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| May 05, 2024 |
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General News: What To Do About The Deer?
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| What to do about the deer? |
April 29, 2008
by Bill Clark
At the meeting last week at The Grail, the discussion was about deer and trees. Trees? Yes, and trees are what will really be the problem in 30 or 40 years. Have you noticed that you can look pretty deep into the woods around here from any area roadway? That is because our deer friends are eating everything in sight including the next generation of trees, the saplings tht should be blocking your view of the deep woods. The people from The Grail are particularly concerned with this tree situation.
There were three folks from environmental groups at the meeting, where several dozen people showed up. Bill Schuster, executive director of the Black Rock Forest, Kevin Clark, from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and Pam Golben, from the Hudson Highlands Museum.
Bill started the discussion with this: a good ratio of deer to space is about 12-15 per square mile. Last year Black Rock Forest did a head count of the deer population there and came up with a ratio of 24-28 per sq. mile, twice the balance point. Kevin Clark said that as he drove in last night down Ridge Road from the golf course end, he estimated that in the town and village there must be somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 deer per sq. mile. Pretty much as we thought… too many deer.
What to Do
Basically, we need a plan. We all know that deer repellents work only in the short term and once they get used to it, well that's it. Deer resistant plantings? When the deer get desperate enough they eat them too. ("Deer don't eat pachysandra" … Let me show you the pictures and what's left of mine.)
Deer fencing only directs them into other areas thus further concentrating the eating elsewhere. Natural predators, like mountain lions, are not desirable to bring in, even though coyotes have been making a comeback in some areas, but not here. Chemical methods such as contraception is expensive, time-consuming and not fully reliable.
The only effective way is to thin the herd. (And it is a herd -- there were 30 of them in the side yard of The Grail when I drove in.) It was suggested that we take an accurate count of the local deer population and set a goal for that population based on environmental information to be determined. Then we could allow a controlled hunt, which means that does must be taken before bucks, which are more desired by hunters. Allow bow hunting even in the village or possibly use sharp shooters. This method uses a bait pile in an open space somewhere and when enough deer come to it the sharp shooters open fire. The meat would be collected, butchered and donated to food pantries etc.
Of course there are the folks who love deer and wouldn't want to see this kind of thing right in our little village. This could become a contentious issue. However, the balance is clearly out of whack and without natural means of keeping the population in check it looks like we the village folks must become the stewards of the fauna.
Comments:
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Oh,deer-
Staking out a bait pile is terribly illegal, not to mention bad sporting. I don't know if you can even get a special license to do it. I would further worry about discharging live firearms in a closely-populated area like the Village. That is clearly a violation of NYS Municipal Law for Villages.
posted by Mel Johnson on 04/29/08 at 8:52 PM
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Oh, the coyotes are definitely here. Just come out by Camp Olmsted and hear them sing in answer to the 5 o'clock whistle every evening. We learned at a nature walk at Kenridge Farm last year that the coyotes are their only natural predator in this area. But actually the presence of the coyotes pushes the deer further in to our midst, since they are more vulnerable up in the woods. In fact, last spring I had a doe give birth to two fawns in my backyard! She decided to take her chances with me rather than the coyotes. The deer simply must be thinned out. And what's the big deal? We thin out the chickens, turkeys and cattle all the time.
posted by eastsider on 04/29/08 at 10:56 PM
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"chili fest" the first annual cornwall on hudson chili fest! a community based event that not only thins the deer population but also brings the town together and adds a unique interest to attract others. think of it as being as "green" as possible. if this idea offends some of you, which i am sure that it does. i suggest that you take a good hard look at where your food comes from (yes, even the veggies). it amazes me that we are only a generation and a half away from living off the land and people get offended by the thought of going out to the back yard to catch dinner.
where does all that food in the grocery store come from anyways?
posted by carphappy on 04/30/08 at 8:20 AM
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Whoa, slow down! Lets take a look at the real problem here. the deer are like the American Indian. They were here first and then the greed of the developers took over.
If we are so concerned about trees how come no one speaks up when the developers come in and clear off acres of land at a time to build their McMansions? they push the deer from their homes and then complain when the deer show up in their back yard.
Instead of trying to kill off the deer lets put a rein on the developers.
posted by j. cornish on 04/30/08 at 10:49 AM
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I don't think anyone is saying kill off all the deer... we're saying "thin the herd". I grew up with my father & brother hunting deer. I personally don't like venison but many people do, I say go for it. My Mountain Road home lawn is like a litter box -- Also, 20 years ago, it was rare to see a doe with twin fawns. Now, it's extremely common. Last year, I watched a mother every evening with three fawns - triplets? (are they getting more fertile or what?) Seriously, enough already. We have competent Jersey hunters begging to come help us "thin the herds" on our lawn. I would LOVE it.
posted by skooter on 04/30/08 at 12:11 PM
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No one is talking about doing anything illegal. But it's about time we addressed the unbalance of nature in our corner of the earth. Yes, developers may be removing too many trees; that is a separate issue. We have zoning laws and elected government officials to address those issues. But, we don't do anything about this deer problem. We just seem to ignore it. Everyone has a deer story whether it's the lament of no flowers and vegetable garden or a wrecked car with possible injuries. Something needs to be done and it's time to start the dialogue. We are a community of intelligent folks who certainly can problem-solve this issue instead of avoiding it. So let's keep talking. No?
posted by Bill C. on 04/30/08 at 12:56 PM
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