I’m pleased to hear the city taking steps to control the deer population.
I’m glad they are utilizing the skills of a wildlife conflict specialist who has experience dealing with …
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I’m pleased to hear the city taking steps to control the deer population.
I’m glad they are utilizing the skills of a wildlife conflict specialist who has experience dealing with human/wildlife relations.
The acronym from Cornell University is a bit intimidating - CBDM (Community Based Deer Management) — but to think we could be the first West Coast city to adopt the program is exciting!
Before we get too academic, I’d like to offer my “community-based” opinion: There are really folks in the area who love the deer.
Here’s an example: When it’s hot, my neighbor provides water. When they give birth, she hangs signs around her yard saying “quiet, doe and fawns nearby.” No matter how many emails I send her explaining the damage to our garden and crops (in the many $1,000s now) she continues providing sanctuary for these animals.
Real deer control in our city is going to need to address the hearts and minds of folks who not just tolerate but foster and nurture these animals.
I don’t know who or what is going to convince them that these animals are pest, nuisances, and at times dangerous, but it’s going to have to be very good, very convincing, and backed up with a lot of evidence about the damage they cause.
We are going to have to agree as a town that we need to rid ourselves of these animals before we can actually do so, in my humble opinion.
Aleta Greenway
PORT TOWNSEND
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forsho
Amen Aleta, and not only garden and crop damage--but also wholesale destruction of the native forest understory. Forests exist here at all thanks to natural regeneration; mature trees drop seeds to the forest floor, seedlings arise and wait for their turn to become part of the overstory when the forest canopy opens after a windstorm, for example.
At present, the forest floor is virtually devoid of seedlings! The deer have polished them off very thoroughly--firs, cedars, madrones, and others. It's one of the easiest meals a deer can find, especially when the ground is snow-covered. The consequence will be evident a (human) generation from now, when gaps left by fallen and removed trees fail to be refilled naturally--and with that, the urban forest will become just a memory.
The only way to reverse that: reduce the numbers of deer currently well above carrying capacity of the land.
Thursday, December 22, 2022 Report this
MargeS
In Port Townsend as well as other towns I believe humans have done more damage to the environment than any deer possibly could. If your worried about the trees stop the cutting of poplars along Sims Way. The worst abuse was the filling in of half of Kah Tai Lagoon. I live in the country and have deer, coyotes, cougars, bears, and other critters. Although I don't like them eating my chickens I try to make my pens animal proof, almost impossible to do of course. But we all have co-existed for the last 45 years without too much rancor. I see a lot of new fencing in the city, probably a good solution if you want to save your crops.
Thursday, December 22, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
I propose an open season on deer within the city limits, under certain rules, hand-to-hoof combat, and no weapons other than brute force, tooth, and claw. Imagine the entertainment value. Mammal a Mammal.
Thursday, December 22, 2022 Report this
NHBryant
Why have "Hoof to Hand" combat, when we as humans have weapons to dominate and protect ourselves from predatory and nuisance animals ?
Many communities end up hiring a licensed and bonded person to "cull" the pesky deer, by shooting them safely with sound suppressed hi powered weapons. The resulting meat could be an excellent source of natural protein to provide for food banks and homeless camps. Done correctly, the said deer will feel nothing and their death will be quite humane, effectively removing them from the lawns and gardens of Port Townsend.
WARNING Do Not View Video at the following cold link if you have a weak constitution or do not wish to see the affect of a hi powered bullet on a deer cranium : https://imgflip.com/gif/11wfqx
Sunday, January 1 Report this