MICHIGAN NEWS: EHD Confirmed

EHD is killing hundreds of deer in southern Michigan.

Officials in Michigan confirmed in early August that Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD, killed deer in two counties in the south central part of the state.

Deer deaths have also been reported in 11 counties in Indiana; officials there suspect the cause is EHD but are awaiting confirmation from laboratory tests.

For some historical context:

Michigan has observed EHD outbreaks each year since 2006. Before 2006, EHD was seen in Michigan in 1955 and ’74.

The estimated mortality has varied from 50 to 1,000 deer per year in the affected areas, according to Michigan officials.

Source: Post-Bulletin

INDIANA NEWS: Deer Cull, Opposition at Ogden Dunes

There are 55 deer in the one square mile town of Ogden Dunes.

The Town Council has voted 4-1 to seek a deer cull permit after the state Department of Natural Resources rejected steps such as trapping and moving deer and using insecticides to kill ticks on the deer.

Not all residents are on board.

Bernadette Slawinski, a 35-year resident and member of the task force, said she spent hours researching alternative methods of controlling both the deer and tick populations and gave her findings to the Town Council.

"I'm not sure they even read the report," Slawinski said.

She said there are simpler things residents can do, such as planting deer-tolerant plants and controlling the mice population, but officials and residents don't seem interested.

While Lyme is the main issue, traffic safety is a close second.

Source: Chicago Tribune

MISSOURI NEWS: A Referendum on Whether to Cull

Citizens of Cape Girardeau will get to vote on whether to conduct a municipal deer cull.

Opponents of a Cape Girardeau ordinance that established an urban deer hunting program say they have enough signatures to put the issue to a vote.

 The Southeast Missourian reports the organizer of Keep Cape Safe says more than 3,000 petition signatures are on hand and notarized. Only 2,446 signatures are needed to get a referendum on the ballot.

The hunt is scheduled to begin Sept. 15. Supporters say it is needed to cull a deer population that is causing traffic accidents and ruining landscaping inside the city.

Source: Sacramento Bee

USA NEWS: Dead Deer Roundup

The temperatures and drought have been extreme throughout most of the U.S. in 2012. Here is the August roundup of news.

Bluetongue (EHD) is killing deer in Kansas:

So far this year, KDWPT has received reports of dead or sick deer from at least 24 counties in northcentral and eastern Kansas. These counties include Jewell, Cloud, Cherokee, Shawnee, Clay, Washington, Wilson, Doniphan, Jackson, Miami, Franklin, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Douglas, Osage, Wabaunsee, Pottawatomie, Lyon, Riley, Anderson, Bourbon, Dickinson, and Marion. Most of these reports have involved a single sick or dead deer, with occasional reports of multiple mortalities.

Source: Infozine

 In Oklahoma, the cause has not been nailed down. But the leading contender is EHD.

Water samples from the Verdigris River tested negative for toxic blue-green algae, but the tests still don’t tell biologists what happened to the eight deer found dead in the river north of the Will Rogers Turnpike bridge this week. State biologist Craig Endicott, northeast regional supervisor with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, said samples collected by his department and by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday showed no toxic levels in test completed this week. Cause of the deaths still is unknown. Two suspected causes are blue-green algae poisoning or a common viral disease, epizootic hemorrhagic disease, known as bluetongue or EHD.

Source: TulsaWorld

And in Indiana:

Indiana wildlife biologists are investigating reports of sick deer to determine if they have an often fatal illness that's believed to be worse during drought years. The Department of Natural Resources says epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, is a viral disease transmitted by insects that typically occurs during late summer and early fall. Deer with EHD may appear depressed or feverish and seek comfort in or around water. Other signs can include blue-tinted tongue or eyes, tongue ulcers, sloughed hooves and an eroded dental pad. The DNR says the most intense outbreaks appear to be in Morgan and Putnam counties but suspected infections have been reported in nine other counties. Test results from a sample taken from one deer are expected back within two weeks.

Source: WISH TV

Iowa:

Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials are warning of a threat to the state’s deer population from insects that have thrived in the dry conditions. State officials are sorting through reports of more than 40 dead deer likely killed by epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD.

Source: Des Moines Rgister

Arkansas:

Three deer, all females that apparently had weaned fawns recently, were found dead this week in Marion County.

Source: Baxter Bulletin

Lastly, there was this...oh, wait. That was Randy Travis.

