By Howard Meyerson
Grand Rapids Press Outdoors Editor
SAUGATUCK -- Dave Engel's gut told him something was wrong when he found four dead deer along a half-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River in August.
A call to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources cued him to the fact that 12 others had been reported upstream.
"We knew instantly that something was wrong," said Engel, the manager of the Pottawatomie Gun Club located along the river between Saugatuck and Richmond.
The 120-year-old private waterfowl hunting club has nearly 2 miles of riverfront on its property. The deer were found floating or along the bank.
Engel didn't anticipate finding 17 more in subsequent weeks, the predictable result of a often fatal viral disease in deer known as epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD.
The infectious disease is carried by a tiny flying midge known as a no-see-um. State officials confirmed the presence of the disease in two deer Tuesday. Officials say they have received 50 reports of dead deer in Manlius and Saugatuck townships along the Rabbit and Kalamazoo rivers.
"They (DNR biologists) had a suspicion that it was EHD before this, but no clinical evidence," said Maria Albright, a wildlife staffer with the Allegan State Game Area.
Albright handled many of the calls about dead deer. Most had decomposed. They were no longer good specimens for the lab. But that changed Sept. 18 when DNR wildlife managers got a call about a deer that someone saw die.
"We were able to get to that deer within a half hour of it dying," Albright said. "It went to the lab the next day and that nailed it." It took two weeks to isolate the EHD virus and make sure it was not a close relative known as bluetongue.
Wildlife officials said the deer's presence along the river fit a classic pattern. The deer were hot with fever and went to the water's edge to drink or lie in it and cool down. Some were simply not strong enough to get up and leave. They died in place or got swept down stream.
"I've witnessed three different deer come to the water, lay down and not get back up," Engel said. "I've found 21 so far. All were along the river. It's a gruesome sight. Every logjam has a deer in it."
EHD causes internal bleeding from different organs and the deer go into shock. The symptoms include a loss of appetite, fear of humans, lack of strength and bleeding.
Studies show 75 percent of the infected deer die within three days of being bitten.
"It's fast and it's a localized event," said John Lerg, a wildlife biologist with the DNR Plainwell office. "We haven't fully mapped the location of all the carcasses, but we expect this will be over with the first frost."
Cold conditions kill the midges that carry the disease. It is not spread from one deer to another, according to Lerg.
Hunters also need not be concerned. Humans are not susceptible to the disease. Standard precautions, however are warranted. Do not shoot or eat a sick deer and wear protective gloves when processing it. The disease is not expected to spread beyond the area.
EHD is common in the U.S. and Canada, but outbreaks do not occur regularly. Michigan had an outbreak in the 1955 in 10 counties, forming a band from Muskegon to Shiawassee, and in 1974 in Gratiot, Iosco, Mecosta, Ingham and Arenac counties. In each case, 100 dead deer were reported.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Monday, October 02, 2006
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Deer Pose Problems at Historic Park
Members of several Pennsylvania communities plan to meet at Valley Forge National Historical Park to discuss the area's growing deer problems.
The Philadelphia Inquirer said the deer population in the area has grown to the point that traffic accidents and garden damage are becoming commonplace, and the meeting would debate whether killing the deer is a necessary evil.
"It's the most difficult issue that our community has ever faced," said Bucks County resident Debbie Plotnick. "Most suburban communities love deer ... People don't realize how hard this is."
At the meeting next month, a proposal allowing limited bow hunting of deer in certain areas is set to be proposed and would likely meet with strong opposition by those who say the deer should be caught and released elsewhere, the Inquirer said.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission will hold a hearing Monday to attempt to legalize the use of bait in deer hunting, and the proposition will go to a vote Tuesday, said the Inquirer.
The Philadelphia Inquirer said the deer population in the area has grown to the point that traffic accidents and garden damage are becoming commonplace, and the meeting would debate whether killing the deer is a necessary evil.
"It's the most difficult issue that our community has ever faced," said Bucks County resident Debbie Plotnick. "Most suburban communities love deer ... People don't realize how hard this is."
At the meeting next month, a proposal allowing limited bow hunting of deer in certain areas is set to be proposed and would likely meet with strong opposition by those who say the deer should be caught and released elsewhere, the Inquirer said.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission will hold a hearing Monday to attempt to legalize the use of bait in deer hunting, and the proposition will go to a vote Tuesday, said the Inquirer.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
OREGON NEWS: Lots of Dead Deer, Blue Tongue Virus Suspsected
The Associated Press. LA GRANDE, Ore. (AP) — A virus outbreak is being blamed for an unusually large number of deer found dead in south La Grande.
Ten white-tailed deer and three mule deer have been found dead in the past month, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Blue tongue, a virus that periodically hits deer populations and poses no threat to humans, is the likely culprit, said Jim Cadwell, an ODFW biologist. The disease typically strikes between late August through October and primarily hits whitetails. The outbreaks, which occur during dry years, are related to the abundance of tiny biting flies known as midges.
"When the weather cools the insect is suppressed," Cadwell said. "The cause of the disease is shot down." The ODFW was finding about two dead deer a day in south La Grande until the weather cooled a week ago. Then another dead deer was spotted Monday.
Samples taken from the deer were sent to Oregon State University to be tested. Samples from other deer were not submitted because they were found well after their deaths. Cadwell said biologists need to reach a deer within hours after its death for it to be tested for the virus, which kills by causing internal bleeding.
Dead deer have also been reported at Ladd Marsh this month. Dave Larson, manager of the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area, said that a number of people reported seeing dead deer there during a youth pheasant hunt Sept. 9-10.
Ten white-tailed deer and three mule deer have been found dead in the past month, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Blue tongue, a virus that periodically hits deer populations and poses no threat to humans, is the likely culprit, said Jim Cadwell, an ODFW biologist. The disease typically strikes between late August through October and primarily hits whitetails. The outbreaks, which occur during dry years, are related to the abundance of tiny biting flies known as midges.
"When the weather cools the insect is suppressed," Cadwell said. "The cause of the disease is shot down." The ODFW was finding about two dead deer a day in south La Grande until the weather cooled a week ago. Then another dead deer was spotted Monday.
Samples taken from the deer were sent to Oregon State University to be tested. Samples from other deer were not submitted because they were found well after their deaths. Cadwell said biologists need to reach a deer within hours after its death for it to be tested for the virus, which kills by causing internal bleeding.
Dead deer have also been reported at Ladd Marsh this month. Dave Larson, manager of the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area, said that a number of people reported seeing dead deer there during a youth pheasant hunt Sept. 9-10.
Monday, September 25, 2006
UK NEWS: Deer Collisions Rise Near Ancient Hunting Reserve
Rising numbers of crashes between deer and vehicles in the Ashdown Forest are set to worsen when the clocks change.
Forest rangers attended 100 crashes in 2000, compared with 215 in 2005, and a group has now been set up to reduce crashes and manage the deer.
Deer travel at dusk which will coincide with rush hour when the clocks change next month, Dr Hew Prendergast said.
The area of heath and woodland on the Kent and Sussex border was established 900 years ago for deer hunting.
Dr Prendergast said the A22 near Forest Row was the worst stretch of road in Britain for deer and vehicle collisions.
The Ashdown Forest now has several thousand Fallow Deer, about 50 Roe Deer, large numbers of Muntjac and a small herd of Sika.
Their growing numbers together with increasing volumes of traffic are thought to have led to a rapid rise in crashes.
The Ashdown Area Deer Group includes East Sussex County Council, the Conservators of Ashdown Forest, the Deer Initiative, the RSPCA, the British Deer Society, the Ministry of Defence and local landowners.
Forest rangers attended 100 crashes in 2000, compared with 215 in 2005, and a group has now been set up to reduce crashes and manage the deer.
Deer travel at dusk which will coincide with rush hour when the clocks change next month, Dr Hew Prendergast said.
The area of heath and woodland on the Kent and Sussex border was established 900 years ago for deer hunting.
Dr Prendergast said the A22 near Forest Row was the worst stretch of road in Britain for deer and vehicle collisions.
The Ashdown Forest now has several thousand Fallow Deer, about 50 Roe Deer, large numbers of Muntjac and a small herd of Sika.
Their growing numbers together with increasing volumes of traffic are thought to have led to a rapid rise in crashes.
The Ashdown Area Deer Group includes East Sussex County Council, the Conservators of Ashdown Forest, the Deer Initiative, the RSPCA, the British Deer Society, the Ministry of Defence and local landowners.
Friday, September 22, 2006
MONTANA NEWS: Task Force Examines Helena Deer Population
By LARRY KLINE - IR Staff Writer - 9/22/06
Jon Ebelt IR Staff Photographer - The deer problem in Helena continues to hang over the heads of government leaders as well as local residents, who often find deer literally at their doorsteps. What would happen if city officials chose to do nothing to corral the growth of Helena’s urban deer herd?
Members of the Urban Wildlife Task Force on Thursday considered that question as part of their analysis of lethal and non-lethal options the city might employ to control the deer population. The group identified one merit in maintaining the status quo — the sight of deer in town is pleasing, members said — and plenty of potential problems.
Outlining issues associated with an unchecked deer herd roaming city streets and backyards allows the group to give the Helena City Commission and the public a clearer picture of possible strategies, state Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Gayle Joslin said. Authorities already manage deer in some ways. FWP wardens and city animal control personnel euthanize injured deer if they cannot walk and move on their own. A city ordinance outlaws feeding deer.
Nothing is being done to control the population, Joslin said, and continuing to allow that unmitigated growth creates a host of issues.
Deer can threaten human safety in several ways. Bucks sometime become aggressive toward people during the fall mating season. Does at times do the same in the spring, when they are protective of their fawns. As the numbers of deer increase, some likely will become more aggressive toward humans, she said, because the animals view people as competitors for resources, such as food and space. They also draw predators like bears and mountain lions into city neighborhoods. More deer also would mean more property damage, more collisions between animals and vehicles, and more health problems for the deer.
In Helena, the animals have been found with viral skin infections, ringworm and growths that blind them or prevent them from eating, Joslin said.
She presented a simple population growth model. Beginning with one buck and one doe, and assuming females would produce one fawn each year, the mating pair would multiply into 120 deer in a decade. Using the same scenario, but assuming every doe gave birth to twins, the original four-legged lovers would produce a herd more than 1,000 strong in 10 years, Joslin said.
Task force member Andrew Jakes said he doesn’t want the herd to outgrow its welcome — a “threshold” of tolerance exists among city residents. Another member, Tom DeYoung, said some citizens already are intolerant of deer. He said he recently witnessed a woman throw a rock at a doe.
The task force also is ironing out questions it will use in a phone survey later this fall. About 400 people will be contacted by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research. The $10,000 phone survey will be paid for in part by a $7,000 grant from FWP. The task force also has $5,000 in city funds at its disposal.
Some of that money may go to Gene Hickman, a consultant and wildlife biologist, who could be enlisted to determine the size of the city’s herd. In his presentation Thursday, Hickman said he counted 60 deer in the Sixth Ward during a sample survey earlier this week.
The growing population is a relatively new problem. Joslin said the deer population has been noticeably growing for about five years. Some of the dozen bucks euthanized in the city last year were 4-year-olds, and represented some of the oldest males found in the city.
When her father was growing up in Helena, she said, news of a hunter finding a deer track spread fast in the city.
Read more about the herd on the IR’s Deer Diary blog at www.helenair.com/blog/deerdiary.
Jon Ebelt IR Staff Photographer - The deer problem in Helena continues to hang over the heads of government leaders as well as local residents, who often find deer literally at their doorsteps. What would happen if city officials chose to do nothing to corral the growth of Helena’s urban deer herd?
Members of the Urban Wildlife Task Force on Thursday considered that question as part of their analysis of lethal and non-lethal options the city might employ to control the deer population. The group identified one merit in maintaining the status quo — the sight of deer in town is pleasing, members said — and plenty of potential problems.
Outlining issues associated with an unchecked deer herd roaming city streets and backyards allows the group to give the Helena City Commission and the public a clearer picture of possible strategies, state Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Gayle Joslin said. Authorities already manage deer in some ways. FWP wardens and city animal control personnel euthanize injured deer if they cannot walk and move on their own. A city ordinance outlaws feeding deer.
Nothing is being done to control the population, Joslin said, and continuing to allow that unmitigated growth creates a host of issues.
Deer can threaten human safety in several ways. Bucks sometime become aggressive toward people during the fall mating season. Does at times do the same in the spring, when they are protective of their fawns. As the numbers of deer increase, some likely will become more aggressive toward humans, she said, because the animals view people as competitors for resources, such as food and space. They also draw predators like bears and mountain lions into city neighborhoods. More deer also would mean more property damage, more collisions between animals and vehicles, and more health problems for the deer.
In Helena, the animals have been found with viral skin infections, ringworm and growths that blind them or prevent them from eating, Joslin said.
She presented a simple population growth model. Beginning with one buck and one doe, and assuming females would produce one fawn each year, the mating pair would multiply into 120 deer in a decade. Using the same scenario, but assuming every doe gave birth to twins, the original four-legged lovers would produce a herd more than 1,000 strong in 10 years, Joslin said.
Task force member Andrew Jakes said he doesn’t want the herd to outgrow its welcome — a “threshold” of tolerance exists among city residents. Another member, Tom DeYoung, said some citizens already are intolerant of deer. He said he recently witnessed a woman throw a rock at a doe.
The task force also is ironing out questions it will use in a phone survey later this fall. About 400 people will be contacted by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research. The $10,000 phone survey will be paid for in part by a $7,000 grant from FWP. The task force also has $5,000 in city funds at its disposal.
Some of that money may go to Gene Hickman, a consultant and wildlife biologist, who could be enlisted to determine the size of the city’s herd. In his presentation Thursday, Hickman said he counted 60 deer in the Sixth Ward during a sample survey earlier this week.
The growing population is a relatively new problem. Joslin said the deer population has been noticeably growing for about five years. Some of the dozen bucks euthanized in the city last year were 4-year-olds, and represented some of the oldest males found in the city.
When her father was growing up in Helena, she said, news of a hunter finding a deer track spread fast in the city.
Read more about the herd on the IR’s Deer Diary blog at www.helenair.com/blog/deerdiary.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
IRELAND NEWS: Farmers Back Call for Cull--Cite TB Concerns
The Irish Farmers Association has joined calls for a cull on Donegal's wild deer population. Its Donegal Chairman Keith Roulston claims herds of wild deer could be the source of a recent rise in TB cases in livestock in West Donegal and Inishowen.
Earlier in the week concerns were expressed over damage being caused to property by the animals in West Donegal. But Keith Roulston says the spread of TB is also of major concern.
Earlier in the week concerns were expressed over damage being caused to property by the animals in West Donegal. But Keith Roulston says the spread of TB is also of major concern.
Monday, September 18, 2006
UK NEWS: Proposal to Ease Laws Against Shooting Deer
MINISTERS are considering making it easier for people to shoot wild deer, which pose a threat to woodland and farming as their numbers mushroom.
Biodiversity minister Barry Gardiner said: "Wild deer populations are damaging some of our most threatened woodland habitats and causing millions of pounds' worth of damage to agriculture. "In addition, They are presenting an increasing hazard on our roads."
Details of the proposed changes, which include a shorter closed season, allowing smaller guns to be used and permitting any reasonable and humane means of killing injured or diseased animals, can be seen by logging on to the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/deer%2Dmanagement/ The consultation period closes on October 24.
Biodiversity minister Barry Gardiner said: "Wild deer populations are damaging some of our most threatened woodland habitats and causing millions of pounds' worth of damage to agriculture. "In addition, They are presenting an increasing hazard on our roads."
Details of the proposed changes, which include a shorter closed season, allowing smaller guns to be used and permitting any reasonable and humane means of killing injured or diseased animals, can be seen by logging on to the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/deer%2Dmanagement/ The consultation period closes on October 24.
IRELAND NEWS: Culling Considered in Dungloe
There have been calls for the authorities to consider a deer cull in the Dungloe area as a result of ongoing damage being caused to property in the area by the animals.
Local Councillor Terence Slowey says at least five cars have been damaged in the Chapel Road area over the last number of weeks. There has been a recorded growth of 30% per year in the number of deer in that area.
Councillor Slowey says one man even awoke to find a deer hammering at his front door in the middle of the night.
Local Councillor Terence Slowey says at least five cars have been damaged in the Chapel Road area over the last number of weeks. There has been a recorded growth of 30% per year in the number of deer in that area.
Councillor Slowey says one man even awoke to find a deer hammering at his front door in the middle of the night.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
TEXAS NEWS: Deer Dieoff, Hemorragic Disease Suspected
West of Eden, deer are dying. And state wildlife specialists are scrambling to figure out why.
West Texas landowners, in a rough triangle around San Angelo encompassed by the towns of Eden to the east, Ozona to the south and Sterling City to the northwest, have reported an unusual number of dead deer, said Don Davis, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station veterinary pathobiologist.
"While some level of deer mortality is not newsworthy, it looks like we have a hot spot developing for epizootic hemorrhagic disease," said Texas Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist Dale Rollins.
The flyborne disease is similar to an ailment called bluetongue that affects sheep and cattle, but Rollins said it's most common in white-tailed deer.
West Texas landowners, in a rough triangle around San Angelo encompassed by the towns of Eden to the east, Ozona to the south and Sterling City to the northwest, have reported an unusual number of dead deer, said Don Davis, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station veterinary pathobiologist.
"While some level of deer mortality is not newsworthy, it looks like we have a hot spot developing for epizootic hemorrhagic disease," said Texas Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist Dale Rollins.
The flyborne disease is similar to an ailment called bluetongue that affects sheep and cattle, but Rollins said it's most common in white-tailed deer.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
IOWA NEWS: Urban Hunt in Ames
A new ordinance will allow the hunting of deer by bow and arrow in designated areas of Ames. The Ames City Council approved the deer management ordinance Tuesday night. The ordinance proposed the legal hunting of deer using bow and arrow in zones designated by Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Its purpose is to control animal populations within and around the city of Ames. The ordinance will take effect Oct. 1.
Twelve cities in Iowa already allow deer hunting, and 11 of these cities allow hunting with a bow and arrow. "Every city that has passed this has been very satisfied with it," said Ames Police Chief Loras Jaeger.
All Ames deer hunters must follow a number of rules, including passing a proficiency test and obtaining a special-use permit.
