer harvest total was 15,000.
Deer harvest growth continued through the 1960s and see-sawed a bit in the 1970s as the first steps toward hunting of female deer, does, in some areas began. Some protests came forth after the 1978 season when 43,452 deer were checked. Doe hunting was reduced, and in 1979 the total for the state was 36,074.
About this time, more tailored deer hunting regulations were crafted by the AGFC, allowing for more hunting days and more taking of does in areas where deer had become plentiful. Restricted rules were in effect for areas of lesser deer numbers.
It was 1987 when Arkansas's deer take reached six figures, with 106,392 checked that year by hunters. The total dipped in 1990, again with tightened hunting rules. Then it returned to six figures in 1991. The peak of 1999 climaxed five years of impressive numbers on the deer hunting scene.
Some hunters protested that too many deer were falling to hunters. New strategies in deer management came forth, including quality deer objectives on both private land and some public land.
After a dip in 2003, when tighter deer hunting rules were coupled with unfavorable weather, the statewide deer totals have climbed again to approach the peak of a decade ago.
Source: Baxter Bulletin
Monday, October 26, 2009
OPINION: Counting Deer in Wisconsin
How many deer are in Wisconsin? It depends on who you ask. From a recent story:
The debate is not new. What is new is some vehicle collision data that can be brought to bear on the question.
A collision data seems like a good source of data, at least at the level of a township. But does this hold up statewide?
You can look at the 2008 DoT Report here. I do not think there is much ammunition to give credence to the hunters saying deer populations are down. Here is data showing the relationship between deer-vehicle collisions in Wisconsin from 1993 to 2008. Do you see a trend? Because there isn't one.
What does this mean? The interpretation is ambiguous. If you think deer densities should correlate with deer crashes, you would probably be suspect of the crash estimates, the deer population estimates, or both.
I don't think Keith is correct here, either. His reasoning is correct, but he seems to exclude fewer deer as an explanation. The ideal approach to estimating population trends should incorporate all sources of data, but of course that is easier said than done.
In the final analysis, the exact number of deer does not really matter. If you are a hunter, what matters is seeing a deer during deer season. If you are a driver, what matters is not colliding with deer. Actual population estimates are nothing more than a tool to help population managers do their job. By this measure, the current SAK model, with all its flaws, does a reasonable job. That is not to say the DNR cannot do better. However, I think this latest salvo from the disgruntled deer hunters association has missed its target.
Source: NBC26
A debate continues to rage between Wisconsin hunters and the Department of Natural Resources over the true number of deer in the state. Hunters have repeatedly argued the deer population is dropping. The DNR counters saying there are too many deer in Wisconsin and the agency is studying a plan to extend the deer hunting season.
The debate is not new. What is new is some vehicle collision data that can be brought to bear on the question.
Now, hunters say they have the proof they need, a study that reportedly shows car-deer crashes in Wisconsin has dropped and has been dropping for years. Joe Terrien of MJ Collision Center in Bellevue has seen the numbers drop first hand. "Six years ago, we saw at least on deer hit a day. Now we're seeing two a week."
A collision data seems like a good source of data, at least at the level of a township. But does this hold up statewide?
Data from the Department of Transportation seem to confirm the drop. In 2003, a peak year according to the DOT there were more than 20 thousand car deer crashes reported by the State Patrol. Since then, the numbers are trending lower.
You can look at the 2008 DoT Report here. I do not think there is much ammunition to give credence to the hunters saying deer populations are down. Here is data showing the relationship between deer-vehicle collisions in Wisconsin from 1993 to 2008. Do you see a trend? Because there isn't one.
What does this mean? The interpretation is ambiguous. If you think deer densities should correlate with deer crashes, you would probably be suspect of the crash estimates, the deer population estimates, or both.
But DNR Spokesperson Kieth Warnke denied the connection between less deer and less car deer crashes."I don't think they reflect a magnitude of change in deer population state wide." Warnke does not deny the numbers in the study. But The DNR and DOT say there could be other factors involved. They give examples such as the bad economy is keeping many drivers off the roads and that may be responsible for the lower numbers.
I don't think Keith is correct here, either. His reasoning is correct, but he seems to exclude fewer deer as an explanation. The ideal approach to estimating population trends should incorporate all sources of data, but of course that is easier said than done.
In the final analysis, the exact number of deer does not really matter. If you are a hunter, what matters is seeing a deer during deer season. If you are a driver, what matters is not colliding with deer. Actual population estimates are nothing more than a tool to help population managers do their job. By this measure, the current SAK model, with all its flaws, does a reasonable job. That is not to say the DNR cannot do better. However, I think this latest salvo from the disgruntled deer hunters association has missed its target.
Source: NBC26
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