Country singer Randy Travis was lying naked in the middle of the road with no car in sight when another driver spotted him and called 911, according to a recording released Thursday. "I just found a guy laying in the road," the caller said in a recording released by the Grayson County Sheriff's Office. He added later, "I want to say he had no shirt on, but I don't know." The 911 caller did not identify Travis by name and said he at first thought the body belonged to a deer.

Source: KOAA

SCOTLAND NEWS: Muntjac Deer Detected

Muntjac deer might be in the process of colonizing Scotland.

A shoot-on-sight call has been issued on so-called "Asbo Bambi" in Scotland, after reported sightings of the "destructive" species. Scotland does not have an established Muntjac population, but SNH estimates that if one were to develop it would cost the country around £2m a year. The deer, originally from China, cause extensive damage to vegetation and crops, and car accidents by running out into the road. The SNH's advisor on non-native species, Stan Whitaker, described the animals as "the most destructive pests in Britain".

Source: Sky News

IOWA NEWS: First CWD Case

Chronic wasting disease has been found in a white-tail deer on a hunting preserve in southern Iowa. Officials are calling this an isolated incident. The first ones always are. Iowa has been testing for about a decade now, and this is the first confirmed case.

Iowa has tested 42,557 wild deer and over 4,000 captive deer and elk as part of the surveillance program since 2002 when CWD was found in Wisconsin.

Source: Star Tribune

TEXAS NEWS: CWD Detected in Wild Deer

Samples from two mule deer recently taken in far West Texas have been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). These are the first cases of CWD detected in Texas deer. Wildlife officials believe the event is currently isolated in a remote part of the state near the New Mexico border.

Source: cwd-info.org

WISCONSIN NEWS: Deer Czar's Report Released

The long-awaited report is out.  All I can say is, "Really?  Really?"

Okay, it is not all bad.  The idea of creating a centralized deer management assistance program is a good one.  But between the obsession with wolves (Wisconsin's 6th or 7th leading source of deer mortality), the contradictory recommendations (Do away with population goals, but develop metrics to monitor progress towards population goals?), the empty platitudes (put the fun back into hunting!), to the recommendations involving how things have been done for the past 17 years (the impacts of deer depredation on agricultural crops, forest regeneration and biodiversity, deer/vehicle collisions, the special significance of deer to the Ojibwe people and other factors also must be considered in management of Wisconsin’s white-tailed deer resources), it is hard not to be underwhelmed.

We'll see how long this shiny new object holds the attention of deer hunters in the state.

A link to the report is here.

NEW YORK NEWS: City Officials Launch "Deer Are Not Bambi" Campaign

The number of deer on Staten Island has gone from near zero in 2008 to 1500 today, just 4 years later.

As well as causing traffic accidents, they're wreaking havoc to residents' back yards and gardens. And they've prompted a community board to suggest the "Deer are not Bambi" campaign to dissuade people from feeding them. "The deer population has been growing like crazy on Staten Island," said Frank Morano, chair of CB3 which discussed the problem at a recent meeting. "People look at them as how cute they are and start feeding them, and the worst we can do is feed them. Let them live on their own."

Source: DNAinfo

MINNESOTA NEWS: Hunting Areas Becoming "Overbuilt" on Public Lands

The presence of tree stands for deer hunting on public lands is not a new phenomenon.  However, the size and extent of these tree stands is growing out of control.

First, let's look at a trend in tree stands:

It’s not just a couple of boards slapped into a tree, but tree houses with stairways, decks, shingled roofs, commercial windows, insulation, propane heaters, carpeting, lounge chairs, tables and “even some with generators so they have electricity,” Krepps said.

One deer “stand” discovered on county land was a cabin 18 feet wide and 20 feet long. And, increasingly, some hunters are buying elaborate manufactured stands and leaving them in the woods all year.

When a stand is abandoned, much of it is left to rot in the forest. But plastic, metal, shingles and other materials aren’t biodegradable “and really leave a mess in the woods,” said Jason Meyer, who manages forests in the southern half of St. Louis County.

It crosses the line on what is appropriate for public lands.  These stands often have locks on the door. 

Next, let's look at the evolution of shooting lanes.  This used to entail cutting some branches or the occasional sapling to provide an unobstructed (and thus safer) area for shooting.  And now?