To measure the effectiveness of the ordinance, an annual aerial count will be taken and reported back to the council, Jaeger said.
Although the ordinance was passed, there were concerned community members.
"If you need to control the deer population, there are safer ways to do so," said Wolfgang Kliemann, professor of mathematics and Ames resident.
Twelve cities in Iowa already allow deer hunting, and 11 of these cities allow hunting with a bow and arrow. "Every city that has passed this has been very satisfied with it," said Ames Police Chief Loras Jaeger.
All Ames deer hunters must follow a number of rules, including passing a proficiency test and obtaining a special-use permit.
To measure the effectiveness of the ordinance, an annual aerial count will be taken and reported back to the council, Jaeger said.
Although the ordinance was passed, there were concerned community members.
"If you need to control the deer population, there are safer ways to do so," said Wolfgang Kliemann, professor of mathematics and Ames resident.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
MARYLAND NEWS: Exotic Sika Deer Accelerating Beach Erosion
Assateague State Park, famous for its wild ponies, is being overrun by another small, hoofed animal that is eating the plants that hold back beach erosion: sika deer.
To save vegetation, state wildlife managers want to whittle the population through an archery-only hunting season from Nov. 13 to Jan. 31. "We've got to do something out there," said Paul Peditto, director of the Wildlife and Heritage Service of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "Assateague is a unique and valuable resource, and it would be irresponsible to stand by and let it be eaten alive." The agency is asking for public comment.
Although the 680-acre park south of Ocean City is just a sliver of the 37-mile-long barrier island, it is among the top-five busiest state parks each year, attracting 14,000 campers a week and thousands of day trippers.
"It's a confined area. You see the deer far more now than you did several years ago. The ponies eat vegetation, but that population is stable and easy to count. You can see the increase in destruction," said Col. Rick Barton, head of the state parks.
Hunting already is used by the National Park Service to keep the deer population in check on the portion of the island it manages.
Sika deer are much smaller than white-tailed deer, weighing from 50 to 100 pounds and standing about 2 1/2 -feet tall. Introduced to Maryland from Asia in 1916, their numbers have increased and herds have taken hold in the four southernmost counties on the Eastern Shore.
The proposal would allow 12 bow hunters in the park each day, with two of the locations reserved for disabled hunters. Hunting would be allowed from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. "This has been under consideration for a long time," said Barton. "We wanted to be confident it could be done carefully and perfectly. We have hunting at a lot of state parks. ... Why not Assateague?"
To save vegetation, state wildlife managers want to whittle the population through an archery-only hunting season from Nov. 13 to Jan. 31. "We've got to do something out there," said Paul Peditto, director of the Wildlife and Heritage Service of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "Assateague is a unique and valuable resource, and it would be irresponsible to stand by and let it be eaten alive." The agency is asking for public comment.
Although the 680-acre park south of Ocean City is just a sliver of the 37-mile-long barrier island, it is among the top-five busiest state parks each year, attracting 14,000 campers a week and thousands of day trippers.
"It's a confined area. You see the deer far more now than you did several years ago. The ponies eat vegetation, but that population is stable and easy to count. You can see the increase in destruction," said Col. Rick Barton, head of the state parks.
Hunting already is used by the National Park Service to keep the deer population in check on the portion of the island it manages.
Sika deer are much smaller than white-tailed deer, weighing from 50 to 100 pounds and standing about 2 1/2 -feet tall. Introduced to Maryland from Asia in 1916, their numbers have increased and herds have taken hold in the four southernmost counties on the Eastern Shore.
The proposal would allow 12 bow hunters in the park each day, with two of the locations reserved for disabled hunters. Hunting would be allowed from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. "This has been under consideration for a long time," said Barton. "We wanted to be confident it could be done carefully and perfectly. We have hunting at a lot of state parks. ... Why not Assateague?"
Friday, September 08, 2006
MARYLAND NEWS: Deer Imports Limited to Keep CWD Out
Annapolis, Md. (AP) - State wildlife regulators, hoping to prevent chronic wasting disease from reaching Maryland's deer herd, announced new limits Thursday on imports of venison and other meat and trophies from certain out-of-state hunts.
The restrictions apply to meat and other parts of deer, elk, moose and other antlered species killed in areas with confirmed cases of CWD.
CWD is a naturally occurring, fatal disease of the brain and nervous systems of antlered species. It has been found in 14 states, including neighboring West Virginia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Travelers may pass through Maryland with the carcasses of antlered species, provided that no parts are left in the state.
The restrictions are aimed at preventing imports of animal brains, spinal columns and other tissues that contain the highest concentrations of infectious tissues.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The restrictions apply to meat and other parts of deer, elk, moose and other antlered species killed in areas with confirmed cases of CWD.
CWD is a naturally occurring, fatal disease of the brain and nervous systems of antlered species. It has been found in 14 states, including neighboring West Virginia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Travelers may pass through Maryland with the carcasses of antlered species, provided that no parts are left in the state.
The restrictions are aimed at preventing imports of animal brains, spinal columns and other tissues that contain the highest concentrations of infectious tissues.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
NORTH DAKOTA NEWS: Urban Bow Hunt Starts Without Incident
Associated Press. FARGO, N.D. - This city's first ever deer bow hunting season has started without incident, officials say. Jason Scott, a local game warden, and police Sgt. Kevin Volrath said they had not heard of any problems or issues with any hunters.
Most archers are expected to hunt their deer later in the year when other hunting seasons end, said Doug Leier, a biologist in West Fargo with the state Game and Fish Department. Leier said he expects to see most urban hunting take place in late November and early December.
The bow hunting season began Friday and runs until the end of January. The goal is to reduce the size of the urban deer herd. The hunt is limited to four city parks along the Red River, where a recent survey counted 190 deer. Hunters had to go through training and pass a proficiency test to get a permit. A total of 35 permits were given out for the first season, meaning 70 antlerless deer can be killed.
Most archers are expected to hunt their deer later in the year when other hunting seasons end, said Doug Leier, a biologist in West Fargo with the state Game and Fish Department. Leier said he expects to see most urban hunting take place in late November and early December.
The bow hunting season began Friday and runs until the end of January. The goal is to reduce the size of the urban deer herd. The hunt is limited to four city parks along the Red River, where a recent survey counted 190 deer. Hunters had to go through training and pass a proficiency test to get a permit. A total of 35 permits were given out for the first season, meaning 70 antlerless deer can be killed.
Monday, September 04, 2006
RESEARCH NEWS: Deer, Lyme Disease, and an Interesting Twist
Deer-free Areas May be Haven for Ticks
By Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
Sep 4, 2006, 07:00
(HealthNewsDigest.com) University Park, Pa. -- Excluding deer could be a counterproductive strategy for controlling tick-borne infections, because the absence of deer from small areas may lead to an increase in ticks, rapidly turning the area into a potential disease hotspot, according to a team of U.S. and Italian researchers.
"Deer are referred to as dilution hosts or dead-end hosts,” says Sarah Perkins, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. "They get bitten by ticks but never get infected with tick-borne pathogens, such as the bacteria causing Lyme disease."
However, deer are critical to adult female ticks in the last stages of their three-part lifecycle. Ticks use them for a final blood meal before dropping off to produce thousands of eggs, Perkins explains. Currently, health officials believe that removing deer from the equation could disrupt the tick lifecycle and leave fewer ticks to feed on rodents, which, unlike deer, can transfer a range of tick-borne pathogens. Ultimately the tick-borne disease will fade out.
However, previous field studies show that removing deer sometimes leads to higher tick densities and sometimes lower, and the outcome seems dependent on the size of area from which deer are excluded.
"Very few studies have looked at how removing the deer affects the intensity of tick bites on rodents, and how it relates to the size of the area from where the deer are excluded," explains Perkins, whose findings are published in the current issue of the journal Ecology.
Researchers first collected data from published information on tick densities in deer excluded areas ranging in size from roughly 2.5 acres to 18 acres. Next, over a six-month period, they captured rodents from a 2.5-acre deer excluded area in the Italian Alps in a known hotspot for tick-borne encephalitis -- a disease passed to humans through the bite of an infected tick.
"From previous studies we found that tick densities decreased in (geographically) large areas and increased dramatically in smaller areas," suggesting that there is a threshold area – from where deer are excluded – for tick populations to either increase or decrease, notes the Penn State researcher.
Statistical analyses of ticks on the captured rodents indicated that compared to the control areas, the deer-excluded areas hosted a significantly higher number of nymph and adult female ticks, as well as a high prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis.
Because tick-borne encephalitis is transmitted only between ticks feeding on these rodents, the findings suggest how small deer-free areas could quickly turn into a disease hotspot.
"This goes somewhat against conventional wisdom. When you remove deer, it does not always reduce the tick population," says Perkins. "If you were to exclude deer from hundreds of acres, tick numbers will fall. But in an area less than 2.5 acres, you are more likely to increase tick density and probably create tick-borne hotspots."
Researchers say the study demonstrates how the strategy of keeping deer away may work only for large areas but is likely to amplify tick populations in smaller areas. Fragmented patches of forest and small parks that are off-limits to deer could also turn into a disease reservoir, they caution.
By Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
Sep 4, 2006, 07:00
(HealthNewsDigest.com) University Park, Pa. -- Excluding deer could be a counterproductive strategy for controlling tick-borne infections, because the absence of deer from small areas may lead to an increase in ticks, rapidly turning the area into a potential disease hotspot, according to a team of U.S. and Italian researchers.
"Deer are referred to as dilution hosts or dead-end hosts,” says Sarah Perkins, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. "They get bitten by ticks but never get infected with tick-borne pathogens, such as the bacteria causing Lyme disease."
However, deer are critical to adult female ticks in the last stages of their three-part lifecycle. Ticks use them for a final blood meal before dropping off to produce thousands of eggs, Perkins explains. Currently, health officials believe that removing deer from the equation could disrupt the tick lifecycle and leave fewer ticks to feed on rodents, which, unlike deer, can transfer a range of tick-borne pathogens. Ultimately the tick-borne disease will fade out.
However, previous field studies show that removing deer sometimes leads to higher tick densities and sometimes lower, and the outcome seems dependent on the size of area from which deer are excluded.
"Very few studies have looked at how removing the deer affects the intensity of tick bites on rodents, and how it relates to the size of the area from where the deer are excluded," explains Perkins, whose findings are published in the current issue of the journal Ecology.
Researchers first collected data from published information on tick densities in deer excluded areas ranging in size from roughly 2.5 acres to 18 acres. Next, over a six-month period, they captured rodents from a 2.5-acre deer excluded area in the Italian Alps in a known hotspot for tick-borne encephalitis -- a disease passed to humans through the bite of an infected tick.
"From previous studies we found that tick densities decreased in (geographically) large areas and increased dramatically in smaller areas," suggesting that there is a threshold area – from where deer are excluded – for tick populations to either increase or decrease, notes the Penn State researcher.
Statistical analyses of ticks on the captured rodents indicated that compared to the control areas, the deer-excluded areas hosted a significantly higher number of nymph and adult female ticks, as well as a high prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis.
Because tick-borne encephalitis is transmitted only between ticks feeding on these rodents, the findings suggest how small deer-free areas could quickly turn into a disease hotspot.
"This goes somewhat against conventional wisdom. When you remove deer, it does not always reduce the tick population," says Perkins. "If you were to exclude deer from hundreds of acres, tick numbers will fall. But in an area less than 2.5 acres, you are more likely to increase tick density and probably create tick-borne hotspots."
Researchers say the study demonstrates how the strategy of keeping deer away may work only for large areas but is likely to amplify tick populations in smaller areas. Fragmented patches of forest and small parks that are off-limits to deer could also turn into a disease reservoir, they caution.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
CONNECTICUT NEWS: Local Deer Management Committees Address Overpopulation
Deer hunting will go on six days a week in the Bennett’s Pond open space this fall.
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced that Bennett’s Pond State Park will be open to archery deer hunting throughout the statewide season from Sept. 15 to Dec. 30.
The property will still be open to hikers, according to DEP Spokesman Dennis Schain, but will be posted with signs informing the public that bow hunters could be using the property. “We typically post signs at trail heads, with information about hunting,” Mr. Schain said.
Bennett’s Pond State Park is a 460-acre property off Bennett’s Farm Road, known for many years as the IBM property. The town acquired the land through eminent domain from the developer Eureka V LLC, and then sold it to the state in 2003, recouping about $4 million of the $11.5 million cost. The property is managed by the DEP Parks Division.
There is also a “controlled hunt” planned later in the fall on the town’s nearby Hemlock Hills open space, a 320-acre tract. That hunt, organized by the town’s Deer Management Committee, will go on from Nov. 16 through Dec. 19, and will involve selected hunters, using firearms, on weekdays.
Dale May, director of DEP’s Wildlife Division, said the work of the town’s deer management committee — and the blossoming deer population the committee is attempting to address — had been a factor in the state’s decision to open Bennett’s Pond to hunting.
“The locally abundant deer population has over-browsed much of the understory vegetation at Bennett’s Pond. Permitting archery deer hunting on this land will contribute to local deer management efforts and will assist in our stewardship of the property. It will also contribute to reducing deer population growth in Ridgefield.”
Over the past 10 years, he noted, Ridgefield has consistently ranked as the town with the highest number of reported deer-vehicle accidents.
Ridgefield is one of several towns in Fairfield County that have appointed a local deer committees to assess the deer population problem, review options, and provide deer management recommendations. Other towns that are having organized hunts include Wilton, Darien and Greenwich.
© Copyright 2006 by Hersam Acorn newspapers
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced that Bennett’s Pond State Park will be open to archery deer hunting throughout the statewide season from Sept. 15 to Dec. 30.
The property will still be open to hikers, according to DEP Spokesman Dennis Schain, but will be posted with signs informing the public that bow hunters could be using the property. “We typically post signs at trail heads, with information about hunting,” Mr. Schain said.
Bennett’s Pond State Park is a 460-acre property off Bennett’s Farm Road, known for many years as the IBM property. The town acquired the land through eminent domain from the developer Eureka V LLC, and then sold it to the state in 2003, recouping about $4 million of the $11.5 million cost. The property is managed by the DEP Parks Division.
There is also a “controlled hunt” planned later in the fall on the town’s nearby Hemlock Hills open space, a 320-acre tract. That hunt, organized by the town’s Deer Management Committee, will go on from Nov. 16 through Dec. 19, and will involve selected hunters, using firearms, on weekdays.
Dale May, director of DEP’s Wildlife Division, said the work of the town’s deer management committee — and the blossoming deer population the committee is attempting to address — had been a factor in the state’s decision to open Bennett’s Pond to hunting.
“The locally abundant deer population has over-browsed much of the understory vegetation at Bennett’s Pond. Permitting archery deer hunting on this land will contribute to local deer management efforts and will assist in our stewardship of the property. It will also contribute to reducing deer population growth in Ridgefield.”
Over the past 10 years, he noted, Ridgefield has consistently ranked as the town with the highest number of reported deer-vehicle accidents.
Ridgefield is one of several towns in Fairfield County that have appointed a local deer committees to assess the deer population problem, review options, and provide deer management recommendations. Other towns that are having organized hunts include Wilton, Darien and Greenwich.
© Copyright 2006 by Hersam Acorn newspapers
ONTARIO NEWS: Season Liberalization in Response to Overpopulation
The Sunday gun hunt is coming to Ottawa.
The Ontario Government is expanding Sunday gun hunting rights to about 99 municipalities and townships across the province this September. The new rules will allow hunters, providing they abide by local bylaws, to hunt on Sunday's this season.
Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay says the province is looking to hunters to help control the deer population. Ramsay says an explosion in the deer population has led to increased crop damage and a spike in vehicle collisions. According to the Ministry of Transportation, Ottawa leads the province in the number of vehicle collisions with wildlife per year.
The Ontario Government is expanding Sunday gun hunting rights to about 99 municipalities and townships across the province this September. The new rules will allow hunters, providing they abide by local bylaws, to hunt on Sunday's this season.
Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay says the province is looking to hunters to help control the deer population. Ramsay says an explosion in the deer population has led to increased crop damage and a spike in vehicle collisions. According to the Ministry of Transportation, Ottawa leads the province in the number of vehicle collisions with wildlife per year.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
OHIO NEWS: Cleveland Suburb Continues Culling Program
Associated Press
SOLON, Ohio - This Cleveland suburb is again seeking ways to thin its deer population, after a sharpshooting program killed more than 1,000 the last two years.
The city's safety and public property committee recommended Wednesday that City Council put out bids for deer removal options.
Solon's contract with sharpshooter Tony DeNicola, president of Connecticut-based White Buffalo Inc., ended in the spring.
Dave Hromco, the assistant public works director who runs the deer program, wants it to continue. The city has about 20 deer per square mile, more than 400 total, and the target is 15 per square mile, he said.
The sharpshooting program cost taxpayers $520,000 in two years, according to a city-issued report. Another year of the program would cost between $110,000 and $130,000, Hromco said.
State wildlife officials have said Solon was the first suburb in the state to hire professional shooters to kill deer, a method used in some parks. The measure was a response to residents' complaints of deer destroying gardens and running through traffic.
There were 119 reported car accidents in Solon involving deer last year, a 26 percent drop from 2004, when the sharpshooting program began, police Chief Wayne Godzich said. But the program can't be called successful until the deer are counted again, he said.
Animal-rights activist opposed the program, calling for using other methods to reduce the deer population. Residents opposed to the killing set out food in their back yards, hoping to lure deer away from the sharpshooters.
Councilman Ed Kraus, who chairs the safety committee, said the city needs a long-term management program.
"It would be completely irresponsible for this body to do nothing and let the deer come back," he said.
Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
SOLON, Ohio - This Cleveland suburb is again seeking ways to thin its deer population, after a sharpshooting program killed more than 1,000 the last two years.
The city's safety and public property committee recommended Wednesday that City Council put out bids for deer removal options.
Solon's contract with sharpshooter Tony DeNicola, president of Connecticut-based White Buffalo Inc., ended in the spring.
Dave Hromco, the assistant public works director who runs the deer program, wants it to continue. The city has about 20 deer per square mile, more than 400 total, and the target is 15 per square mile, he said.
The sharpshooting program cost taxpayers $520,000 in two years, according to a city-issued report. Another year of the program would cost between $110,000 and $130,000, Hromco said.
