Opinion
OK, Let’s Talk About Those Deer
A seeming choice between Bambi and preserving the cherished reservation.
We all love deer–well, most of us do, except when they’re eating our gardens. It’s cultural conditioning that must have taken root long before Walt Disney first released Bambi. They are beautiful creatures–sleek, elegant and shy. The term “doe-eyed” is synonymous with dewy innocence. Every time I startle a deer on my daily hike in the South Mountain Reservation, we both stop and, for as long as I can manage it, I stand stock still and simply stare.
I have deep reverence for wildlife, and deep reservations about the deer hunt which was recently approved for the third year in a row by Maplewood, Millburn and West Orange, the three communities whose votes directly affect affairs in the Reservation.
On a recent walk in the woods with Dennis Percher and Tricia Zimic, the South Mountain Reservation Forest Regeneration Project’s impassioned leaders, I began to understand what the deer hunt was all about. As inconceivable as it seems, the beautiful forest that surrounds us is dying.
“Forty or fifty years ago, when you walked off trail in the Reservation, you could get lost,” says Percher, chairman of the South Mountain Conservancy. “You should be frightened to go off trail. But look, there’s nothing obscuring your sight.”
Where has all the undergrowth gone? According to Michael Van Clef, an ecologist who originally monitored the forest’s health and whose reports have helped guide the regeneration project, New Jersey deer population is twice as high as it was before European settlement.
In the South Mountain Reservation, deer have reduced the natural undergrowth to tatters and nipped tree saplings before they can bud. “It’s a slow-motion death,” says Van Clef. “We can’t see it in human terms. But the trees aren’t replacing themselves.” Through over-foraging, the deer have also destroyed vital habitat for numerous other native species.
In June 2008, the South Mountain Reservation was the subject of a BioBlitz, an intense 24-hour inventory of local plant and animal species. According to Tricia Zimic, the number of species was markedly lower when compared with an inventory conducted in the 1970s by biologist Rick Radis.
“Loss of biodiversity effects entire layers of an ecosystem,” says Percher. “The food chain is built on this. The forest feels the ripple effects from the over-browsing deer all across the system.” At the South Mountain Reservation, the chain has broken down.
Van Clef points to vivid examples elsewhere in the state like Old Short Hills Park where the forest canopy completely fails to close. Non-native shrubs and vines are invading the park. “Deer prefer native species to invasives,” he explains. “Deer are an edge species rather than a forest species. We’ve essentially optimized their natural habitat by giving them all kinds of extra food from our gardens. We’ve removed all the natural predators like cougar, wolves and bears. We have ‘no go zones’ for hunting because of development. We’re putting insufficient pressure on them and the deer are thriving.”
An overabundant deer population affects more than just the forest. Deer aid in the spread of Lyme’s Disease, cause car accidents, destroy crops and, much as I love them, they frequently nibble all the flowers off the plants in my own garden.
In order to set things back in balance, expert consensus says that the deer population must be reduced. This year’s hunt aims at dropping deer numbers in the Reservation to 20 per square mile. The optimum ratio for forest regeneration is something closer to four or five deer per square mile. “Right now we have eight times that many,” Percher says.
To be sure, this isn’t a trophy hunt. Van Clef’s most recent report emphasizes that, to control population growth, the cull should focus primarily on antlerless (i.e., female) deer. At the moment, females outnumber males by as much as 15 to 1.
Opponents to the cull argue for a more humane solution like sterilization using the recently USDA-approved drug GonaCon. But Percher is skeptical that sterilization can work in the Reservation.
“There have been some success stories in small populations in completely contained environments,” he says. “But you have to get 90% of the deer with a viscous injection. You have to hold down the deer which means you need to use tranquilizers and track them until they fall. Then you have to mark them. And you have to repeat the whole process in successive years. It’s prohibitive given the Reservation’s 2000 acres and porous boundaries.”