Some of those shooting lanes are more than 30 feet wide and up to 700 feet long. In one area of county land near state land, it’s estimated that a group of hunters had cleared more than six acres of forest combined for their 47 shooting lanes. “They are taking public land out of timber production and it’s adding up across the county,” Kailanen said. “The real impact of this may not be realized until 40 or 50 or 60 years from now, when those trees would have been harvested.”

Without all of that tree cover, what is to be done? Why not plant food plots to entice the deer to be closer to the tree stand?

In some areas, hunters have taken to clearing the forestland and planting clover and other farm crops to attract deer. While the ethics of food plots is hotly debated in the hunting community — some say it’s akin to baiting deer, which is illegal in Minnesota — county foresters say the plots are taking even more forestland out of production. Moreover, the seeds planted may not be just one crop, but may bring in invasive, non-native species that could damage the native forest and spread.

This all adds up to a pseudo-privatization of wildlife.  It involves constructing buildings and landscaping on lands people do not privately own to manipulate deer that are not "theirs" for the sole purpose of increasing their chances of having a successful hunt.  This is contentious enough within the community of deer hunters.  It amounts to another self-inflicted black eye in society at large.

Source: Duluth Tribune

OHIO NEWS: Mentor's Ordinance to Hunt Deer, Put Forth "Best Practices"

Another municipality is a step closer to authorized deer hunting.  The town of Mentor took the additional step to outline best practices for municipal hunting.

The amendment comes with a number of conditions, including who can hunt, where, when and how. Only bows and arrows and crossbows would be allowed, and hunting could only occur — by property owner's written permission — on parcels of 5 acres or more, or on a combination of no more than three contiguous properties not separated by a public road. Potential hunters would have to secure a permit from the police chief, pass a proficiency test with their weapon and hunt from a fixed, elevated position at least 8 feet off the ground. They must stay 100 feet from the lot line of properties on which they don't have permission to hunt and cannot shoot at deer if residential structures, vehicles or people can be seen anywhere in their shot direction.

The full proposed ordinance can be seen at the link below.

Source: News-Herald

RESEARCH NEWS: Lone Star Tick Bites Linked to Meat Allergies

White-tailed deer are a major host for Lone Star Ticks. Connections between tick-borne diseases, ticks, and deer are complex and not always intuitive. That said, this is pretty strange:

University of Virginia researchers announced last week that they have found a connection between Lone Star Tick (Amblyoma americanum) bites and allergic reaction to meat. This new allergy to meat called Alpha-Gal presents itself 4-6 hours after consumption of beef, pork or lamb and symptoms can vary between hives to anaphylactic shock. So far, doctors have diagnosed over 1,500 people with Alpha-Gal as a result of Lone Star Tick bites.

Source: Houston Chronicle

MISCELLANEOUS: Guerilla Art Installation in Los Angeles

I read this in the LA Times and could not help but pass it on. I find this to be very clever on a few levels. I would be interested in feedback from readers. Some choice quotes:

"It makes me think it would look better if all this stuff was cleaned up," he said, pointing to the trash scattered across the slope. "It makes me want to clean it up."

"The deer are so perfectly suited for that space that people were almost shocked to see it, or they don't notice," said Greenwood, a New York native working in Los Angeles as a multimedia artist.

Source: LA Times

CONNECTICUT NEWS: Economic Costs of Deer Surprising

Wilton, Connecticut, just tallied the economic impact of their 60+ deer per square mile. It came in at $6.36 million per year (possibly higher), which amounts to $3900 per single family household. Does this seem high? The actual figure might be closer to $9000, depending on what you count and what you leave out.

Wilton’s Director of Environmental Affairs Pat Sesto, who confirmed the calculations, noted that the $6.36 mill figure does not include the cost of education about Lyme disease and sick leave and medical-related losses brought on by tick-borne diseases. A more realistic estimate would probably land the cost per deer at over $4,000. The 2010 study estimates that these damages cost $1,176 in taxpayer money per single-family household in Wilton per year.

Here is a cost breakdown. Damage to landscaping and the environment tops the list, while vehicle damage is at the bottom.

 
Wilton is not what you could call a deer hunting mecca, so they really are not deriving economic benefits. The community is looking into sharpshooting.