State wildlife officials have said Solon was the first suburb in the state to hire professional shooters to kill deer, a method used in some parks. The measure was a response to residents' complaints of deer destroying gardens and running through traffic.
There were 119 reported car accidents in Solon involving deer last year, a 26 percent drop from 2004, when the sharpshooting program began, police Chief Wayne Godzich said. But the program can't be called successful until the deer are counted again, he said.
Animal-rights activist opposed the program, calling for using other methods to reduce the deer population. Residents opposed to the killing set out food in their back yards, hoping to lure deer away from the sharpshooters.
Councilman Ed Kraus, who chairs the safety committee, said the city needs a long-term management program.
"It would be completely irresponsible for this body to do nothing and let the deer come back," he said.
Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
ONTARIO NEWS: Urban Deer Conflicts in Kenora
The growing problem of nuisance deer has prompted the Ministry of Natural Resources to ask Kenora to consider loosening the restrictions on its prohibition on discharging firearms within the city.
Biologist Scott McAughey says the ministry is doing its best to deal with the problem by offering more opportunities for deer hunters.
A town official says the no discharge bylaw is going to be reviewed.
McAughey says the rising deer population is becoming a safety issue, citing a June collision between an aircraft and a deer at the Kenora Airport.
Tb News Source
Web Posted: 8/22/2006 3:26:59 PM
Biologist Scott McAughey says the ministry is doing its best to deal with the problem by offering more opportunities for deer hunters.
A town official says the no discharge bylaw is going to be reviewed.
McAughey says the rising deer population is becoming a safety issue, citing a June collision between an aircraft and a deer at the Kenora Airport.
Tb News Source
Web Posted: 8/22/2006 3:26:59 PM
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
CALIFORNIA NEWS: Park Service Recommends Deer Cull
Despite the impassioned pleas of local animal rights groups, more than a 1,000 non-native deer would be shot and killed at Point Reyes National Seashore if a new plan endorsed Monday by the National Park Service goes forward.
The park service would donate the animals' meat and hides to nonprofit or charity organizations. A California condor recovery program and soup kitchens have expressed an interest in the meat, and American Indian groups are interested in the pelts.
A final environmental impact statement released by the National Park Service Monday recommends 1,350 deer (800 axis and 550 fallow) be killed over 15 years by park service staff or contractors trained in wildlife sharpshooting.
The impact statement also recommends that the park service seek approval to use experimental contraceptives on 100 to 150 fallow does, which would be allowed to live. These drugs are not thought to be effective with axis does. There is no drug registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for contraception in deer.
Experts believe the plan would remove all non-native axis and fallow deer from the Point Reyes National Seashore by 2021. Park biologists are concerned that the axis and fallow deer will out-compete native deer and elk species for food, water and cover. The non-natives also carry disease.
The park service Friday published a notice of its preferred alternative in the Federal Register. After a mandatory 30-day waiting period, John Jarvis, director of the National Park Service's Pacific West region, is expected to give the plan his approval and begin implementing it. No other public hearings are required.
While Jarvis could reject the plan, "it's highly unlikely that will happen," said park service spokesman John Dell'Osso. "This is the final plan."
The decision elicited a sharp rebuke from Diane Allevato, director of the Marin Humane Society.
"It is extremely disappointing that the park service has chosen a lethal program with relatively meaningless concessions to birth control," Allevato said. "For all intents and purposes, they've chosen death as their preferred option, and that is tragic and unnecessary."
Trinka Marris of Point Reyes Station, leader of "Save the White Deer," a cadre of organizations and individuals opposed to killing the deer, said she still believes public opposition will prevent the slaughter.
"It's going to be a 15-year project," Marris said. "So I think the public has plenty of time to put pressure on the park to use contraception in a larger role than they intend to. We're just beginning."
The park service, however, cited a comment by Paul Curtis, an expert in wildlife contraception at Cornell University, to bolster its decision.
"After more than a decade of research, there is not a single case in North America where I would consider fertility control to be a success for controlling long-term abundance of free-ranging deer," Curtis said.
The plan also did not please the Marin Audubon Society, but for quite a different reason. The Audubon Society has stated its preference for using lethal means to eliminate all of the non-native deer.
"I think it's probably going to be more stressful on the animals and more expensive," to sterilize the animals, said Barbara Salzman, president of Marin Audubon. Because the plan will span 15 years, more deer will end up having to be killed than exist currently, Salzman noted.
Today, there are about 400 Columbia black-tail deer, which are native to Marin. There are about 250 axis deer and about 860 fallow deer.
The non-native deer live up to 20 years. Fallow deer are native to Europe and the Mediterranean, and the axis deer are native to India and southern Asia.
In the 1940s, the species were purchased by a West Marin landowner from the San Francisco Zoo, which had an excess of the animals. The landowner then released the animals on his property for hunting. When his land later became part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, which was established in 1962, hunting ceased. The ones that weren't killed began to procreate in the area.
The non-native deer eat 5 to 10 percent of their body weight a day, taking in a ton of forage a day, food that otherwise would be available to native deer. Rabbits, rodents and others animals are affected, too.
Fallow deer were once concentrated in the central part of the seashore but are now found throughout the park. Their range has been documented eastward, beyond the park's borders. They have been seen on nearby private property and state parklands. If the migration continues, management of the species could become difficult, according to the park service.
---
OPTIONS
The Point Reyes National Seashore estimates there are about 250 axis deer and 860 fallow deer within the seashore area.
It evaluated five management options:
- Alternative A: No action. Monitoring activities would continue.
- Alternative B: Non-native deer populations would be controlled to a level of 350 for each species -- 700 total axis and fallow deer. Control would be over a 15-year period by National Park Service or contracted sharpshooters.
- Alternative C: Non-native deer populations would be controlled to a level of 350 for each species by both "lethal removal" and fertility control over 15 years.
- Alternative D: All axis and fallow deer would be removed by the year 2021 by National Park Service staffers or contractors trained in sharpshooting.
- Alternative E: All axis and fallow deer would be removed by 2021 through "lethal removal" and fertility control. This is the National Park Service's preferred alternative.
Read more West Marin stories at the IJ's West Marin page.
Contact Richard Halstead via e-mail at rhalstead@marinij.com
The park service would donate the animals' meat and hides to nonprofit or charity organizations. A California condor recovery program and soup kitchens have expressed an interest in the meat, and American Indian groups are interested in the pelts.
A final environmental impact statement released by the National Park Service Monday recommends 1,350 deer (800 axis and 550 fallow) be killed over 15 years by park service staff or contractors trained in wildlife sharpshooting.
The impact statement also recommends that the park service seek approval to use experimental contraceptives on 100 to 150 fallow does, which would be allowed to live. These drugs are not thought to be effective with axis does. There is no drug registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for contraception in deer.
Experts believe the plan would remove all non-native axis and fallow deer from the Point Reyes National Seashore by 2021. Park biologists are concerned that the axis and fallow deer will out-compete native deer and elk species for food, water and cover. The non-natives also carry disease.
The park service Friday published a notice of its preferred alternative in the Federal Register. After a mandatory 30-day waiting period, John Jarvis, director of the National Park Service's Pacific West region, is expected to give the plan his approval and begin implementing it. No other public hearings are required.
While Jarvis could reject the plan, "it's highly unlikely that will happen," said park service spokesman John Dell'Osso. "This is the final plan."
The decision elicited a sharp rebuke from Diane Allevato, director of the Marin Humane Society.
"It is extremely disappointing that the park service has chosen a lethal program with relatively meaningless concessions to birth control," Allevato said. "For all intents and purposes, they've chosen death as their preferred option, and that is tragic and unnecessary."
Trinka Marris of Point Reyes Station, leader of "Save the White Deer," a cadre of organizations and individuals opposed to killing the deer, said she still believes public opposition will prevent the slaughter.
"It's going to be a 15-year project," Marris said. "So I think the public has plenty of time to put pressure on the park to use contraception in a larger role than they intend to. We're just beginning."
The park service, however, cited a comment by Paul Curtis, an expert in wildlife contraception at Cornell University, to bolster its decision.
"After more than a decade of research, there is not a single case in North America where I would consider fertility control to be a success for controlling long-term abundance of free-ranging deer," Curtis said.
The plan also did not please the Marin Audubon Society, but for quite a different reason. The Audubon Society has stated its preference for using lethal means to eliminate all of the non-native deer.
"I think it's probably going to be more stressful on the animals and more expensive," to sterilize the animals, said Barbara Salzman, president of Marin Audubon. Because the plan will span 15 years, more deer will end up having to be killed than exist currently, Salzman noted.
Today, there are about 400 Columbia black-tail deer, which are native to Marin. There are about 250 axis deer and about 860 fallow deer.
The non-native deer live up to 20 years. Fallow deer are native to Europe and the Mediterranean, and the axis deer are native to India and southern Asia.
In the 1940s, the species were purchased by a West Marin landowner from the San Francisco Zoo, which had an excess of the animals. The landowner then released the animals on his property for hunting. When his land later became part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, which was established in 1962, hunting ceased. The ones that weren't killed began to procreate in the area.
The non-native deer eat 5 to 10 percent of their body weight a day, taking in a ton of forage a day, food that otherwise would be available to native deer. Rabbits, rodents and others animals are affected, too.
Fallow deer were once concentrated in the central part of the seashore but are now found throughout the park. Their range has been documented eastward, beyond the park's borders. They have been seen on nearby private property and state parklands. If the migration continues, management of the species could become difficult, according to the park service.
---
OPTIONS
The Point Reyes National Seashore estimates there are about 250 axis deer and 860 fallow deer within the seashore area.
It evaluated five management options:
- Alternative A: No action. Monitoring activities would continue.
- Alternative B: Non-native deer populations would be controlled to a level of 350 for each species -- 700 total axis and fallow deer. Control would be over a 15-year period by National Park Service or contracted sharpshooters.
- Alternative C: Non-native deer populations would be controlled to a level of 350 for each species by both "lethal removal" and fertility control over 15 years.
- Alternative D: All axis and fallow deer would be removed by the year 2021 by National Park Service staffers or contractors trained in sharpshooting.
- Alternative E: All axis and fallow deer would be removed by 2021 through "lethal removal" and fertility control. This is the National Park Service's preferred alternative.
Read more West Marin stories at the IJ's West Marin page.
Contact Richard Halstead via e-mail at rhalstead@marinij.com
Monday, August 21, 2006
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS: Densities Down, Buck Quality Up
WHILE SOUTH CAROLINA’s deer harvest has declined 23 percent during the past three years, the quality of antlered bucks remains high: 136 record-list entries were recorded this year.
That, said S.C. Department of Natural Resources deer biologist Charles Ruth, is a pretty good indication that fewer deer in the population benefit from increased available nutrition.
“South Carolina’s deer herd is in good condition, and it appears that after many years of rapid population growth the herd stabilized in the mid-1990s,” he said.
Recent estimates put the deer population at about 750,000, which is down from the 1-million-plus estimates in the1990s. Ruth said the annual harvest the past few years has been about 250,000.
The DNR’s recently published 2005 Deer Hunter Survey listed a statewide harvest of 244,045 deer last season — 123,503 bucks and 120,542 does — down 2.9 percent from 2004. Ruth said prospects for this deer season, which opened Tuesday in several Lowcountry counties, are very good.
He cited three factors that are believed to have attributed to the decline: a major drought from 1998 to 2002 that reduced populations, the growth of pine stands more than 10 years old, and an abundance of natural foods and unseasonably warm fall temperatures that decrease deer movements.
The top typical buck, which scored 162Ø, was found dead as a road kill on the Savannah River Site in October.
A 13-point buck taken by Manning Lusk of Anderson in a remote area of Lake Thurmond in McCormick County, had the top non-typical rack with a score of 187½.
DNR biologists scored 463 sets of antlers in the spring; 132 typical racks and four non-typical racks made the state records list, which requires 125 points for a typical rack and 145 points for a non- typical rack.
There are 4,641 sets of antlers on the state record list, 4,475 typical racks and 166 non-typical.
That, said S.C. Department of Natural Resources deer biologist Charles Ruth, is a pretty good indication that fewer deer in the population benefit from increased available nutrition.
“South Carolina’s deer herd is in good condition, and it appears that after many years of rapid population growth the herd stabilized in the mid-1990s,” he said.
Recent estimates put the deer population at about 750,000, which is down from the 1-million-plus estimates in the1990s. Ruth said the annual harvest the past few years has been about 250,000.
The DNR’s recently published 2005 Deer Hunter Survey listed a statewide harvest of 244,045 deer last season — 123,503 bucks and 120,542 does — down 2.9 percent from 2004. Ruth said prospects for this deer season, which opened Tuesday in several Lowcountry counties, are very good.
He cited three factors that are believed to have attributed to the decline: a major drought from 1998 to 2002 that reduced populations, the growth of pine stands more than 10 years old, and an abundance of natural foods and unseasonably warm fall temperatures that decrease deer movements.
The top typical buck, which scored 162Ø, was found dead as a road kill on the Savannah River Site in October.
A 13-point buck taken by Manning Lusk of Anderson in a remote area of Lake Thurmond in McCormick County, had the top non-typical rack with a score of 187½.
DNR biologists scored 463 sets of antlers in the spring; 132 typical racks and four non-typical racks made the state records list, which requires 125 points for a typical rack and 145 points for a non- typical rack.
There are 4,641 sets of antlers on the state record list, 4,475 typical racks and 166 non-typical.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
OHIO NEWS: Overpopulation Prompts Hunting Proposal in County Park District
John Horton, Plain Dealer Reporter
Chardon Township- The Geauga County Park District intends to open some of its property to bow hunters this fall to reduce what officials called an overabundant and destructive white-tailed deer population.
The park system's three commissioners said during their Tuesday meeting that they plan to implement a hunting program to address the deer problem. The board is considering a proposal to allow hunting in seven areas that are not open to the public.
The county is also looking at controlled fall hunts on wild turkey and waterfowl.
The concept brought criticism from several residents at the meeting.
Sophie Horvath, 78, of Munson Township described the parks as a safe haven where animals should be protected. She accused the board of turning the county's acreage into "killing fields."
Similar complaints followed the district's decision to allow a spring turkey hunt this year.
"You encourage wildlife, and then you murder the wildlife that comes in," Horvath said.
But district Director Tom Curtin said deer are crowding onto park property, pushed into the areas by ongoing development. Deer counts commissioned by the park system over the past five years show far more animals than the land can support, Curtin said.
The count at one park property, the Becvar Preserve in Russell Township, showed 200 deer per square mile. Ideally, the number should be between five and 10, Curtin said.
The population density at the other properties selected for hunting ranged from 19 to 61 deer per square mile. The properties are in several Geauga communities, including Bainbridge, Chester, Claridon, Munson and Montville townships.
The close-clustered animals are devouring wildflowers and vegetation in the park, eliminating habitats needed by songbirds and insects, Curtin said. The district has been monitoring and studying the situation for years, he said.
"This is about maintaining a balance," said Curtin, who noted that other park systems and communities have begun culling deer herds in recent years.
T. Parkinson, 64, of Munson Township applauded the district's plan and said deer have become a local nuisance and a danger to motorists. He said parkland "should not be permitted to become a refuge for the excessive amount of animals present."
Park Commissioner Mark Rzesztarski said the board would act on the proposal after all details are ironed out. Only Geauga residents would be eligible to hunt the selected land.
"We are going to proceed," Rzesztarski said. "We have to."
Chardon Township- The Geauga County Park District intends to open some of its property to bow hunters this fall to reduce what officials called an overabundant and destructive white-tailed deer population.
The park system's three commissioners said during their Tuesday meeting that they plan to implement a hunting program to address the deer problem. The board is considering a proposal to allow hunting in seven areas that are not open to the public.
The county is also looking at controlled fall hunts on wild turkey and waterfowl.
The concept brought criticism from several residents at the meeting.
Sophie Horvath, 78, of Munson Township described the parks as a safe haven where animals should be protected. She accused the board of turning the county's acreage into "killing fields."
Similar complaints followed the district's decision to allow a spring turkey hunt this year.
"You encourage wildlife, and then you murder the wildlife that comes in," Horvath said.
But district Director Tom Curtin said deer are crowding onto park property, pushed into the areas by ongoing development. Deer counts commissioned by the park system over the past five years show far more animals than the land can support, Curtin said.
The count at one park property, the Becvar Preserve in Russell Township, showed 200 deer per square mile. Ideally, the number should be between five and 10, Curtin said.
The population density at the other properties selected for hunting ranged from 19 to 61 deer per square mile. The properties are in several Geauga communities, including Bainbridge, Chester, Claridon, Munson and Montville townships.
The close-clustered animals are devouring wildflowers and vegetation in the park, eliminating habitats needed by songbirds and insects, Curtin said. The district has been monitoring and studying the situation for years, he said.
"This is about maintaining a balance," said Curtin, who noted that other park systems and communities have begun culling deer herds in recent years.
T. Parkinson, 64, of Munson Township applauded the district's plan and said deer have become a local nuisance and a danger to motorists. He said parkland "should not be permitted to become a refuge for the excessive amount of animals present."
Park Commissioner Mark Rzesztarski said the board would act on the proposal after all details are ironed out. Only Geauga residents would be eligible to hunt the selected land.
"We are going to proceed," Rzesztarski said. "We have to."
Friday, August 04, 2006
INDIANA NEWS: Tag Prices Reduced for Antlerless Deer
To better maintain a balanced deer herd, the DNR has encouraged the taking of antlerless deer during hunting season. Yesterday, the Natural Resources Commission ratified a proposal by the DNR that will reduce the cost of certain bonus antlerless deer tags.
Under the new proposal the cost of the first bonus antlerless deer license remains $24 for Indiana residents and $150 for non-residents. But to encourage the taking of additional antlerless deer, the cost for the second and subsequent bonus antlerless tags falls to $15 for Indiana residents and $24 for non-residents.
“Since the whitetail deer was re-introduced into Indiana in the 1950s, deer hunting has been both a sport and a biological necessity,” said Kyle Hupfer, DNR director. “Man has always been the primary predator for whitetail deer so hunting is important in maintaining Indiana’s deer herd population at a proper biological level and a size more acceptable to the human population.