Meanwhile, the regeneration project has a second line of attack. Forty-two fenced enclosures have popped up all over the Reservation where native species are being reintroduced and invasives removed. In the two years since the project began, there have already been improvements. “We’ve seen insects return in these protected areas,” Zimic says, gesturing around the 14 acre fenced-in Wildflower and Forest Preserve just behind the Dog Park. “There are birds. Soon there will be mammals. You should see it in the spring. It’s filled with wildflowers.”
Within three to five years, native plants are expected to crowd out invasives within the regeneration sites. In five to ten years, seeding should spread beyond the enclosures.
But as regeneration spreads, what’s to keep the deer from eating everything again?
“That’s what is called stewardship,” says Van Clef. “Taking care of nature. There has to be cyclical maintenance if we want a healthy forest without reintroducing natural predators. In fact, at this point, it wouldn’t even matter if we put predators back into the environment. There are so many deer, they wouldn’t do the trick. We have to intervene.”
The concept of the hunt is difficult to accept. I must admit that for the past two Februarys, I haven’t gone into the woods during the hunt at all, even on days when they weren’t shooting.
For most of us, the resounding echo of rifle shot is inseparable from the tragic image of the lifeless heap that had once been Bambi’s gentle mother. It’s a tribute to human compassion that we care so much. “But we’re favoring a species that’s big and charismatic. There are hundreds of other species that aren’t available in the forest,” Van Clef says.
Zimic agrees. “We can’t have just one animal and have a healthy ecosystem. We have to love all animals.”
Comments (18) | Sign in to add your comment!
I have a deep reverence for (wild)life, too, and I also believe that the beautiful forest that surrounds us is dying. This is an excellent article, with both calmly shared feelings and well reasoned regard for science.
BTW, I came to this article from a link that Judith put on the local/internet discussion group, the "West Orange [& vicinity] Watercooler"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WestOrangeWatercooler/
Best wishes, to all,
Raymond Helfrich
Hi all! I'm posting this comment on behalf a reader who had difficulty posting it herself:
Dear Editor:
The article "OK Let's talk about those deer" was biased towards the views of the people in the photograph who are members of South Mountain Conservancy who, with County Executive DiVincenzo, want to turn South Mountain Reservation into an arboretum of plants by exterminating our deer.
When will the town councils of Verona and West Orange stop voting with Essex County and use safe science instead of poisoning our rivers and lakes with dangerous herbicides and Mercury and killing our deer with shotguns?
Star-Ledger article (11/11) "Mercury levels high in fish in two lakes EPA: One of the bodies of water is in Essex," describes how Essex County and the town of Verona have been permitting residents to fish for Mercury-contaminated fish in Verona Lake in Verona Park since last spring. The signs from NJ Div. F&W stocking of the lake with trout are still hanging on the trees. Star-Ledger article (11/11) verified the EPA's findings of Mercury stating, "Mercury concentrations in fish exceeded recommended levels in 500 freshwater lakes and reservoirs tested across the
nation, including two lakes in New Jersey, according to a four-year federal study released yesterday." One of the "two lakes in New Jersey" according to the article was, "Verona Lake in Essex County."
(continued in next comment box)
Carol Rivielle West Orange
More from Carol Rivielle:
This is yet another example of Essex County's environmental damage to residents and environment, while blaming the deer for plant destruction, when they should be blaming Essex County as the county sprays 500 gallons of the herbicide Roundup yearly in South Mountain Reservation. This year, they sprayed Roundup on plants along Cherry Lane in West Orange and Brookside Drive in Millburn - causing dangerous herbicide spill-off into the bordering Orange Reservoir and Rahway River.
A June 23 article in "Scientific American" stated, "One label requirement for Roundup is that it should not be used in or near freshwater (such as the Orange Reservoir and Rahway River) to protect amphibians and other wildlife." The article stated further danger to humans caused by "Roundup's main ingredient glyphosate together with other inert ingredients amplified the toxic effect on human cells," causing Roundup to be cited as a "risk
factor for people developing non-Hodgkins lymphoma."
The same EPA that found dangerous Mercury in Verona Lake's fish in November approved the use of safe GonaCon immunocontraception in September of this year. Yet the Verona and West Orange town councils voted with Essex County
this year exterminating South Mountain, Eagle Rock and Hilltop's deer using violent and dangerous shotguns and dangerous chemicals in waterways.