 Source: wilton.patch.com

WISCONSIN NEWS: Deer Czar's Plan Scrutinized

Tim Van Deelen is not impressed by the the Deer Czar's findings. Tim is a life-long deer hunter, a former DNR researcher, and now a professor at the University of Wisconsin. He is an Upper Midwestern native, and deeply understands the deer management challenges and opportunities in Wisconsin. If I had my choice of a Deer Czar for Wisconsin, Tim Van Deelen would certainly be on the short list.

Van Deelen, who has worked closely with the state Department of Natural Resources on deer management issues, said in a letter to Kroll in early May that he found the initial findings “significantly lacking” in scientific content and objective analysis.

Tim's critique of the Czar's preliminary report highlights a few failures: - The Czar's method for gathering information from hunters was biased and did not represent scientific sampling. - Presenting unsubstantiated claims as facts (when in fact, empirical evidence suggests the opposite). - Selective "quote mining" of scientific studies to misrepresent their findings.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal

Update. You can read the full text of Dr. Tim Van Deelen's letter here.

RESEARCH NEWS: Artificial Insemination With Trophy Buck Sperm

Researchers at LSU are trying to breed a trophy buck.

For the first time, Louisiana researchers say they have impregnated six female deer with sperm harvested from an already-dead champion buck – this one shot some 600 miles away in Illinois. Louisiana State University AgCenter scientists say that the new process could be the key to preserving the eons-old genetic material of a variety of animals actively hunted in the wild – animals that would otherwise be lost.

Trophy bucks--male deer with large multi-spiked antlers--reflect four factors: genetics, environment (including diet), a genetic by environment interaction, and age. It is not clear to what extent genetics alone were responsible for the condition of the trophy buck shot on a private hunting preserve. Source: Fox News

INDIANA NEWS: New Deer Management Plan for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore has developed an ambitious 15-year plan to manage deer on their lands. It includes deer impact monitoring, using fencing and deer repellents to protect specific rare plants, and of course, culling.

When the plan was written, it called for more than 1,000 deer to be culled during the first three years of the 15-year plan, with additional culls in later years.

The specific number of deer to be culled over the 15 year plan will change, depending on the results of the monitoring data. The number could be higher or lower. Source: Portage News

WISCONSIN NEWS: Deer Feeding Ban in NW Counties

The Wisconsin DNR banned the baiting and feeding of deer in Barron, Burnett, Polk and Washburn counties because of the recent discovery of chronic wasting disease in the area. The ban goes into effect May 10, 2012. The Wisconsin DNR explains their rationale:

“Baiting and feeding of deer unnecessarily increases the risk of spreading CWD and other diseases,” Hauge said. “Animal health is important to preserving our great hunting tradition and is a foundation of tourism and vital to local businesses.” Baiting and feeding increase risks of spreading communicable diseases, like CWD, by concentrating deer in one spot. Deer using one spot are more at risk for spreading a disease.

Source: Star Tribune

HAWAI'I NEWS: Agricultural Damage from Axis Deer Tops $1 Million

Hawai'i has no native deer. Indeed, they have no native browsing mammals. Axis deer was first introduced to Molokai and Oahu in 1868, Lanai in 1920, and Maui in 1959. They were found on the Big Island last year. They are considered invasive on all of these islands. As for the damage assessment:

A county survey shows axis deer are to blame for at least $1 million in damage to farms, ranches and resorts in the last two years, the Maui News reported today. But the actual damage is likely greater because not all of the farmers and ranchers contacted for information responded to surveys, said Kenneth Yamamura, agricultural specialist in the county Office of Economic Development.

Data from the Department of Land and Natural Resources indicates 4000-5000 deer are on Maui last year and about 3500 - 4000 are found on Lanai. Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser

HAWAI'I NEWS: Axis Deer to be Eradicated on Big Island

To protect Hawai‘i Island from the impacts of axis deer that were illegally introduced and are now spreading, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), has been providing resources for a team to investigate the known locations of, and more recently to begin controlling deer. Axis deer are not native to Hawai‘i, and they are known pests of agriculture, as well as native and culturally significant plants, many of which are already endangered.

Recognizing the impact this invasive species can have on local cattleman and farmers, a partnership between conservation groups and the agricultural community was formed last year. It has since proved its readiness to address this new threat with the taking of the first axis deer on the Big Island on April 11, 2012, as part of an official program to remove these unwanted pests from the island.

Source: Big Island Video News