“The new fee structure established yesterday will help with herd management while also reducing the financial burden on hunters who assist the state in regulating the deer population.”
Copyright Tri-State Media 2001-2006.
Under the new proposal the cost of the first bonus antlerless deer license remains $24 for Indiana residents and $150 for non-residents. But to encourage the taking of additional antlerless deer, the cost for the second and subsequent bonus antlerless tags falls to $15 for Indiana residents and $24 for non-residents.
“Since the whitetail deer was re-introduced into Indiana in the 1950s, deer hunting has been both a sport and a biological necessity,” said Kyle Hupfer, DNR director. “Man has always been the primary predator for whitetail deer so hunting is important in maintaining Indiana’s deer herd population at a proper biological level and a size more acceptable to the human population.
“The new fee structure established yesterday will help with herd management while also reducing the financial burden on hunters who assist the state in regulating the deer population.”
Copyright Tri-State Media 2001-2006.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
IRELAND NEWS: Government Cost-shares Deer Fences for Foresters
THE SCOURGE of deer to farm forestry is to be addressed with the introduction of a new grant to meet 80% of the costs of deer fencing. With an increase in the population of deer over the recent years, farmers have complained that it was growing increasingly difficult to establish broadleaf or diverse conifer species in areas populated by deer.
They also complained that with the explosion in population, deer were spreading into parts of the country they had never been seen in before and were browsing on young broadleaves and some conifer species.
The new grant, which was introduced by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Mary Wallace, has been welcomed by Carlow IFA forestry chairman, Dan Galavan.
“This grant will make a huge difference to many farmer foresters,” Mr Galavan said. “The grant will be available to farm-ers who are establishing new plantations and to growers who wish to upgrade fencing on existing forestry.
“The cost of deer fencing at around •10 per metre has been prohibitive for some forest owners prior to the introduction of this assistance.”
Mr Galavan said that it didn’t make sense for farmers, the Government or the EU to invest in forestry and then for deer to make a meal of it. He pointed out that fencing was one of many control measures that can be used to protect forests from deer.
“The relevant authorities must also look at means of controlling the population to sustainable levels if we are to get on top of a situation which already is out of control in many parts of the country,” he added.
Farmers who wish to avail of the grant should contact the Approvals Section (Deer Fencing) of the Forest Service in Johnstown Castle Estate, Wexford.
They also complained that with the explosion in population, deer were spreading into parts of the country they had never been seen in before and were browsing on young broadleaves and some conifer species.
The new grant, which was introduced by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Mary Wallace, has been welcomed by Carlow IFA forestry chairman, Dan Galavan.
“This grant will make a huge difference to many farmer foresters,” Mr Galavan said. “The grant will be available to farm-ers who are establishing new plantations and to growers who wish to upgrade fencing on existing forestry.
“The cost of deer fencing at around •10 per metre has been prohibitive for some forest owners prior to the introduction of this assistance.”
Mr Galavan said that it didn’t make sense for farmers, the Government or the EU to invest in forestry and then for deer to make a meal of it. He pointed out that fencing was one of many control measures that can be used to protect forests from deer.
“The relevant authorities must also look at means of controlling the population to sustainable levels if we are to get on top of a situation which already is out of control in many parts of the country,” he added.
Farmers who wish to avail of the grant should contact the Approvals Section (Deer Fencing) of the Forest Service in Johnstown Castle Estate, Wexford.
WISCONSIN NEWS: Deer population at 1.7 million
By Jim Mense, Outdoor Columnist, Dunn County News
Wisconsin’s white-tailed deer population is projected to be 1.5 to 1.7 million this fall, which figures to be 12 percent higher than last fall. According to Keith Warnke, big game ecologist for the DNR, that projection is well above established population goals, but better than biologists expected or ever hoped for. Given the limited herd control seasons last year and the extremely mild winter in northern Wisconsin, hunters did a fine job limiting projected herd growth to 12 percent. But, he continued, you can see by the amount of herd control and earn-a-buck units this fall, of which 59B is a part, that hunters really need to step up to the plate this fall and harvest antlerless deer to keep the deep population within the carrying capacity of the land and reducing crop and garden depredation. And last but not least, vehicular collisions.
No four-Day October Hunt
Hunters are reminded there is a not 4-day October antlerless gun hunt. A moratorium on October gun hunting of deer will be implemented on a two-year trial basis with an option to reinstate the October antlerless hunt after one year if deer harvests in herd control units such as 59B, drops below a 1.4 to 1 antlerless to buck ratio. The October herd control hunt, we know as the Zone T hunt was effective at reducing deer populations. But, according to Warnke, it was unpopular with hunters who felt that it interfered with the very best time for archery deer hunting. Not only bow hunting but pheasant, grouse, turkey and even waterfowl hunting.
Warnke is asking hunters to harvest two anterlerless deer for every antlered buck. If that is accomplished, it has the potential to resolve some of the conflict in deer management. What to do with multiple deer carcasses? Can you think of an easier way to help feed the hungry among us? The Dunn County Fish & Game Club will again be coordinating the program along with area food pantries, meat processors and the DNR that will be happy to accept every deer you harvest if you want it that way. You shoot it, and hungry folks will be happy to eat it.
Wisconsin’s white-tailed deer population is projected to be 1.5 to 1.7 million this fall, which figures to be 12 percent higher than last fall. According to Keith Warnke, big game ecologist for the DNR, that projection is well above established population goals, but better than biologists expected or ever hoped for. Given the limited herd control seasons last year and the extremely mild winter in northern Wisconsin, hunters did a fine job limiting projected herd growth to 12 percent. But, he continued, you can see by the amount of herd control and earn-a-buck units this fall, of which 59B is a part, that hunters really need to step up to the plate this fall and harvest antlerless deer to keep the deep population within the carrying capacity of the land and reducing crop and garden depredation. And last but not least, vehicular collisions.
No four-Day October Hunt
Hunters are reminded there is a not 4-day October antlerless gun hunt. A moratorium on October gun hunting of deer will be implemented on a two-year trial basis with an option to reinstate the October antlerless hunt after one year if deer harvests in herd control units such as 59B, drops below a 1.4 to 1 antlerless to buck ratio. The October herd control hunt, we know as the Zone T hunt was effective at reducing deer populations. But, according to Warnke, it was unpopular with hunters who felt that it interfered with the very best time for archery deer hunting. Not only bow hunting but pheasant, grouse, turkey and even waterfowl hunting.
Warnke is asking hunters to harvest two anterlerless deer for every antlered buck. If that is accomplished, it has the potential to resolve some of the conflict in deer management. What to do with multiple deer carcasses? Can you think of an easier way to help feed the hungry among us? The Dunn County Fish & Game Club will again be coordinating the program along with area food pantries, meat processors and the DNR that will be happy to accept every deer you harvest if you want it that way. You shoot it, and hungry folks will be happy to eat it.
Monday, July 31, 2006
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Unified Sportsman Sues for More Deer
By Bob Frye
TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Monday, July 31, 2006
Hunters unhappy with the Pennsylvania Game Commission's current deer management program won at least a partial victory in court last week.
Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson said in a ruling last week that the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania can proceed with a lawsuit against the Game Commission and its deer program.
The suit centers around deer populations. The Game Commission has lowered deer densities in many areas of the state through a program biologists say is meant to bring deer into balance with the available habitat.
The Unified Sportsmen, however, allege that the program is based on faulty science and has decimated deer populations needlessly, thereby threatening hunting and deer.
The commission -- being represented by the state Attorney General's office, as required by law -- tried to get the case thrown out of court. Their attorneys had argued that the commission, as the agency responsible for managing deer in the commonwealth, "owned" the deer, so no entity such as the Unified Sportsmen could sue it over its deer plan. In his ruling, Simpson disagreed with that opinion.
"Because the Game Code clearly recognizes the interests of sportsmen and protects an adequate opportunity to hunt and trap the Commonwealth's wildlife resources, standing is conferred by statute," Simpson wrote.
"In other words, the judge soundly rejected the idea that the Pennsylvania Game Commission is not responsible to sportsmen, and he further rejected the idea that sportsmen have no right to sue them," said Greg Levengood, chairman of the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania. "This in itself is a major victory for sportsmen."
Simpson did, however, did dismiss the portion of the lawsuit that targeted the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Gov. Rendell, two entities Unified had targeted because of their support for the deer program. Simpson said neither are directly responsible for deer management,
Simpson said the Unified Sportsmen must now clarify its complaint before it can move forward.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Monday, July 31, 2006
Hunters unhappy with the Pennsylvania Game Commission's current deer management program won at least a partial victory in court last week.
Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson said in a ruling last week that the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania can proceed with a lawsuit against the Game Commission and its deer program.
The suit centers around deer populations. The Game Commission has lowered deer densities in many areas of the state through a program biologists say is meant to bring deer into balance with the available habitat.
The Unified Sportsmen, however, allege that the program is based on faulty science and has decimated deer populations needlessly, thereby threatening hunting and deer.
The commission -- being represented by the state Attorney General's office, as required by law -- tried to get the case thrown out of court. Their attorneys had argued that the commission, as the agency responsible for managing deer in the commonwealth, "owned" the deer, so no entity such as the Unified Sportsmen could sue it over its deer plan. In his ruling, Simpson disagreed with that opinion.
"Because the Game Code clearly recognizes the interests of sportsmen and protects an adequate opportunity to hunt and trap the Commonwealth's wildlife resources, standing is conferred by statute," Simpson wrote.
"In other words, the judge soundly rejected the idea that the Pennsylvania Game Commission is not responsible to sportsmen, and he further rejected the idea that sportsmen have no right to sue them," said Greg Levengood, chairman of the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania. "This in itself is a major victory for sportsmen."
Simpson did, however, did dismiss the portion of the lawsuit that targeted the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Gov. Rendell, two entities Unified had targeted because of their support for the deer program. Simpson said neither are directly responsible for deer management,
Simpson said the Unified Sportsmen must now clarify its complaint before it can move forward.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
TENNESSEE NEWS: No deer baiting this hunting season
There will be no deer hunting over bait in Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission. At their meeting last week the TWRC considered the pros and cons, finally siding with the TWR-Agency's recommendation against it. The TWRA spent two months studying data from 15 states, seven of which allow hunting deer over bait.
The primary concern was the deer's increased susceptibility to disease; the next concern was powerful toxins that develop in the feed grains, especially corn. Studies also indicated that deer became more nocturnal when feeding on bait. Finally, in a survey done by the TWRA, more than 60 percent of hunters and non-hunters were opposed to baiting deer. Huzzah.
Tom Wiest is an outdoors writer. Write to him at: Tom Wiest, c/o The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802-9740 or e-mail to tomwiest@att.net
The primary concern was the deer's increased susceptibility to disease; the next concern was powerful toxins that develop in the feed grains, especially corn. Studies also indicated that deer became more nocturnal when feeding on bait. Finally, in a survey done by the TWRA, more than 60 percent of hunters and non-hunters were opposed to baiting deer. Huzzah.
Tom Wiest is an outdoors writer. Write to him at: Tom Wiest, c/o The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802-9740 or e-mail to tomwiest@att.net
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
IOWA NEWS: Overpopulation at Council Bluffs
TIM ROHWER, Staff Writer, Daily Nonpareil
The deer population in Council Bluffs is on the rise, and action should be taken now to control that growth before it gets out of hand, local officials said Monday.
"I've seen more deer this year at Dodge Park than I've ever seen," said Mayor Tom Hanafan.
He also said Fairmount Park is a "haven for deer."
City Councilman Scott Belt added, "The herd at Manawa is getting (to be) a good size."
"It's a steady increase," Public Health Director Donn Dierks said. "We've seen an increase in deer collection, but I don't have the manpower to do it."
"We have an escalating problem," Hanafan said.
Last year, the city picked up more than 200 dead deer from car collisions.
Doug Clayton, a law enforcement official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, suggested the city consider the use of bow hunting to reduce the deer population.
He said the Iowa Legislature this year passed a law offering more protection for landowners who allow bow hunting on their properties.
"Before it gets through the roof, you may want to implement something," Clayton told the council during its Monday afternoon study session.
He recommended that Council Bluffs avoid a similar situation to that faced by Iowa City. That city put off its deer population problem until it got so bad, the city had to hire sharpshooters costing up to $30,000 to control it, Clayton said.
"If you get it at a respectable level, bow hunting will maintain it," he said.
There have also never been any negative incidents around the country involving bow hunting, Clayton said.
"Bow hunting can work," he said.
The council did not take any official action, and Clayton said the city doesn't have to act immediately if it wants to make sure bow hunting is done properly. This year's bow hunting season opens Oct. 1.
"One more year, I wouldn't see a problem," Clayton said.
The city does allow bow hunting on agricultural-zoned land, according to City Attorney Richard Wade. There's been past discussion of expanding that to residential properties of 15 or more acres, though the few that there are probably would not make a big impact on the deer population, he said.
Wade said that the city might consider organized hunts on city property, such as parks. Tree stands could be used so that hunters would shoot downward for better safety measures, it was mentioned during the meeting.
The deer population in Council Bluffs is on the rise, and action should be taken now to control that growth before it gets out of hand, local officials said Monday.
"I've seen more deer this year at Dodge Park than I've ever seen," said Mayor Tom Hanafan.
He also said Fairmount Park is a "haven for deer."
City Councilman Scott Belt added, "The herd at Manawa is getting (to be) a good size."
"It's a steady increase," Public Health Director Donn Dierks said. "We've seen an increase in deer collection, but I don't have the manpower to do it."
"We have an escalating problem," Hanafan said.
Last year, the city picked up more than 200 dead deer from car collisions.
Doug Clayton, a law enforcement official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, suggested the city consider the use of bow hunting to reduce the deer population.
He said the Iowa Legislature this year passed a law offering more protection for landowners who allow bow hunting on their properties.
"Before it gets through the roof, you may want to implement something," Clayton told the council during its Monday afternoon study session.
He recommended that Council Bluffs avoid a similar situation to that faced by Iowa City. That city put off its deer population problem until it got so bad, the city had to hire sharpshooters costing up to $30,000 to control it, Clayton said.
"If you get it at a respectable level, bow hunting will maintain it," he said.
There have also never been any negative incidents around the country involving bow hunting, Clayton said.
"Bow hunting can work," he said.
The council did not take any official action, and Clayton said the city doesn't have to act immediately if it wants to make sure bow hunting is done properly. This year's bow hunting season opens Oct. 1.
"One more year, I wouldn't see a problem," Clayton said.
The city does allow bow hunting on agricultural-zoned land, according to City Attorney Richard Wade. There's been past discussion of expanding that to residential properties of 15 or more acres, though the few that there are probably would not make a big impact on the deer population, he said.
Wade said that the city might consider organized hunts on city property, such as parks. Tree stands could be used so that hunters would shoot downward for better safety measures, it was mentioned during the meeting.
Friday, July 21, 2006
NEW JERSEY NEWS: More parks open to hunting, seasons extended, contraception tactics fail
The Morris County Park Commission wants to add hours and more locations in county-owned parks for deer hunting, and improve communication with hunters, property owners and towns during the fall hunting season.
Rob Jennings, the park commission's wildlife manager, has told park commissioners that the proposals are aimed at reducing the number of deer-car collisions and controlling the deer population to allow damaged forests and other habitats to regrow.
Hunting remains the most effective deer control method, Jennings said -- pointing to less-than-hoped-for results of a program that tested deer contraceptives at Giralda Farms in Madison, with one-third of the treated deer getting pregnant.
The number of deer-car accidents in Morris County nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, Jennings said. In 2003, there were 1,276 reported crashes, and 2,331 in 2004. Statewide statistics showed the same pattern, he said, with 7,689 in 2003 and 13,599 in 2004.
Hunterdon County also recently opened more of its park system for deer hunting.
To highlight how forests can be regenerated, Jennings showed the commission a photograph of a deer fence in a county park. One side shows brown grass and little leafy vegetation, while the plant life inside the fence is green and thriving.
Seeing deer along roadsides or in neighborhood yards in the middle of the afternoon is a symptom of the problem, he said. It means there is little for deer to eat in the forests and fields, and that they have become too familiar with suburban life to be spooked.
"They are supposed to run away," he said.
Jennings said high deer densities were listed among the most serious threats facing threatened and endangered wildlife species today. Migratory birds, for example, are hampered in their search for breeding grounds by over-browsed forests, he said.
The county's response to the size of the deer herd, Jennings said, is guided in part by the 2005 policy statement by the New Jersey Audubon Society, which called for increased hunting.
That report on forest health cited several effects of over-browsing by deer, including the increase in invasive organisms, including plants, insects and disease; the loss of the beauty of the state's natural habitats as they collapse under attack from elements from which they have no natural defense; and continued damage to the ground cover and mid-level plants in forests.
The Audubon Society report said: "With freedom from predators, high birth rates and increased longevity, suburban areas can experience exponential deer population growth."
Jennings also cited a 2004 Pennsylvania Audubon Society report that said that state's forests are in trouble and "over-browsing by the excessive white-tailed deer is the main problem. Even to the untrained eye, the absence of plants at lower levels and razor-straight browse lines (the maximum height to which deer browse) is obvious."
The Pennsylvania report continued, "Virtually every unfenced private or public forested area in our region suffers from this problem."
Morris County Freeholder Jack Schrier, a former member of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council, said the county parks'plans mirror those supported by the state council, which call for encouraging public and private landowners to allow hunting on their properties.
Schrier has resigned himself to the notion that, until a more effective alternate method is found, hunting will be the primary method of controlling the deer herd. But, he said, this is not necessarily working. Hunters annually take between 30,000 to 70,000 deer, he said, but the state's deer herd is estimated each year at more than 300,000.
Schrier said it might be too soon to judge the Giralda Farm project, even though the results seem disappointing. The program calls for using an experimental drug, hormone-based GnRH, that has been successful when used in other mammals, he said. The drug does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. A decade ago, the county ran a pilot contraceptive program with another product that was not FDA-approved, which also proved unsuccessful.
The $200,000 Giralda Farm program is budgeted for five years. It is not designed to replace hunting, but to test whether alternative control measures are effective in areas where hunting cannot be done.
Schrier, a key supporter of the Giralda Farm program, said that, "I'm reluctant to say we are back to square one."
Jennings said the county's hunting program is not aimed at just killing deer, but is part of a program to make habitats uncomfortable for them. Then they move on, he said.
