When my family moved here in the late 1980s, there were deer and packs of coyotes to keep the number of fawns in check. There was no need to have 6-foot fences to protect gardens, ornamentals, and fruit trees. Now there are fewer predators.

I walk on a daily basis and started counting deer one year ago. One of my routes starts at my home at Blaine/Madison (near Chetzemoka) to the Co-op then through downtown and back up the hill on Monroe. 

At first, the tallies were in the high teens and low 20s. 

Last fall my record count was 34. On Feb. 4, I counted 47 deer! What will it be this fall — 80? This is ridiculous.

My dog and I were stalked by deer three times last spring, twice in neighborhoods between my house and Fort Worden and once near the courthouse. 

Last month we were chased by possibly the same doe near the courthouse. She was not protecting fawns, merely grazing with two yearlings. It is scary being aggressively tracked by a large animal!

My friend and I suggest the city hire expert archers to cull the herds then make the meat available to citizens.

The deer are so hungry, they now eat geraniums on my front steps and unprotected dahlias near my garage, which they did not do previously. 

They have so severely “trimmed” our laurel hedge that we can see through parts of it now. We’ve had it — something must be done.

Jackie Aase
PORT TOWNSEND