(final comments from Carol in next box)
GonaCona using the safe science of one shot effective 4 years to reduce deer populations effectively is under consideration for use by Morris County and Maryland. When will Essex County and the towns of Verona and West Orange vote for safe science over guns and chemical pollution?
Carol Rivielle, West Orange
Hello, Raymond. I recognize your name from the Watercooler. Thank you very much for your comments.
Hello, Carol. There are certainly many sides to the complicated relationship between nature and humanity living in such close quarters as we do here in Essex County. I hear your concerns and hope to address them in future articles.
Happy Thanksgiving to all -
Judith Lindbergh
I very much appreciate Judith's sensitive, but open and realistic, approach to this topic.
A few other thoughts:
Some say that the deer suffer because of overdevelopment, but that's not the issue. A healthy deer herd is incredibly fecund, and can double in size each year: If we had thirty square miles instead of three, they'd still overpopulate the area in just a few years.
We simply have to perform the functions of the predators that we've removed from the ecosystem. Fortunately, when we do that, Essex County donates the meat to food pantries. Save the reservation, feed some families.
Regarding GonaCon: The National Wildlife Resource Center -- the government agency that is developing and testing GonaCon -- has put a tremendous amount of GonaCon-related information online for public consumption. A summary of that information and links to the relevant NWRC pages are available on my Web site, here: http://bit.ly/ZK4KU
Highlights of the NWRC documents:
* The NWRC itself claims that GonaCon won't fully replace hunting.
* Step one in using GonaCon is, Use sharpshooters to kill enough deer so that the population is at a manageable level.
* GonaCon has shown effectiveness (partial) only in contained areas, and is probably not useful for free-range herds.
If Ms. Rivielle wants us to focus on "safe science", we should pay attention to *all* the science, not just the bits that support her position.
Jake Freivald
Ridgeview Ave
West Orange
We can’t have just one animal and [also] have a [fully] healthy ecosystem. We have to love all animals.
Oh, so Ms. Rivielle should pay attention to "all the science".
Interesting take.
Why, instead, does not the County, the County Executive and the South Mountain Conservancy pay attention to dissenting views and dissenting evidence?
I have stopped contributing to my local town forum as I found the moderation process biased. Those for the kill (and I refuse to call this a hunt) could disobey all the forum rules but those against the kill would have their posts blocked if slightly contrary to the rules.
What does that have to do with this post on Patch?
Everything.
And it goes back to the basic premise as presented by the County:
Deer kill the reservation and therefore need to be killed.
I have yet to see an acknowledgement of the other causes for the reservation vegetation dying (aging trees, toxic pollution, dirt bikes, irresponsible hikers, etc.) and am only seeing the same mantra over and over. "Deer kill the reservation and therefore need to be killed."
I wish everyone loved the deer.
I wish there were some way to put all the "facts" on the table and discuss alternatives which would include non lethal culling of the herd.
But the voices supporting alternatives are seldom heard, and the voices of the deer killers are are given full reign to say the same thing over and over.
Remember when Reservations were SAFE havens for wild life? Why should one species perish to let another live?
There really is no answer to that question!
"Why should [any] species perish to let another [e.g., too many deer] live?"
Exactly!
There are alternatives to killing the deer.
Birds may be leaving, but they are not dying.
The new landscapes are being fenced in so the deer can not get to them.
Forests re-grow if not treated with toxic chemicals, over and over.
Let the reservation live up to its name.
Both deer and plants should be protected, not one OR the other.
We're pretty smart people in Essex County. We can figure out a way to keep both alive. It may take some thought, but we're capable of it. Guns and killing are never the solutions to anything. Haven't we learned that lesson yet?
Though well written, this piece is sugar coating of a really ugly situation.
I don't think the word "hunt" applies. This is no hunt with guys up in trees baiting the deer immediately below them and then shooting them, sometimes missing, sometimes just wounding. Where's the "hunt" in this? Where is the "compassion"?