A recent survey in Lewis Morris Park in Morris Township, where hunting has been allowed since 1991, showed the deer population is about 11 to 20 deer per quarter mile, a significant reduction. The result, he said, is that native plants and grasses are returning to the woods and fields of the park.
The Morris County Park Commission wants to add hours and more locations in county-owned parks for deer hunting, and improve communication with hunters, property owners and towns during the fall hunting season.
Rob Jennings, the park commission's wildlife manager, has told park commissioners that the proposals are aimed at reducing the number of deer-car collisions and controlling the deer population to allow damaged forests and other habitats to regrow.
Hunting remains the most effective deer control method, Jennings said -- pointing to less-than-hoped-for results of a program that tested deer contraceptives at Giralda Farms in Madison, with one-third of the treated deer getting pregnant.
The number of deer-car accidents in Morris County nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, Jennings said. In 2003, there were 1,276 reported crashes, and 2,331 in 2004. Statewide statistics showed the same pattern, he said, with 7,689 in 2003 and 13,599 in 2004.
Hunterdon County also recently opened more of its park system for deer hunting.
To highlight how forests can be regenerated, Jennings showed the commission a photograph of a deer fence in a county park. One side shows brown grass and little leafy vegetation, while the plant life inside the fence is green and thriving.
Seeing deer along roadsides or in neighborhood yards in the middle of the afternoon is a symptom of the problem, he said. It means there is little for deer to eat in the forests and fields, and that they have become too familiar with suburban life to be spooked.
"They are supposed to run away," he said.
Jennings said high deer densities were listed among the most serious threats facing threatened and endangered wildlife species today. Migratory birds, for example, are hampered in their search for breeding grounds by over-browsed forests, he said.
The county's response to the size of the deer herd, Jennings said, is guided in part by the 2005 policy statement by the New Jersey Audubon Society, which called for increased hunting.
That report on forest health cited several effects of over-browsing by deer, including the increase in invasive organisms, including plants, insects and disease; the loss of the beauty of the state's natural habitats as they collapse under attack from elements from which they have no natural defense; and continued damage to the ground cover and mid-level plants in forests.
The Audubon Society report said: "With freedom from predators, high birth rates and increased longevity, suburban areas can experience exponential deer population growth."
Jennings also cited a 2004 Pennsylvania Audubon Society report that said that state's forests are in trouble and "over-browsing by the excessive white-tailed deer is the main problem. Even to the untrained eye, the absence of plants at lower levels and razor-straight browse lines (the maximum height to which deer browse) is obvious."
The Pennsylvania report continued, "Virtually every unfenced private or public forested area in our region suffers from this problem."
Morris County Freeholder Jack Schrier, a former member of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council, said the county parks'plans mirror those supported by the state council, which call for encouraging public and private landowners to allow hunting on their properties.
Schrier has resigned himself to the notion that, until a more effective alternate method is found, hunting will be the primary method of controlling the deer herd. But, he said, this is not necessarily working. Hunters annually take between 30,000 to 70,000 deer, he said, but the state's deer herd is estimated each year at more than 300,000.
Schrier said it might be too soon to judge the Giralda Farm project, even though the results seem disappointing. The program calls for using an experimental drug, hormone-based GnRH, that has been successful when used in other mammals, he said. The drug does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. A decade ago, the county ran a pilot contraceptive program with another product that was not FDA-approved, which also proved unsuccessful.
The $200,000 Giralda Farm program is budgeted for five years. It is not designed to replace hunting, but to test whether alternative control measures are effective in areas where hunting cannot be done.
Schrier, a key supporter of the Giralda Farm program, said that, "I'm reluctant to say we are back to square one."
Jennings said the county's hunting program is not aimed at just killing deer, but is part of a program to make habitats uncomfortable for them. Then they move on, he said.
A recent survey in Lewis Morris Park in Morris Township, where hunting has been allowed since 1991, showed the deer population is about 11 to 20 deer per quarter mile, a significant reduction. The result, he said, is that native plants and grasses are returning to the woods and fields of the park.
Rob Jennings, the park commission's wildlife manager, has told park commissioners that the proposals are aimed at reducing the number of deer-car collisions and controlling the deer population to allow damaged forests and other habitats to regrow.
Hunting remains the most effective deer control method, Jennings said -- pointing to less-than-hoped-for results of a program that tested deer contraceptives at Giralda Farms in Madison, with one-third of the treated deer getting pregnant.
The number of deer-car accidents in Morris County nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, Jennings said. In 2003, there were 1,276 reported crashes, and 2,331 in 2004. Statewide statistics showed the same pattern, he said, with 7,689 in 2003 and 13,599 in 2004.
Hunterdon County also recently opened more of its park system for deer hunting.
To highlight how forests can be regenerated, Jennings showed the commission a photograph of a deer fence in a county park. One side shows brown grass and little leafy vegetation, while the plant life inside the fence is green and thriving.
Seeing deer along roadsides or in neighborhood yards in the middle of the afternoon is a symptom of the problem, he said. It means there is little for deer to eat in the forests and fields, and that they have become too familiar with suburban life to be spooked.
"They are supposed to run away," he said.
Jennings said high deer densities were listed among the most serious threats facing threatened and endangered wildlife species today. Migratory birds, for example, are hampered in their search for breeding grounds by over-browsed forests, he said.
The county's response to the size of the deer herd, Jennings said, is guided in part by the 2005 policy statement by the New Jersey Audubon Society, which called for increased hunting.
That report on forest health cited several effects of over-browsing by deer, including the increase in invasive organisms, including plants, insects and disease; the loss of the beauty of the state's natural habitats as they collapse under attack from elements from which they have no natural defense; and continued damage to the ground cover and mid-level plants in forests.
The Audubon Society report said: "With freedom from predators, high birth rates and increased longevity, suburban areas can experience exponential deer population growth."
Jennings also cited a 2004 Pennsylvania Audubon Society report that said that state's forests are in trouble and "over-browsing by the excessive white-tailed deer is the main problem. Even to the untrained eye, the absence of plants at lower levels and razor-straight browse lines (the maximum height to which deer browse) is obvious."
The Pennsylvania report continued, "Virtually every unfenced private or public forested area in our region suffers from this problem."
Morris County Freeholder Jack Schrier, a former member of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council, said the county parks'plans mirror those supported by the state council, which call for encouraging public and private landowners to allow hunting on their properties.
Schrier has resigned himself to the notion that, until a more effective alternate method is found, hunting will be the primary method of controlling the deer herd. But, he said, this is not necessarily working. Hunters annually take between 30,000 to 70,000 deer, he said, but the state's deer herd is estimated each year at more than 300,000.
Schrier said it might be too soon to judge the Giralda Farm project, even though the results seem disappointing. The program calls for using an experimental drug, hormone-based GnRH, that has been successful when used in other mammals, he said. The drug does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. A decade ago, the county ran a pilot contraceptive program with another product that was not FDA-approved, which also proved unsuccessful.
The $200,000 Giralda Farm program is budgeted for five years. It is not designed to replace hunting, but to test whether alternative control measures are effective in areas where hunting cannot be done.
Schrier, a key supporter of the Giralda Farm program, said that, "I'm reluctant to say we are back to square one."
Jennings said the county's hunting program is not aimed at just killing deer, but is part of a program to make habitats uncomfortable for them. Then they move on, he said.
A recent survey in Lewis Morris Park in Morris Township, where hunting has been allowed since 1991, showed the deer population is about 11 to 20 deer per quarter mile, a significant reduction. The result, he said, is that native plants and grasses are returning to the woods and fields of the park.
The Morris County Park Commission wants to add hours and more locations in county-owned parks for deer hunting, and improve communication with hunters, property owners and towns during the fall hunting season.
Rob Jennings, the park commission's wildlife manager, has told park commissioners that the proposals are aimed at reducing the number of deer-car collisions and controlling the deer population to allow damaged forests and other habitats to regrow.
Hunting remains the most effective deer control method, Jennings said -- pointing to less-than-hoped-for results of a program that tested deer contraceptives at Giralda Farms in Madison, with one-third of the treated deer getting pregnant.
The number of deer-car accidents in Morris County nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, Jennings said. In 2003, there were 1,276 reported crashes, and 2,331 in 2004. Statewide statistics showed the same pattern, he said, with 7,689 in 2003 and 13,599 in 2004.
Hunterdon County also recently opened more of its park system for deer hunting.
To highlight how forests can be regenerated, Jennings showed the commission a photograph of a deer fence in a county park. One side shows brown grass and little leafy vegetation, while the plant life inside the fence is green and thriving.
Seeing deer along roadsides or in neighborhood yards in the middle of the afternoon is a symptom of the problem, he said. It means there is little for deer to eat in the forests and fields, and that they have become too familiar with suburban life to be spooked.
"They are supposed to run away," he said.
Jennings said high deer densities were listed among the most serious threats facing threatened and endangered wildlife species today. Migratory birds, for example, are hampered in their search for breeding grounds by over-browsed forests, he said.
The county's response to the size of the deer herd, Jennings said, is guided in part by the 2005 policy statement by the New Jersey Audubon Society, which called for increased hunting.
That report on forest health cited several effects of over-browsing by deer, including the increase in invasive organisms, including plants, insects and disease; the loss of the beauty of the state's natural habitats as they collapse under attack from elements from which they have no natural defense; and continued damage to the ground cover and mid-level plants in forests.
The Audubon Society report said: "With freedom from predators, high birth rates and increased longevity, suburban areas can experience exponential deer population growth."
Jennings also cited a 2004 Pennsylvania Audubon Society report that said that state's forests are in trouble and "over-browsing by the excessive white-tailed deer is the main problem. Even to the untrained eye, the absence of plants at lower levels and razor-straight browse lines (the maximum height to which deer browse) is obvious."
The Pennsylvania report continued, "Virtually every unfenced private or public forested area in our region suffers from this problem."
Morris County Freeholder Jack Schrier, a former member of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council, said the county parks'plans mirror those supported by the state council, which call for encouraging public and private landowners to allow hunting on their properties.
Schrier has resigned himself to the notion that, until a more effective alternate method is found, hunting will be the primary method of controlling the deer herd. But, he said, this is not necessarily working. Hunters annually take between 30,000 to 70,000 deer, he said, but the state's deer herd is estimated each year at more than 300,000.
Schrier said it might be too soon to judge the Giralda Farm project, even though the results seem disappointing. The program calls for using an experimental drug, hormone-based GnRH, that has been successful when used in other mammals, he said. The drug does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. A decade ago, the county ran a pilot contraceptive program with another product that was not FDA-approved, which also proved unsuccessful.
The $200,000 Giralda Farm program is budgeted for five years. It is not designed to replace hunting, but to test whether alternative control measures are effective in areas where hunting cannot be done.
Schrier, a key supporter of the Giralda Farm program, said that, "I'm reluctant to say we are back to square one."
Jennings said the county's hunting program is not aimed at just killing deer, but is part of a program to make habitats uncomfortable for them. Then they move on, he said.
A recent survey in Lewis Morris Park in Morris Township, where hunting has been allowed since 1991, showed the deer population is about 11 to 20 deer per quarter mile, a significant reduction. The result, he said, is that native plants and grasses are returning to the woods and fields of the park.
DEER RESEARCH: Feeding Promotes Overbrowsing
Year-round supplemental feeding programs for whitetail deer could lead to the overgrazing and damage of native forage plants located near feeding stations.
That's the word according to a news release summarizing a year-long research study conducted at a ranch near Uvalde by wildlife scientists from Texas A&M University.
Experts conducted the study by dividing the ranch into six quadrants. They compared forage use in three areas with deer feeders to three areas where supplemental feed was not made available.
Radio collars were placed on about two dozen adult deer to pattern their movements.
The study showed the browse utilization analysis was confined to three palatable plant species grown in pots in green house conditions. Researchers placed the plants within 100 yards of feeders, and at center of no-feed quadrants to monitor usage during varied seasons of the year.
Varied degrees of test plant utilization were documented over the course of the study, according to Susan Cooper, the lead researcher.
"The fate of the seedlings was recorded as either browsed, dead or gone," Cooper said. "Gone meant there were no additional seedlings available to replace the plant after it had been browsed. Each plant species and season was analyzed separately."
Interestingly, Cooper noticed that activity of collared does seem to become more concentrated than bucks to core areas where supplemental feed was available.
The scientist concluded that land managers with year-round supplemental feeding programs in place might consider altering feeder locations periodically to reduce the potential of habitat degradation because of overgrazing of popular forage plants.
That's the word according to a news release summarizing a year-long research study conducted at a ranch near Uvalde by wildlife scientists from Texas A&M University.
Experts conducted the study by dividing the ranch into six quadrants. They compared forage use in three areas with deer feeders to three areas where supplemental feed was not made available.
Radio collars were placed on about two dozen adult deer to pattern their movements.
The study showed the browse utilization analysis was confined to three palatable plant species grown in pots in green house conditions. Researchers placed the plants within 100 yards of feeders, and at center of no-feed quadrants to monitor usage during varied seasons of the year.
Varied degrees of test plant utilization were documented over the course of the study, according to Susan Cooper, the lead researcher.
"The fate of the seedlings was recorded as either browsed, dead or gone," Cooper said. "Gone meant there were no additional seedlings available to replace the plant after it had been browsed. Each plant species and season was analyzed separately."
Interestingly, Cooper noticed that activity of collared does seem to become more concentrated than bucks to core areas where supplemental feed was available.
The scientist concluded that land managers with year-round supplemental feeding programs in place might consider altering feeder locations periodically to reduce the potential of habitat degradation because of overgrazing of popular forage plants.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
UK NEWS: Roe Deer and Lyme Disease
Scientists in Bath believe an increase in the number of roe deer is to blame for an explosion in the number of ticks, which can cause Lyme disease.
The university researchers are warning walkers and joggers around the city that the disease can bring on arthritis, nerve and heart problems.
They say people should stick to footpaths and to remove ticks with tweezers to reduce infection risks.
Ticks prefer skin creases like the armpit, groin or back of knee.
If a tick carrying the bacteria bites someone and remains on the body then the bacteria may get into the bloodstream.
Between two days and four weeks later an expanding, circular red rash appears at the point of the bite.
Tiredness, headache, joint pains, and flu-like symptoms may also occur.
Unless treated with antibiotics these symptoms may last for weeks, even months.
In some cases very serious problems arise many years later.
The university researchers are warning walkers and joggers around the city that the disease can bring on arthritis, nerve and heart problems.
They say people should stick to footpaths and to remove ticks with tweezers to reduce infection risks.
Ticks prefer skin creases like the armpit, groin or back of knee.
If a tick carrying the bacteria bites someone and remains on the body then the bacteria may get into the bloodstream.
Between two days and four weeks later an expanding, circular red rash appears at the point of the bite.
Tiredness, headache, joint pains, and flu-like symptoms may also occur.
Unless treated with antibiotics these symptoms may last for weeks, even months.
In some cases very serious problems arise many years later.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
WISCONSIN NEWS: High Deer Survival During 05-06 Winter
The 2005-2006 winter weather should have no negative effect on white-tailed deer survival and reproduction in Wisconsin. That's according to the annual Winter Severity Indices report from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The report takes into consideration factors, such as snow depth, minimum temperatures and reproduction the following year at 32 stations across the northern third of Wisconsin.
"This winter ranked as mild with an average severity index of 36," said Brad Koele, assistant DNR big game ecologist. "We had two stations reporting severe conditions and a few recorded moderate conditions. Overall, this index doesn't cause concern about excessive winter mortality or reduced spring reproduction, although we are still in our fawn observation period when field biologists, wardens and foresters are asked to record their daily observations of deer and fawns."
The DNR says roughly 63 percent of the accumulated WSI points for the 2005-06 observation period were 'low temperature' points that occurred sporadically with February being the coldest month.
The report takes into consideration factors, such as snow depth, minimum temperatures and reproduction the following year at 32 stations across the northern third of Wisconsin.
"This winter ranked as mild with an average severity index of 36," said Brad Koele, assistant DNR big game ecologist. "We had two stations reporting severe conditions and a few recorded moderate conditions. Overall, this index doesn't cause concern about excessive winter mortality or reduced spring reproduction, although we are still in our fawn observation period when field biologists, wardens and foresters are asked to record their daily observations of deer and fawns."
The DNR says roughly 63 percent of the accumulated WSI points for the 2005-06 observation period were 'low temperature' points that occurred sporadically with February being the coldest month.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
GREATER LONDON AREA, UK NEWS: Muntjac problems continue
MUNTJAC deer are destroying young trees in a Welwyn Garden City wood and may have to be culled if their numbers continue to rise.
The deer, along with grey squirrels, are named as woodland vandals in a report by Welwyn Hatfield Council into the state of Sherrardspark Wood and Northaw Great Wood because they destroy young and coppiced trees. The report says both animals are present in high numbers, as are rhododendron bushes, and that action needs to be taken to prevent the decline of native species in the wood.
The council is planning to remove a large number of the rhododendrons, not a native UK species, and protestors have put up signs in Sherrardspark Wood urging the council to let the bushes stay.
But Councillor Alan Franey, executive member for environment, explained that the council was under obligation to abide by rules set by the Government's wildlife watchdog, English Nature, because the wood had been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
In a letter to the Review he said: "English Nature advises local authorities of actions that must take place to ensure these important habitats are protected. Rhododendrons, whilst obviously very attractive when in flower, are not a natural species of such woods."
The council's landscapes officer Chris James said the situation could become very serious if left unchecked. She said: "The rhododendrons are slowly but surely increasing. We don't want the situation they've got in Wales and Cornwall where whole valleys are being taken up with them and they are losing all their native vegetation underneath.
"What we want is a nice mixed oak and hornbeam woodland, not a rhododendron monoculture."
The council is proposing to leave some rhododendrons in the middle of the wood so that visitors can still enjoy them.
Pressed as to the possible fate of the muntjacs and grey squirrels, Mrs James said no decision had yet been made. She said: "There is no actual policy at the moment but we have obviously got the problem in mind so it is inevitable that we will have to consider it.
"I think in Sherrardspark Wood it would be extremely difficult to cull deer as the wood is very highly visited, but at the same time if there are too many deer and English Nature want us to address it then we will have to.
"I'm not an expert marksman so I'm not sure exactly what we could do."
Mrs James said the muntjac's favourite food was bramble shoots, but that they often ate the shoots of young trees and trees which were re-growing after being coppiced.
The muntjac, a small deer about 90cm long, is native to China and Taiwan but was introduced to parks in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire about 100 years ago and is now a common sight in woodland in the South East.
The deer, along with grey squirrels, are named as woodland vandals in a report by Welwyn Hatfield Council into the state of Sherrardspark Wood and Northaw Great Wood because they destroy young and coppiced trees. The report says both animals are present in high numbers, as are rhododendron bushes, and that action needs to be taken to prevent the decline of native species in the wood.
The council is planning to remove a large number of the rhododendrons, not a native UK species, and protestors have put up signs in Sherrardspark Wood urging the council to let the bushes stay.
But Councillor Alan Franey, executive member for environment, explained that the council was under obligation to abide by rules set by the Government's wildlife watchdog, English Nature, because the wood had been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
In a letter to the Review he said: "English Nature advises local authorities of actions that must take place to ensure these important habitats are protected. Rhododendrons, whilst obviously very attractive when in flower, are not a natural species of such woods."
The council's landscapes officer Chris James said the situation could become very serious if left unchecked. She said: "The rhododendrons are slowly but surely increasing. We don't want the situation they've got in Wales and Cornwall where whole valleys are being taken up with them and they are losing all their native vegetation underneath.
"What we want is a nice mixed oak and hornbeam woodland, not a rhododendron monoculture."
The council is proposing to leave some rhododendrons in the middle of the wood so that visitors can still enjoy them.
Pressed as to the possible fate of the muntjacs and grey squirrels, Mrs James said no decision had yet been made. She said: "There is no actual policy at the moment but we have obviously got the problem in mind so it is inevitable that we will have to consider it.
"I think in Sherrardspark Wood it would be extremely difficult to cull deer as the wood is very highly visited, but at the same time if there are too many deer and English Nature want us to address it then we will have to.
"I'm not an expert marksman so I'm not sure exactly what we could do."
Mrs James said the muntjac's favourite food was bramble shoots, but that they often ate the shoots of young trees and trees which were re-growing after being coppiced.
The muntjac, a small deer about 90cm long, is native to China and Taiwan but was introduced to parks in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire about 100 years ago and is now a common sight in woodland in the South East.
Monday, July 03, 2006
MICHIGAN NEWS: One buck per hunter in UP?
Marquette - Deer hunters in the Upper Peninsula could be reduced to a one-buck per season limit.
The state Natural Resources Commission plans to discuss and vote on the proposal Thursday in Big Rapids.
Michigan hunters have been allowed to bag two bucks per season for more than a decade.
Commissioner John Madigan of Munising last month proposed the one-buck limit, whether it's taken by bow, gun or muzzleloader. If approved, the rule becomes effective this year.
Madigan says UP sportsmen like the one-buck limit because they think the region's deer population is declining.
The state Natural Resources Commission plans to discuss and vote on the proposal Thursday in Big Rapids.
Michigan hunters have been allowed to bag two bucks per season for more than a decade.
Commissioner John Madigan of Munising last month proposed the one-buck limit, whether it's taken by bow, gun or muzzleloader. If approved, the rule becomes effective this year.
Madigan says UP sportsmen like the one-buck limit because they think the region's deer population is declining.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Lyme Q&A
BY ANITA MANNING
USA TODAY
Ah, summer. Time to get out of the house and into nature. And time to start watching for the tiny deer ticks that carry Lyme disease, says medical entomologist Richard Falco of Fordham University.
June and July are the peak season for Lyme disease because ticks are in their nymphal stage and are most active. Reporter Anita Manning interviews Falco and other experts who offer basic information on Lyme disease, a potentially dangerous illness:
Q: How do people get the disease?
A: The bacterium is transmitted by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks. It is not known to pass from one person to another, from a pet to a person, through blood transfusion or by eating infected deer or squirrels.
Q: Is the disease a concern only in the summer?
A: Lyme disease is reported year-round, but the majority of cases occur in the summer. The disease has been reported in nearly every state. About 20,000 cases are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year, a national average of nearly seven cases per 100,000. But in the 12 states where it is most common, the average was just over 27 per 100,000.
Q: What should I do to protect myself and my family?
A: If possible, avoid woods and tall grass. If not, the CDC advises using bug repellent containing DEET and doing frequent body checks. The nymphal ticks are tiny, about the size of a poppy seed, so it's important to look carefully, particularly on legs, arms and groin.
About 70 percent of Lyme disease infections are acquired around the home. "If you live in an urban area and go to the park once a month, you're likely be more diligent," Falco says. "But if you live in an area where there are ticks and there's risk just walking to the mailbox, it's difficult to take these precautions day in and day out."
Q: What can I can do around the house and yard to get rid of ticks?
A: Ticks need high humidity to survive, so remove leaf litter, keep grass short and cut back underbrush. In regions of high infestation, such as the Northeast, "chemical control is probably the least difficult and most effective way to control ticks in the suburban environment," Falco says. Spraying an insecticide in early June and again in the fall is "optimal."
Q: What are the symptoms, and how is the disease treated?
A: Symptoms vary, but about 70 percent of people develop a circular rash at the site of the bite after three to 30 days. The rash expands over days to as large as a foot in diameter, developing a bull's-eye appearance. Patients also have chills, fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches and swollen lymph nodes. Prompt treatment with antibiotics resolves most cases, but some people continue to have symptoms for months or years. Untreated, it can lead to chronic illnesses, including arthritis and neurological problems.
Q: Can my pets get it?
A: Dogs are very susceptible and can pick up ticks easily because they're low to the ground and love to roll around in grasses. Ticks apparently aren't as attracted to cats, so they're less vulnerable, says veterinarian Richard Ford of the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University.
A dog carrying ticks poses a threat not only to itself but also to humans in the house. "The dog moved out of the doghouse a long time ago. People are sleeping with their pets," Ford says. Pet owners should apply topical tick repellent every month, and in areas where Lyme disease is common, dogs should be vaccinated each year.
USA TODAY
Ah, summer. Time to get out of the house and into nature. And time to start watching for the tiny deer ticks that carry Lyme disease, says medical entomologist Richard Falco of Fordham University.
June and July are the peak season for Lyme disease because ticks are in their nymphal stage and are most active. Reporter Anita Manning interviews Falco and other experts who offer basic information on Lyme disease, a potentially dangerous illness:
Q: How do people get the disease?
A: The bacterium is transmitted by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks. It is not known to pass from one person to another, from a pet to a person, through blood transfusion or by eating infected deer or squirrels.
Q: Is the disease a concern only in the summer?
A: Lyme disease is reported year-round, but the majority of cases occur in the summer. The disease has been reported in nearly every state. About 20,000 cases are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year, a national average of nearly seven cases per 100,000. But in the 12 states where it is most common, the average was just over 27 per 100,000.
Q: What should I do to protect myself and my family?
A: If possible, avoid woods and tall grass. If not, the CDC advises using bug repellent containing DEET and doing frequent body checks. The nymphal ticks are tiny, about the size of a poppy seed, so it's important to look carefully, particularly on legs, arms and groin.
About 70 percent of Lyme disease infections are acquired around the home. "If you live in an urban area and go to the park once a month, you're likely be more diligent," Falco says. "But if you live in an area where there are ticks and there's risk just walking to the mailbox, it's difficult to take these precautions day in and day out."
Q: What can I can do around the house and yard to get rid of ticks?
A: Ticks need high humidity to survive, so remove leaf litter, keep grass short and cut back underbrush. In regions of high infestation, such as the Northeast, "chemical control is probably the least difficult and most effective way to control ticks in the suburban environment," Falco says. Spraying an insecticide in early June and again in the fall is "optimal."
Q: What are the symptoms, and how is the disease treated?
A: Symptoms vary, but about 70 percent of people develop a circular rash at the site of the bite after three to 30 days. The rash expands over days to as large as a foot in diameter, developing a bull's-eye appearance. Patients also have chills, fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches and swollen lymph nodes. Prompt treatment with antibiotics resolves most cases, but some people continue to have symptoms for months or years. Untreated, it can lead to chronic illnesses, including arthritis and neurological problems.
Q: Can my pets get it?
A: Dogs are very susceptible and can pick up ticks easily because they're low to the ground and love to roll around in grasses. Ticks apparently aren't as attracted to cats, so they're less vulnerable, says veterinarian Richard Ford of the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University.
A dog carrying ticks poses a threat not only to itself but also to humans in the house. "The dog moved out of the doghouse a long time ago. People are sleeping with their pets," Ford says. Pet owners should apply topical tick repellent every month, and in areas where Lyme disease is common, dogs should be vaccinated each year.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
SASKATCHEWAN NEWS: 11,193 deer-vehicle accidents in 2005
Regina and Saskatoon drivers need to slow down and save a buck.
Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), said the highest number of vehicle-deer collisions occur near the two cities. "You can probably draw a circle 40 miles around both of those centres and that will be your highest collision area," Crabbe said Tuesday.
This is due to a combination of increased traffic and a high deer population in the two areas. Crabbe said the deer have climatized to the region and, combined with very little hunting pressure on the animals, that has resulted in an increased deer population.
Although the SWF is concerned with saving the animals from danger, the Slow Down and Save a Buck campaign is aimed at saving human lives.
"It is the human life and human injury that we are trying to eliminate," said Crabbe.
Last year three people lost their lives in collisions with deer and another 205 were injured. There was a reported 11,193 vehicle collisions with deer in 2005, up from 8,055 in 2000. SGI paid out more than $28 million in claims last year alone.
Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), said the highest number of vehicle-deer collisions occur near the two cities. "You can probably draw a circle 40 miles around both of those centres and that will be your highest collision area," Crabbe said Tuesday.
This is due to a combination of increased traffic and a high deer population in the two areas. Crabbe said the deer have climatized to the region and, combined with very little hunting pressure on the animals, that has resulted in an increased deer population.
Although the SWF is concerned with saving the animals from danger, the Slow Down and Save a Buck campaign is aimed at saving human lives.
"It is the human life and human injury that we are trying to eliminate," said Crabbe.
Last year three people lost their lives in collisions with deer and another 205 were injured. There was a reported 11,193 vehicle collisions with deer in 2005, up from 8,055 in 2000. SGI paid out more than $28 million in claims last year alone.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
IOWA NEWS: Too many deer in Ames
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Ames homeowners said they want the City Council to allow deer hunting within the city limits. An aerial count earlier this year found large numbers of deer in residential areas. Homeowners said they are getting tired of watching the animals destroy their back yards.
Debbie Gitchell said she watched deer eat away all the shrubs and plants in her back yard. Now, she fills her flowerbeds with plants that deer won't find tempting to eat.
"One in particular is bleeding heart. It's a native woodland plant in Iowa and it's poison to the deer, so I just keep planting bleeding heart," Gitchell said.
Gitchell said deer generally find plenty to eat in a nearby park during the summer and don't venture into her neighborhood. Deer can still be spotted early in the morning or late evening hours and especially in the winter.
"I think when you first see these specimens of wildlife in your yard it's, 'Oh, is that wonderful,' but they do bring with them some definite negatives," Gitchell said.
Gitchell and other residents are recommending a bow-hunting season within the city to bring the deep population down.
She said the population has grown so large it's becoming dangerous to people in the community. "We have a few deer that had … entered into homes when they were spooked or startled and broke into deck windows, so again, that's a human health and safety issue," Lavender said.
The Ames City Council is not expected to take any action on this issue Tuesday night.
Several other Iowa communities have similar bow-hunting seasons and that's helped get the population under control.
Debbie Gitchell said she watched deer eat away all the shrubs and plants in her back yard. Now, she fills her flowerbeds with plants that deer won't find tempting to eat.
"One in particular is bleeding heart. It's a native woodland plant in Iowa and it's poison to the deer, so I just keep planting bleeding heart," Gitchell said.
Gitchell said deer generally find plenty to eat in a nearby park during the summer and don't venture into her neighborhood. Deer can still be spotted early in the morning or late evening hours and especially in the winter.
"I think when you first see these specimens of wildlife in your yard it's, 'Oh, is that wonderful,' but they do bring with them some definite negatives," Gitchell said.
Gitchell and other residents are recommending a bow-hunting season within the city to bring the deep population down.
She said the population has grown so large it's becoming dangerous to people in the community. "We have a few deer that had … entered into homes when they were spooked or startled and broke into deck windows, so again, that's a human health and safety issue," Lavender said.
The Ames City Council is not expected to take any action on this issue Tuesday night.
Several other Iowa communities have similar bow-hunting seasons and that's helped get the population under control.
Friday, June 16, 2006
MICHIGAN OPINION: Sometimes Aggressive Deer Management Necessary
Bruce Bischoff, Outdoor Columnist for the Record-Eagle (northern LP) writes:
It took exactly one night last week for the deer to discover my dad's tomato seedlings and nip them in the bud.
He didn't have his electric fence up because last year he didn't have any trouble with deer, and because local folklore insisted that there weren't any deer in our area any more after years of liberal doe permits and other DNR mismanagement.
Based on personal observations and conversations with adjoining landowners, I wasn't so sure. And sure enough, after last hunting season, the deer slowly began to come out of the woodwork — not as many, perhaps, as there were 20 years ago, but enough to continue the species.
But another species came out in even more force than whitetails over the winter: hunterrus irateus. Petitions demanding that the DNR do something to build the deer herd back up sprouted in nearly every convenience store. Sportsmen's club meetings got heated. "We want our deer back," was the angry refrain.
It's true that deer populations and harvests have been down in the northern Lower Peninsula for the last couple of years. It's a management campaign that was undertaken for several reasons — to severely cull the herd in the bovine TB-infested areas, to bring the herd more into line with the carrying capacity of the range, and to attempt to modify the extremely lopsided buck-doe ratio of years past. Others might say it was a reaction to political pressure from agricultural interests and auto insurers. Or it might be all of the above.
The DNR's first step to address bovine TB — eliminating baiting — raised a firestorm of protest from hunters and retailers throughout the north, and under heavy political pressure was scaled back to the point of being almost irrelevant.
If there's one thing I've learned from a lifetime of hunting in northern Michigan, it's that pretty much anybody with a blaze orange hat considers himself a game manager of far greater skill and insight than your average professional wildlife biologist. If there's a problem, real or perceived, they have the answer, and they're certain about it. Very certain.
I'll admit I was a bit leery of the changes several years ago, but as they took hold my hunting actually got better. I didn't see as many deer, but I saw more bucks and actually harvested a couple of decent ones. So I hunted patiently and didn't complain.
But apparently a lot of hunters are in a complaining mood now. To address the issue, the DNR is holding meetings with hunters like one scheduled at West Branch this Saturday to outline proposed reductions in doe permits.
Now, I'll admit that doe permits have gotten out of hand at times. Nobody really needs one tag per day.
But I'm not to keen on going back to the days when I would see a dozen or 15 deer every day of the season and never a single set of horns. There were simply so many does available that the bucks didn't need to move around to find them.
There's no question that does need to be managed along with bucks to maintain a healthy herd. The problem is coming to a consensus that everyone can live with.
If it were my choice, the major change I'd make to deer regulations would be the elimination of the second buck license. Hunters who know they only have one shot are going to think twice before taking a small buck. I think a lot of spikes and forks would survive the season and have a chance to grow into decent bucks in the second year.
Or how about a two-tag license, one buck and one doe, where appropriate? Or even a license like a scratch-off lottery ticket, where you might get either a buck tag or a doe tag? Indulge me; I've got a blaze orange hat, too.
For many years I thought of the balance of nature as kind of a finely tuned gyroscope just humming along with no need or intervention or correction from us puny humans. But in recent years I've become convinced that it's a lot more like a teeter-totter, with the weight of species frequently sliding from one end to the other, and we may have to apply a light, judicious hand now and then.
It took exactly one night last week for the deer to discover my dad's tomato seedlings and nip them in the bud.
He didn't have his electric fence up because last year he didn't have any trouble with deer, and because local folklore insisted that there weren't any deer in our area any more after years of liberal doe permits and other DNR mismanagement.
Based on personal observations and conversations with adjoining landowners, I wasn't so sure. And sure enough, after last hunting season, the deer slowly began to come out of the woodwork — not as many, perhaps, as there were 20 years ago, but enough to continue the species.
But another species came out in even more force than whitetails over the winter: hunterrus irateus. Petitions demanding that the DNR do something to build the deer herd back up sprouted in nearly every convenience store. Sportsmen's club meetings got heated. "We want our deer back," was the angry refrain.
It's true that deer populations and harvests have been down in the northern Lower Peninsula for the last couple of years. It's a management campaign that was undertaken for several reasons — to severely cull the herd in the bovine TB-infested areas, to bring the herd more into line with the carrying capacity of the range, and to attempt to modify the extremely lopsided buck-doe ratio of years past. Others might say it was a reaction to political pressure from agricultural interests and auto insurers. Or it might be all of the above.
The DNR's first step to address bovine TB — eliminating baiting — raised a firestorm of protest from hunters and retailers throughout the north, and under heavy political pressure was scaled back to the point of being almost irrelevant.
If there's one thing I've learned from a lifetime of hunting in northern Michigan, it's that pretty much anybody with a blaze orange hat considers himself a game manager of far greater skill and insight than your average professional wildlife biologist. If there's a problem, real or perceived, they have the answer, and they're certain about it. Very certain.
I'll admit I was a bit leery of the changes several years ago, but as they took hold my hunting actually got better. I didn't see as many deer, but I saw more bucks and actually harvested a couple of decent ones. So I hunted patiently and didn't complain.
But apparently a lot of hunters are in a complaining mood now. To address the issue, the DNR is holding meetings with hunters like one scheduled at West Branch this Saturday to outline proposed reductions in doe permits.
Now, I'll admit that doe permits have gotten out of hand at times. Nobody really needs one tag per day.
But I'm not to keen on going back to the days when I would see a dozen or 15 deer every day of the season and never a single set of horns. There were simply so many does available that the bucks didn't need to move around to find them.
There's no question that does need to be managed along with bucks to maintain a healthy herd. The problem is coming to a consensus that everyone can live with.
If it were my choice, the major change I'd make to deer regulations would be the elimination of the second buck license. Hunters who know they only have one shot are going to think twice before taking a small buck. I think a lot of spikes and forks would survive the season and have a chance to grow into decent bucks in the second year.