And as to the statement "An overabundant deer population affects more than just the forest. Deer spread.... Disease.... cause car accidents, destroy crops...." Most diseases are spread from human to human and it's the "nut" behind the wheel that causes most auto accidents. Insects cause more crop destruction than do deer. So maybe we should do away with the people and insects and leave the deer alone?
Nice try, Ms. Lindbergh, but no prize I'm afraid.
Lyme Disease, not Lyme's.
if you can shoot to kill deer, you can shoot to dart them with gona con, a birth control that will control population, just not as fast as the gun wackos do it. it is however humane. it is also clear to anyone looking that the human population and its chemical toxic control is responsible for what is happening to this forest. south mountain has high people use, and those people have in fact stolen many nice plants from the forest. if they know it will sell or they can use it, they take it. in addition, the high lead level in the air, the high use of toxic chemicals in the water are hurting all vegeation and all people. lung cancer is high in this area and those toxic chemical particulates fall on the ground. where is the soil composition information on what is in the ground that is being planted. most farmers have to put huge amounts of toxic chemicals and fertilizer to get anythign at all to grow on their land. so when you dont do that, is it surprising that nothing is growing.
in addition, mature trees, which are the majority species prevent seedlings from growing in their shade and in their chemical area. in addition, birds are being shot to death and poiisoned to death in this entire area by aphis wildlife services, a federal agency which gives out poison permits right and left WITHOUT TELLING ANY LOCAL PEOPLE AT ALL ABOUT THEIR WORK. that is unacceptable. this recently happened in franklin township where 200 dead birds that were poisoned by aphis wildlife "services" due to one farmer complaining about birds on his property. 200 dead birds fell on only one property. there was massive outcry in franklin township, someset county nj = this happened a few months ago. so if 200 birds fell on only one property, what was the total dead bird count from this one permit from aphis wildlife services, which is located in pittstown nj. you have this federal agency killing birds in profusion. you then have nj div fish & game encouraging gun wacko hunters to kill bird species all over nj. those guys dont know what they are shooting half the time and shoot at anything. if you want to see the misses that they make, i can send them or post them. in addition, remember dick cheney who was an allegedly "experienced" hunter who then shot his friend in the face. that is typical of gun wacko hunters.
> There are alternatives to killing the deer.
Not currently, according to the National Wildlife Resource Center. They tell you, straight up, that GonaCon won't replace hunting -- and that's the most promising contraceptive they've got.
They'll also tell you that before you use a contraceptive, you need to kill enough deer to get the herd to sustainable levels.
> Forests re-grow if not treated with toxic chemicals, over and over.
Not if deer continually eat too many native plants, such as tree saplings.
Roundup is used on non-native or problematic species that the deer don't eat anyway. Anything the deer eat is overconsumed.
> I don't think the word "hunt" applies.
I think this semantic tidbit has been overplayed. It doesn't matter what it's called.
I call it a "slaughter" on my Web site. We slaughter cattle, pigs, goats, and other forms of food; where is the consistent non-vegetarian philosophical argument against slaughtering deer?
For some folks there will never be enough deer killed (slaughtered, culled, etc.)
No wide spread use of chemicals, such as used in SMR, are going to stay that contained. Chemicals seep and spread causing damage to other plants and water resources. It does not matter if the deer eat those plants or not. There is more then one culprit in the Reservation destroying the vegetation, one of them comes in big, industrial sized cans and containers. It's poison (or chemicals or round up or what ever you choose to call it)
Yes, it does matter what the deer kill is called. Let's start being honest about this. These deer are not hunted. They are killed, though not always on first shot.
It's inhumane and unnecessary.
re: the old growth *forest* at Seton Hall Prep.
You can sign the petition here:
http://new.ipetitions.com/petition/stoptheprep/
and
Go to the hearing at Town Hall,
66 Main Street, West Orange,
on Thursday December 3,
at 8pm.
I've signed this petition and realize that not everyone sees the benefit of trees, old growth forest or not.
This website below is a good very brief synopsis on how they improve our quality of life and even our real estate values:
http://www.arborday.org/TREES/benefits.cfm
Wouldn't it be nice if we could enjoy the trees and the deer?
And, yes, we can!