Or how about a two-tag license, one buck and one doe, where appropriate? Or even a license like a scratch-off lottery ticket, where you might get either a buck tag or a doe tag? Indulge me; I've got a blaze orange hat, too.
For many years I thought of the balance of nature as kind of a finely tuned gyroscope just humming along with no need or intervention or correction from us puny humans. But in recent years I've become convinced that it's a lot more like a teeter-totter, with the weight of species frequently sliding from one end to the other, and we may have to apply a light, judicious hand now and then.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
ARKANSAS NEWS; Community votes in favor of cull
Randy Kemp recently writes in The Sun Times:
It was something over a year ago that we used this space to encourage the Heber Springs city council members to consider a supervised bow hunt inside the city limits to thin the burgeoning deer population. The suggestion came after hearing lots of anecdotal stories - many of them - about the increasing nuisance: sides of cars dented in (dents that look like they should cost $100 that end up costing $2300); flowers and shrubbery eaten; fences bent and damaged...
The broken bones and totaled motorcycle which Yours Truly suffered when an errant buck collided with the motorcycle on Hwy 5 didn’t even figure into it, since that happened on a state highway six or seven miles south of town.
Obviously we at the newspaper weren’t the only ones hearing - or experiencing firsthand - these stories. The idea found favor at the coffee shops, and in water fountain conversations at local businesses, and front porch conversations around town, and equally important, down at city hall.
The mayor and council, recognizing this as a controversial subject, decided to put it to a vote, after discussing it and gathering real data from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and other sources over the period of many months. They wisely took long to debate the merits, remaining sensitive to those citizens who love to watch the local deer slipping through their back yards at dusk and again at dawn, often with spotted fawns in tow during the season for baby deer.
And those citizens, those who will still cringe at the seeming viciousness of a bow hunt this fall, had good representation on the city council. That much was evidenced during the several votes the council took as the idea advanced. Even last Thursday night, three of the eight aldermen voted against the first readings of an ordinance that would prohibit feeding of deer in the city limits. At the final reading, one changed his vote to a yes, but it was still a quarter of the council that voted their own consciences and those of a good number of their constituents with their “No” votes.
But in the end, a public vote among all the citizens of Heber Springs confirmed what we suspected and started kicking around well over a year ago - the deer represent a bigger problem than the quaintness of their presence, and pose a problem that needs to be dealt with.
The council continues to ease into the limited deer hunt with discretion, agreeing to let the Game and Fish Commission run the hunt. Those folks will do a good job overseeing the hunt, both from fairness in awarding permits, certifying safety standards for hunters, and making sure the whole thing is carried out safely.
We know of no one who takes pleasure in injuring or maiming any deer. But the statistics for such supervised bow hunts are fairly impressive. We believed, and continue to trust, that this is a partial answer to a big problem for our growing but still very rural community, where the woods grow right into many of the neighborhoods. We also applaud the city council for its decision Thursday to prohibit their feeding. Hopefully that will send some of them back to the woods and out of local flower beds and gardens and roadways.
It was something over a year ago that we used this space to encourage the Heber Springs city council members to consider a supervised bow hunt inside the city limits to thin the burgeoning deer population. The suggestion came after hearing lots of anecdotal stories - many of them - about the increasing nuisance: sides of cars dented in (dents that look like they should cost $100 that end up costing $2300); flowers and shrubbery eaten; fences bent and damaged...
The broken bones and totaled motorcycle which Yours Truly suffered when an errant buck collided with the motorcycle on Hwy 5 didn’t even figure into it, since that happened on a state highway six or seven miles south of town.
Obviously we at the newspaper weren’t the only ones hearing - or experiencing firsthand - these stories. The idea found favor at the coffee shops, and in water fountain conversations at local businesses, and front porch conversations around town, and equally important, down at city hall.
The mayor and council, recognizing this as a controversial subject, decided to put it to a vote, after discussing it and gathering real data from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and other sources over the period of many months. They wisely took long to debate the merits, remaining sensitive to those citizens who love to watch the local deer slipping through their back yards at dusk and again at dawn, often with spotted fawns in tow during the season for baby deer.
And those citizens, those who will still cringe at the seeming viciousness of a bow hunt this fall, had good representation on the city council. That much was evidenced during the several votes the council took as the idea advanced. Even last Thursday night, three of the eight aldermen voted against the first readings of an ordinance that would prohibit feeding of deer in the city limits. At the final reading, one changed his vote to a yes, but it was still a quarter of the council that voted their own consciences and those of a good number of their constituents with their “No” votes.
But in the end, a public vote among all the citizens of Heber Springs confirmed what we suspected and started kicking around well over a year ago - the deer represent a bigger problem than the quaintness of their presence, and pose a problem that needs to be dealt with.
The council continues to ease into the limited deer hunt with discretion, agreeing to let the Game and Fish Commission run the hunt. Those folks will do a good job overseeing the hunt, both from fairness in awarding permits, certifying safety standards for hunters, and making sure the whole thing is carried out safely.
We know of no one who takes pleasure in injuring or maiming any deer. But the statistics for such supervised bow hunts are fairly impressive. We believed, and continue to trust, that this is a partial answer to a big problem for our growing but still very rural community, where the woods grow right into many of the neighborhoods. We also applaud the city council for its decision Thursday to prohibit their feeding. Hopefully that will send some of them back to the woods and out of local flower beds and gardens and roadways.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
MARYLAND NEWS: Battling Lyme in the 'Burbs
The Segal family of North Potomac once considered their expansive backyard, with its swimming pool and wooden playhouse, as a bit of paradise.
But after both Dan and Mimi Segal and three of their four children fell seriously ill due to Lyme disease caused by deer tick bites, it seems more like enemy territory.
‘‘We used to think of our backyard as another room in our house but we don’t go out there much anymore,” said Mimi Segal.
Not since 2000, when the disease known as the ‘‘great masquerader” because it mimics other disorders, began to put the family through a nightmare of symptoms.
‘‘My son Sam is 17 and should be having fun selecting the college of his choice, but he’s had to pick one based on the distance to his Lyme disease doctor,” Mimi Segal said. ‘‘Who knew sitting in your backyard could be a high risk activity?”
That’s why Mimi Segal has talked about the problem at area PTAs and civic associations since last fall. And now she and her husband are kicking off their newly named effort, ‘‘Montgomery County Tick Reduction Program,” in their own neighborhood of 18 years, Potomac Chase Estates.
Working with their HOA, they plan to install deer feeding stations filled with corn throughout the heavily wooded community of 70 homes on about 160 acres.
As deer poke their heads into the boxes to feed, rollers apply a tick-killing pesticide called ‘‘permithrin” to their necks.
‘‘It’s a very low dose, but it goes directly to the tick-infested neck and head and kills adult [tick] females,” she said.
They also want to place ‘‘tick tubes,” biodegradable toilet paper-like tubes filled with permithrin-soaked cotton, around the neighborhood. The tubes attract mice, the disease carriers responsible for infecting ticks with the bacteria.
Statewide reporting of confirmed cases showed a 39 percent increase from 2004 to 2005, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The Segals believe their neighborhood is ‘‘hot spot” for the disease due to the herds of deer roaming their wooded streets.
But they agree with Rob Gibson, natural resource manager for Montgomery County, that killing off deer herds is not the answer.
‘‘Deer are probably responsible for spreading the disease into new areas, but once it’s there, the ticks can live on a variety of other hosts,” Gibson said.
But after both Dan and Mimi Segal and three of their four children fell seriously ill due to Lyme disease caused by deer tick bites, it seems more like enemy territory.
‘‘We used to think of our backyard as another room in our house but we don’t go out there much anymore,” said Mimi Segal.
Not since 2000, when the disease known as the ‘‘great masquerader” because it mimics other disorders, began to put the family through a nightmare of symptoms.
‘‘My son Sam is 17 and should be having fun selecting the college of his choice, but he’s had to pick one based on the distance to his Lyme disease doctor,” Mimi Segal said. ‘‘Who knew sitting in your backyard could be a high risk activity?”
That’s why Mimi Segal has talked about the problem at area PTAs and civic associations since last fall. And now she and her husband are kicking off their newly named effort, ‘‘Montgomery County Tick Reduction Program,” in their own neighborhood of 18 years, Potomac Chase Estates.
Working with their HOA, they plan to install deer feeding stations filled with corn throughout the heavily wooded community of 70 homes on about 160 acres.
As deer poke their heads into the boxes to feed, rollers apply a tick-killing pesticide called ‘‘permithrin” to their necks.
‘‘It’s a very low dose, but it goes directly to the tick-infested neck and head and kills adult [tick] females,” she said.
They also want to place ‘‘tick tubes,” biodegradable toilet paper-like tubes filled with permithrin-soaked cotton, around the neighborhood. The tubes attract mice, the disease carriers responsible for infecting ticks with the bacteria.
Statewide reporting of confirmed cases showed a 39 percent increase from 2004 to 2005, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The Segals believe their neighborhood is ‘‘hot spot” for the disease due to the herds of deer roaming their wooded streets.
But they agree with Rob Gibson, natural resource manager for Montgomery County, that killing off deer herds is not the answer.
‘‘Deer are probably responsible for spreading the disease into new areas, but once it’s there, the ticks can live on a variety of other hosts,” Gibson said.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Urban deer management plan unveiled
from PR Newswire: In achieving another objective in its deer management plan, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has finalized its urban/suburban deer management plan to more effectively manage deer in developed areas of the state. This new plan has been posted on the agency's website (http://www.pgc.state.pa.us), and can be viewed by clicking on "Deer Program" in the "Quick Clicks" box in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage and then selecting "Urban/Suburban Deer Management Plan."
"Human-deer conflicts are a real, not just a perceived, problem," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. "Pennsylvania primarily manages deer through hunting, but hunter success, especially in developed areas, is influenced by hunter access to land open to hunting and safety zone issues.
"The use of traditional hunting methods are always the most economical way to manage deer, and this plan employs traditional deer management techniques. However, it also offers non-traditional deer management approaches, as well as an educational program that incorporates current practices and possible solutions into an integrated, comprehensive approach to resolve urban/suburban deer problems."
Roe noted that, due to the agency's limited financial resources, it would take time to implement all the strategies in the plan.
Although white-tailed deer provide many Pennsylvanians countless hours of recreational opportunities and enjoyment, are important to the state's economy, and are officially recognized as the Commonwealth's "state animal," Roe noted that they can wear out their welcome quickly when they begin stripping vegetation in yards and become obstacles on city and suburban streets.
The plan outlines four main goals: reduce deer impacts in developed areas using hunting options; reduce deer-human conflicts using non-hunting options where hunting options are shown to not be feasible or sufficient; inform urban leadership, residents, and hunters about deer management options and opportunities in developed areas; and encourage positive relationships between hunters and communities in developed areas.
"Human-deer conflicts are a real, not just a perceived, problem," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. "Pennsylvania primarily manages deer through hunting, but hunter success, especially in developed areas, is influenced by hunter access to land open to hunting and safety zone issues.
"The use of traditional hunting methods are always the most economical way to manage deer, and this plan employs traditional deer management techniques. However, it also offers non-traditional deer management approaches, as well as an educational program that incorporates current practices and possible solutions into an integrated, comprehensive approach to resolve urban/suburban deer problems."
Roe noted that, due to the agency's limited financial resources, it would take time to implement all the strategies in the plan.
Although white-tailed deer provide many Pennsylvanians countless hours of recreational opportunities and enjoyment, are important to the state's economy, and are officially recognized as the Commonwealth's "state animal," Roe noted that they can wear out their welcome quickly when they begin stripping vegetation in yards and become obstacles on city and suburban streets.
The plan outlines four main goals: reduce deer impacts in developed areas using hunting options; reduce deer-human conflicts using non-hunting options where hunting options are shown to not be feasible or sufficient; inform urban leadership, residents, and hunters about deer management options and opportunities in developed areas; and encourage positive relationships between hunters and communities in developed areas.
IOWA NEWS: Confirmed cougar kill of deer
DES MOINES, Iowa A mountain lion is back in Iowa.
State biologists have confirmed a mountain lion killed a deer in Marshall County. It's the first sign of a big cat in Iowa since October 2004.
The deer was found on Tuesday near Bangor. Rick Trine of the Iowa Department of Natural Resource says the deer had claw marks on its hind quarters and neck, and puncture wounds to the neck and head.
Trine says the deer only had three legs -- from an old injury -- and it was probably easy prey.
According to the DNR, there have been two mountain lions shot, one killed on the road, one photographed in the same general area as the Marshall County cat, and six confirmed tracks.
State biologists have confirmed a mountain lion killed a deer in Marshall County. It's the first sign of a big cat in Iowa since October 2004.
The deer was found on Tuesday near Bangor. Rick Trine of the Iowa Department of Natural Resource says the deer had claw marks on its hind quarters and neck, and puncture wounds to the neck and head.
Trine says the deer only had three legs -- from an old injury -- and it was probably easy prey.
According to the DNR, there have been two mountain lions shot, one killed on the road, one photographed in the same general area as the Marshall County cat, and six confirmed tracks.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
IOWA NEWS: 2005 Season A Record Harvest
State wildlife officials said Tuesday that hunters have made a record dent in Iowa's deer population.
A recently compiled deer hunting survey estimates 17,000 more whitetail deer — 210,000 — were killed during the fall and winter deer hunting seasons of 2005-2006 than in the previous season.
"This is one of those times that what we planned to accomplish and what happened were the same thing," said deer biologist Willie Suchy with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
In the last few years, pressure from Iowa legislators prompted natural resources officials to increase the number of antlerless-only deer hunting licenses, targeted mostly at female deer, available. Legislators were responding to complaints from the state's insurance industry and the public because of increased vehicle-deer accidents, and from farmers who said deer were destroying their crops.
State biologists have estimated Iowa's deer kill is up from approximately 193,000 the previous hunting season. As a result, there will be fewer antlerless deer licenses offered for the 2006-2007 seasons.
"The proposal that goes to the Natural Resources Commission next week will reduce antlerless deer quotas in north-central and northwest Iowa," Suchy said. "In southern Iowa, it looks like the harvest started to bring deer numbers down and began to level them off. If we can do that for a couple of years, we will see deer numbers reduced enough in southern Iowa."
Northeast Iowa still has a higher-than-wanted population in some areas, officials said.
A recently compiled deer hunting survey estimates 17,000 more whitetail deer — 210,000 — were killed during the fall and winter deer hunting seasons of 2005-2006 than in the previous season.
"This is one of those times that what we planned to accomplish and what happened were the same thing," said deer biologist Willie Suchy with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
In the last few years, pressure from Iowa legislators prompted natural resources officials to increase the number of antlerless-only deer hunting licenses, targeted mostly at female deer, available. Legislators were responding to complaints from the state's insurance industry and the public because of increased vehicle-deer accidents, and from farmers who said deer were destroying their crops.
State biologists have estimated Iowa's deer kill is up from approximately 193,000 the previous hunting season. As a result, there will be fewer antlerless deer licenses offered for the 2006-2007 seasons.
"The proposal that goes to the Natural Resources Commission next week will reduce antlerless deer quotas in north-central and northwest Iowa," Suchy said. "In southern Iowa, it looks like the harvest started to bring deer numbers down and began to level them off. If we can do that for a couple of years, we will see deer numbers reduced enough in southern Iowa."
Northeast Iowa still has a higher-than-wanted population in some areas, officials said.
Uninvited Guests
Tis the season...
CHARLEVOIX, MI - A wayward deer caused damage to a Charlevoix business Friday. Charlevoix deputy police chief Scott Hankins said he was called to the Auto Value store, located at 108 West Carpenter St., at about 5:29 p.m. to a report that a deer had just crashed through a front window at the business and was still running around inside the building. Hankins said the business was open and about four employees were inside at the time of the incident.
GRANITE CITY, MO - Imagine waking up to a 150 pound deer, crashing through your living room window. A Granite City husband and wife wish that would have been a bad dream. Instead, it was part of a frightening reality. The Pulliam family still can't believe what woke them up Saturday morning. It was the sound of glass shattering, and a deer jumping through the front window. The unexpected breakfast guest showed up almost 7:30 in the morning. All 150 pounds of the deer came crashing through the living room.
NORMAL, IL - As officials at Southern Illinois University deal with an angry doe who's been attacking students and staff, authorities in central Illinois are having problems of their own. At a retirement residence in Normal, a woman in her 80s found an uninvited -- and bleeding -- guest in her apartment. A doe had crashed through her bedroom window and bumbled around her apartment, breaking a lamp and an air-conditioning unit. It ended up in her bathtub. Though officials tried to save the deer, it was eventually euthanized. The woman was not injured.
CHARLEVOIX, MI - A wayward deer caused damage to a Charlevoix business Friday. Charlevoix deputy police chief Scott Hankins said he was called to the Auto Value store, located at 108 West Carpenter St., at about 5:29 p.m. to a report that a deer had just crashed through a front window at the business and was still running around inside the building. Hankins said the business was open and about four employees were inside at the time of the incident.
GRANITE CITY, MO - Imagine waking up to a 150 pound deer, crashing through your living room window. A Granite City husband and wife wish that would have been a bad dream. Instead, it was part of a frightening reality. The Pulliam family still can't believe what woke them up Saturday morning. It was the sound of glass shattering, and a deer jumping through the front window. The unexpected breakfast guest showed up almost 7:30 in the morning. All 150 pounds of the deer came crashing through the living room.
NORMAL, IL - As officials at Southern Illinois University deal with an angry doe who's been attacking students and staff, authorities in central Illinois are having problems of their own. At a retirement residence in Normal, a woman in her 80s found an uninvited -- and bleeding -- guest in her apartment. A doe had crashed through her bedroom window and bumbled around her apartment, breaking a lamp and an air-conditioning unit. It ended up in her bathtub. Though officials tried to save the deer, it was eventually euthanized. The woman was not injured.
Monday, May 22, 2006
NEW YORK NEWS: Deer impacts task force formed
A new task force has been formed to deal with issues caused by the burgeoning population of white-tail deer in Westchester, County Parks Commissioner Joseph A. Stout has announced.
The organization, called the Westchester County Forest Regeneration Citizens’ Task Force will be headed by Greenburgh resident William S. Greenawalt. The group will study current research on deer population, including deer counts and other data, to develop a strategy that county parks staff, municipal officials and private property owners can use in the management of deer-related problems. While hunting has always been prohibited in county parks, carefully regulated and monitored deer culling will be discussed as a possible means of reducing the number and size of deer herds.
The task force comprises representatives from a wide range of organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the Humane Society, Audubon New York, Teatown Lake Reservation, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Mianus River Gorge, Pace University Environmental Center and Federated Conservationists of Westchester County.
“If you live in Westchester chances are you’ve been affected by white-tail deer in some way, whether they’ve chewed on your shrubs, or darted out in front of your car at night, or even if you’ve just enjoyed watching them grazing at the edge of a forest,” Stout said. “They’re beautiful to look at but conservation advocates have strongly advised us that deer over-population has a significant negative impact on the health of our forests.”
Stout said that the idea to form a task force on the white-tailed deer was conceived during the Park’s Department’s annual “Conversations on Conservation” conference, a program that brings together public and private conservation advocates and experts, municipal planners and private citizens to discuss and develop solutions to challenging environmental issues. He said the conference made it clear that the white-tail deer today is fairly universally considered nuisance wildlife and that a regional strategy was needed. The conference organizers approached County Executive Andy Spano who endorsed the formation of the task force but at the same time charged the county’s Parks and Planning departments to develop a deer-management program and plan of action to be used in the county parks, to be completed within half a year.
The organization, called the Westchester County Forest Regeneration Citizens’ Task Force will be headed by Greenburgh resident William S. Greenawalt. The group will study current research on deer population, including deer counts and other data, to develop a strategy that county parks staff, municipal officials and private property owners can use in the management of deer-related problems. While hunting has always been prohibited in county parks, carefully regulated and monitored deer culling will be discussed as a possible means of reducing the number and size of deer herds.
The task force comprises representatives from a wide range of organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the Humane Society, Audubon New York, Teatown Lake Reservation, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Mianus River Gorge, Pace University Environmental Center and Federated Conservationists of Westchester County.
“If you live in Westchester chances are you’ve been affected by white-tail deer in some way, whether they’ve chewed on your shrubs, or darted out in front of your car at night, or even if you’ve just enjoyed watching them grazing at the edge of a forest,” Stout said. “They’re beautiful to look at but conservation advocates have strongly advised us that deer over-population has a significant negative impact on the health of our forests.”
Stout said that the idea to form a task force on the white-tailed deer was conceived during the Park’s Department’s annual “Conversations on Conservation” conference, a program that brings together public and private conservation advocates and experts, municipal planners and private citizens to discuss and develop solutions to challenging environmental issues. He said the conference made it clear that the white-tail deer today is fairly universally considered nuisance wildlife and that a regional strategy was needed. The conference organizers approached County Executive Andy Spano who endorsed the formation of the task force but at the same time charged the county’s Parks and Planning departments to develop a deer-management program and plan of action to be used in the county parks, to be completed within half a year.
Friday, May 19, 2006
TENNESSEE NEWS: Deer Attacks Kindergarten
Kindergarten students at Robert E. Lillard Design Center School in Bordeaux had an unexpected visitor to their language arts class Thursday morning when a deer crashed through the room's first-floor window and landed at the foot of the teacher's desk.
At first, teacher Linda Fletcher was shocked and bewildered, but then her instincts kicked in. As the injured deer crawled away from her desk and behind the coat closet, she acted.
"All I could think about was getting away from the hooves and getting the children out," Fletcher said.
Two students suffered minor cuts from flying glass and one complained of chest pain — but the rest of the class was OK after the incident, school officials said.
Five-year-old Marcel Fogg was sitting at a table far away from the deer, which he and his other classmates have named Rudolph, but said he was frightened when the animal broke through the glass and flew over the heads of two classmates sitting beneath the window. "I thought Rudolph was gonna bite me," Marcel said.
Metro Animal Control Services and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency were called to the scene, where they tranquilized the deer and then euthanized it, said Steve Patrick, a TWRA regional manager. The deer had broken and severed its hind legs and probably would have gone into shock if it were not put down, he said. Animal Control officials will run tests to make sure that the animal was not diseased or that there could have been any other cause for its behavior, he said.
But such incidents are not altogether uncommon in Middle Tennessee, Patrick said. It happens once or twice a year — often because of the large deer population that lives in wooded cover so close to urban areas, he said. Sometimes deer get confused and wander into populated areas. Male deer are especially territorial and have been known to charge their own reflections.
At first, teacher Linda Fletcher was shocked and bewildered, but then her instincts kicked in. As the injured deer crawled away from her desk and behind the coat closet, she acted.
"All I could think about was getting away from the hooves and getting the children out," Fletcher said.
Two students suffered minor cuts from flying glass and one complained of chest pain — but the rest of the class was OK after the incident, school officials said.
Five-year-old Marcel Fogg was sitting at a table far away from the deer, which he and his other classmates have named Rudolph, but said he was frightened when the animal broke through the glass and flew over the heads of two classmates sitting beneath the window. "I thought Rudolph was gonna bite me," Marcel said.
Metro Animal Control Services and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency were called to the scene, where they tranquilized the deer and then euthanized it, said Steve Patrick, a TWRA regional manager. The deer had broken and severed its hind legs and probably would have gone into shock if it were not put down, he said. Animal Control officials will run tests to make sure that the animal was not diseased or that there could have been any other cause for its behavior, he said.
But such incidents are not altogether uncommon in Middle Tennessee, Patrick said. It happens once or twice a year — often because of the large deer population that lives in wooded cover so close to urban areas, he said. Sometimes deer get confused and wander into populated areas. Male deer are especially territorial and have been known to charge their own reflections.
ILLINOIS NEWS: When Deer Attack
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Tammy Emery used to think of deer as sweet and adorable, like Bambi. An encounter with a hard-charging doe changed that. The 31-year-old secretary was among at least seven people threatened or injured by female deer last year on Southern Illinois University's campus - attacks that have prompted the school to wage a safety campaign during this spring's fawning season.
The attacks in the woods at the 20,000-student university have been attributed to a combination of protective motherly instinct, squeezed habitat and, in some cases, a little too much human curiosity.
The message now: Keep your eyes peeled for deer, don't approach them, and if a wild-eyed deer starts bounding your way, run.
"Before last year, no one really had heard of this sort of thing," says Clay Nielsen, a wildlife ecologist at the university.
Nielsen believes different deer were responsible for the three attacks that sent Emery and at least three others to the hospital, mostly with minor injuries.
"It wasn't like it was one crazy animal," Nielsen says. But some of the attacks may have been avoided, he thinks, if the victims hadn't committed an absolute no-no: moving in on a fawn to pet it.
Now, with fawning season soon to peak - last year's attacks happened June 7-15 - Nielsen and other campus officials are using signs, radio spots, e-mails and fliers about the deer in Thompson Woods. Later this month, Nielsen will lead a seminar titled "Avoiding Deer-Human Encounters of the Third Kind on Campus."
The effort also includes a two-year study by Nielsen and other researchers to count the deer, pinpoint how the animals affect the campus' ecosystem and gauge what locals think of them. Nielsen says the study will offer no recommendations on what to do about the deer, leaving that difficult issue for administrators.
All of this comes too late for Emery, a secretary in the political science department who still winces when she recounts what happened to her on the June afternoon she took a shortcut through Thompson Woods.
Emery heard a rustling and saw "this deer was headed right toward me, full charge." Emery never saw any fawn, only the adult deer with eyes wide.
"I could tell it was angry, but I wasn't sure what about," she says. "I know by the time I was in the area she was really mad and going to take it all out on me. I couldn't have run if I tried."
In an instant, the deer knocked the woman to the ground and delivered a flurry of kicks. Emery, screaming, curled defensively into a ball as the snorting animal rained blows on her, slicing open one of her ears and leaving her with huge bruises and a hoofprint on her hand.
"I thought, `This is crazy, this can't be real. I'm being attacked by a deer,'" she recalls.
The deer was scared off by passers-by. Emery has not been back in that stretch of the woods since.
While taking a shortcut through the woods this week, Stephanie Eastwood, a biochemistry major, wondered what all the fuss was about, saying deer were the least of her worries.
"Deer are docile creatures - they don't just attack," said Eastwood, 26. "I find it amusing to see the animals in the park, but all I've seen here is squirrels and snakes, and snakes bother me more."
Nielsen suspects various factors conspired in last year's attacks, including an increase in the deer population and the clearing of trees and windbreaks around the campus' edge. That shrinking habitat has forced the animals into Thompson Woods, which is 20 or so acres with hundreds of yards of paved trails.
"It's the result of having a beautiful campus that we have to deal with wildlife," Nielsen says.
Emery says she thinks differently deer these days: "When they're mad, they're vicious. They're not the pretty creatures they were to me before."
The attacks in the woods at the 20,000-student university have been attributed to a combination of protective motherly instinct, squeezed habitat and, in some cases, a little too much human curiosity.
The message now: Keep your eyes peeled for deer, don't approach them, and if a wild-eyed deer starts bounding your way, run.
"Before last year, no one really had heard of this sort of thing," says Clay Nielsen, a wildlife ecologist at the university.
Nielsen believes different deer were responsible for the three attacks that sent Emery and at least three others to the hospital, mostly with minor injuries.
"It wasn't like it was one crazy animal," Nielsen says. But some of the attacks may have been avoided, he thinks, if the victims hadn't committed an absolute no-no: moving in on a fawn to pet it.
Now, with fawning season soon to peak - last year's attacks happened June 7-15 - Nielsen and other campus officials are using signs, radio spots, e-mails and fliers about the deer in Thompson Woods. Later this month, Nielsen will lead a seminar titled "Avoiding Deer-Human Encounters of the Third Kind on Campus."
The effort also includes a two-year study by Nielsen and other researchers to count the deer, pinpoint how the animals affect the campus' ecosystem and gauge what locals think of them. Nielsen says the study will offer no recommendations on what to do about the deer, leaving that difficult issue for administrators.
All of this comes too late for Emery, a secretary in the political science department who still winces when she recounts what happened to her on the June afternoon she took a shortcut through Thompson Woods.
Emery heard a rustling and saw "this deer was headed right toward me, full charge." Emery never saw any fawn, only the adult deer with eyes wide.
"I could tell it was angry, but I wasn't sure what about," she says. "I know by the time I was in the area she was really mad and going to take it all out on me. I couldn't have run if I tried."
In an instant, the deer knocked the woman to the ground and delivered a flurry of kicks. Emery, screaming, curled defensively into a ball as the snorting animal rained blows on her, slicing open one of her ears and leaving her with huge bruises and a hoofprint on her hand.
"I thought, `This is crazy, this can't be real. I'm being attacked by a deer,'" she recalls.
The deer was scared off by passers-by. Emery has not been back in that stretch of the woods since.
While taking a shortcut through the woods this week, Stephanie Eastwood, a biochemistry major, wondered what all the fuss was about, saying deer were the least of her worries.
"Deer are docile creatures - they don't just attack," said Eastwood, 26. "I find it amusing to see the animals in the park, but all I've seen here is squirrels and snakes, and snakes bother me more."
Nielsen suspects various factors conspired in last year's attacks, including an increase in the deer population and the clearing of trees and windbreaks around the campus' edge. That shrinking habitat has forced the animals into Thompson Woods, which is 20 or so acres with hundreds of yards of paved trails.
"It's the result of having a beautiful campus that we have to deal with wildlife," Nielsen says.
Emery says she thinks differently deer these days: "When they're mad, they're vicious. They're not the pretty creatures they were to me before."
Thursday, May 18, 2006
ILLINOIS NEWS: Deer Culling in Chicago Extends Beyond O'Hare
The Chicago Park District plans to seek a permit to kill deer at a North Side nature preserve, and sharpshooters likely will begin thinning the herd this fall. Deer have overrun the North Park Village Nature Center at Pulaski and Peterson. Staff members said Wednesday there is no other choice than "managing" the white-tails' population.
Only one deer was seen there 10 years ago, but at last count, 20 of them now live at the 46-acre preserve. About half are pregnant does, due to give birth in the next few weeks. Deer usually bear twin fawns, "so the number could be doubling this year" -- to 40 -- said center director Claudia Regojo.
State wildlife experts say the acreage is large enough to support only one or two deer. But Regojo said that doesn't mean large numbers must be killed. Staffers will monitor plant loss -- the major reason the deer must go -- to determine how much to reduce the herd. She told center volunteers in a letter last week that "biological diversity" is the goal, "with each organism [plant or animal] carrying equal importance."
Rutting male deer "girdle" and kill trees by rubbing off bark with their antlers. Deer eat native wildflowers and make it hard to get new varieties started.
Public safety is another factor, Regojo said, noting that 12,000 schoolchildren visit in spring and fall. In fall -- mating season -- male deer can be aggressive. In spring, females nursing their young may endanger people who get too close.
A buck charged a man jogging along Bryn Mawr near the nature center last fall. The man wasn't injured. But last spring, two people were hospitalized out of seven who were attacked or threatened by does near the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
The state issued 29 deer-culling permits in northern Illinois last winter and turned down none, said Marty Jones, urban deer project manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
There is no practical alternative to shooting the animals, Jones said. Relocation risks spreading the chronic wasting disease that deer carry. Newcomer animals must compete with established deer. And the mortality rate is high. "You can't catch enough to achieve your goals," he said.
As for contraception, "It's in its infancy, very experimental," he said.
But Steve Hindi of Geneva, president of SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness), said, "People who say contraception doesn't work [on deer] tend to be people who just want to shoot them."
For years, sharpshooters have been clearing O'Hare Airport of excess deer, which stray onto runways and taxiways. But using that method at the nature center would be the only other culling of deer ever done within the city limits, said Joel Greenberg, author of A Natural History of the Chicago Region.
Only one deer was seen there 10 years ago, but at last count, 20 of them now live at the 46-acre preserve. About half are pregnant does, due to give birth in the next few weeks. Deer usually bear twin fawns, "so the number could be doubling this year" -- to 40 -- said center director Claudia Regojo.
State wildlife experts say the acreage is large enough to support only one or two deer. But Regojo said that doesn't mean large numbers must be killed. Staffers will monitor plant loss -- the major reason the deer must go -- to determine how much to reduce the herd. She told center volunteers in a letter last week that "biological diversity" is the goal, "with each organism [plant or animal] carrying equal importance."
Rutting male deer "girdle" and kill trees by rubbing off bark with their antlers. Deer eat native wildflowers and make it hard to get new varieties started.
Public safety is another factor, Regojo said, noting that 12,000 schoolchildren visit in spring and fall. In fall -- mating season -- male deer can be aggressive. In spring, females nursing their young may endanger people who get too close.
A buck charged a man jogging along Bryn Mawr near the nature center last fall. The man wasn't injured. But last spring, two people were hospitalized out of seven who were attacked or threatened by does near the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
The state issued 29 deer-culling permits in northern Illinois last winter and turned down none, said Marty Jones, urban deer project manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
There is no practical alternative to shooting the animals, Jones said. Relocation risks spreading the chronic wasting disease that deer carry. Newcomer animals must compete with established deer. And the mortality rate is high. "You can't catch enough to achieve your goals," he said.
As for contraception, "It's in its infancy, very experimental," he said.
But Steve Hindi of Geneva, president of SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness), said, "People who say contraception doesn't work [on deer] tend to be people who just want to shoot them."
For years, sharpshooters have been clearing O'Hare Airport of excess deer, which stray onto runways and taxiways. But using that method at the nature center would be the only other culling of deer ever done within the city limits, said Joel Greenberg, author of A Natural History of the Chicago Region.
Monday, May 15, 2006
NEW ZEALAND NEWS: Illegal Deer Introduction Threatens Park
The Department of Conservation says the re-introduction of deer into Egmont National Park is deliberate and could pollute local water supplies and damage forest regeneration.
Deer have been banned from the park since the turn of the century.
DOC's Stratford Area Manager Robert Bennett says it is believed about three deer were dropped into the park deliberately, perhaps by recreational hunters.
But he says the deer is a pest, like the possum, and anyone who is found to have released it could face prosecution.
Mr Bennett says a team of hunters looking for the deer will shoot them before they have a chance to become more widespread.
Deer have been banned from the park since the turn of the century.
DOC's Stratford Area Manager Robert Bennett says it is believed about three deer were dropped into the park deliberately, perhaps by recreational hunters.
But he says the deer is a pest, like the possum, and anyone who is found to have released it could face prosecution.
Mr Bennett says a team of hunters looking for the deer will shoot them before they have a chance to become more widespread.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
NEW YORK NEWS: Lyme Disease Fears Grow on Staten Island
Staten Island has traditionally had a low incidence of Lyme disease. But some worry that more Islanders will get the disease in their back yards due to the borough's growing deer population.
Lyme disease, which is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick, can cause arthritis, fatigue, memory problems, facial paralysis or, at its worst, abnormal heart rhythm and brain infection. It is treatable with antibiotics if caught early.
"Historically, we've had very few cases that have emanated from Staten Island," said Dr. Ernest B. Visconti, chief of infectious diseases at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn. "It may be coming here in the future."
To raise awareness of the disease, the borough president's office will host a forum at the College of Staten Island on June 20 -- just in time for July 4, one of the busiest days for doctors specializing in Lyme disease.
Ever since deer showed up in the borough about 15 years ago, doctors and environmentalists have been on the lookout for a growth in the incidence of Lyme disease. They have not yet established that the disease is in the borough.
Meanwhile, the deer here have multiplied over the years.
Lyme disease, which is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick, can cause arthritis, fatigue, memory problems, facial paralysis or, at its worst, abnormal heart rhythm and brain infection. It is treatable with antibiotics if caught early.
"Historically, we've had very few cases that have emanated from Staten Island," said Dr. Ernest B. Visconti, chief of infectious diseases at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn. "It may be coming here in the future."
To raise awareness of the disease, the borough president's office will host a forum at the College of Staten Island on June 20 -- just in time for July 4, one of the busiest days for doctors specializing in Lyme disease.
Ever since deer showed up in the borough about 15 years ago, doctors and environmentalists have been on the lookout for a growth in the incidence of Lyme disease. They have not yet established that the disease is in the borough.
Meanwhile, the deer here have multiplied over the years.
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