Deer hot spots targeted for more 'harvesting' http://www.gazette.net/200027/montgomerycty/county/17575-1.html
by Steven T. Dennis
Staff Writer
July 5, 2000
Animal rights groups trying
to avoid killing
They aren't plagues from the Bible, but what they leave behind reads as if
they are.
Ravaged crops and decimated gardens. Thousands of traffic accidents.
Spreading disease. Destruction of plant and tree species.
The problem? In a word, deer.
Montgomery County's deer management work group, formed five years
ago, has a simple but controversial solution: Kill more deer. A lot more.
The work group has targeted 13 "hot spots" of deer overpopulation
throughout the county. In 12 of those spots, it has called for killing more
deer -- either by hunters or police sharpshooters. Only the Wheaton area
is exempt.
Of course, "kill" is not the word used. Rather, more palatable terms
substitute, such as "harvest," "deer management practices" and "lethal
methods."
But the fuzzy semantics have not stopped a continued outcry from animal rights activists who oppose what they call the
"murder" of thousands of innocent deer for the convenience of humans.
"It really is doomsday for the deer," said Susan Rich, president of the Animal Protection Alliance of Montgomery County.
The two sides of the deer issue came together for a public information meeting on this year's deer management plan last week
in Germantown.
County parks officials said deer problems have continued to worsen despite more intense deer management programs in the
past several years.
More car collisions, more crop damage and more damage to forests are being reported.
The number of deer-car encounters continues to rise, reaching 1,891 in 1999, up from 1,774 in 1998, according to the county.
Last year 11 people were injured in those accidents, down from 19 last year but still more than the seven in 1997.
Police blame some of the increase on traffic growth in upcounty areas. The Germantown police district represented about half
of the increased accidents, but all areas of the county saw increases.
Parks officials say some measures are working. Despite the overall increase in traffic accidents, collisions near parks that have
had managed hunts are dropping, they said.
Roads near Seneca Creek State Park in western Montgomery, for example, saw accidents drop from 101 in 1996 to 20 last
year after hunters thinned out the herd. Outside Little Bennett Regional Park north of Clarksburg, accidents dropped from 43
in 1996 to 11 last year.
Other measures, such as more reflectors and fencing intended to keep deer off the roads, have had mixed results.
But there are still far too many deer, managers said. Some areas have as many as 170 deer per square mile, compared to a
recommended figure of 30 or fewer.
Agriculture suffering
Deer damage costs farmers an estimated $1.55 million a year in Montgomery County and $38 million across the state. Some
of them are abandoning fields, including the farmer who was leasing land at the Agricultural History Farm Park, because deer
are destroying crops.
Robert Butz of the Soil Conservation District said his upcounty farm has seen up to half of its crops destroyed by deer.
"We cannot afford to keep feeding the county's unmanaged, growing deer population," he said.
If the situation does not improve, he predicted, more farmers will put houses in place of fields.
Hal Baker, a farmer and member of the county's Agricultural Advisory Committee, brought three mutilated trees from his
nursery to the June 28 meeting. His exotic trees and plants can sell for up to $600 each but are frequently ruined by
marauding deer.
The problems have continued despite increased hunting in the county. The deer harvest has risen from 2,306 in 1995 to 3,609
last year, largely as a result of higher state bag limits on antlerless deer.
Police killed another 228 deer last year -- most after traffic accidents.
Ecological imbalance
Joseph Howard, representing the Montgomery County Forestry Board, said the county's forests are facing "subtle
destruction."
Older trees are fine, but smaller trees do not have a chance, he said. Low-lying brush and saplings, which provide food for
small animals and replenish tree stock over time, are fast disappearing from the forests. Even if the deer were eliminated, it
would take up to 15 years for the forest to recover, he said.
"Sadly, the condition only seems to get worse," he said.
Howard said the destruction is also creating ideal conditions for exotic and invasive species and leading to a loss of native
plants and diversity.
"Our forests of the future may be determined by what deer like to eat," he said.
Nonlethal controls
Edward Milenky of Rockville's Manor Lake Civic Association said his association has seen an outbreak of Lyme disease and
traffic accidents. He urged the task force to approve killing more deer.
"These animals are going to die anyway, either from disease, overpopulation or on the road," he said.
But Rich, who in the past has thrown bloody deer parts at her opponents to make her points, said only nonlethal methods
should be used to control the deer population.
"Contraception is the only long-term solution," she said.
Most traffic accidents could be prevented if vehicle traffic were diverted from areas near deer habitats during mating season,
she said.
More under- and overpasses should be built for deer, she added, and homeowners concerned about deer chomping their
pansies should use only plants that deer do not like to eat.
Rich noted that one area slated for deer reduction is Rachel Carson Conservation Park near Brookeville, named for the famous
environmentalist.
"She must be turning over in her grave, knowing that a park with her name is going to be the site of a bloodbath."
Birth control for deer?
Contraception is used at only one site in the county -- the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg,
where the deer population has dropped by 30 percent since the program was instituted three years ago.
But expansion of that program to other areas of the county is on hold for now because of both cost and feasibility. Deer must
get repeated injections to stay infertile, making programs outside of confined areas difficult.
Allen Rutberg of the Humane Society of the United States, which runs the contraception program at NIST, said Montgomery
County's deer management program is "as good as it gets" nationwide, even though deer will continue to be shot by the
thousands.
"The underlying problem is human use of the land," he said.
Until the county changes development practices, "we're basically just going to be wasting our time."
by Steven T. Dennis
Staff Writer
July 5, 2000
Animal rights groups trying
to avoid killing
They aren't plagues from the Bible, but what they leave behind reads as if
they are.
Ravaged crops and decimated gardens. Thousands of traffic accidents.
Spreading disease. Destruction of plant and tree species.
The problem? In a word, deer.
Montgomery County's deer management work group, formed five years
ago, has a simple but controversial solution: Kill more deer. A lot more.
The work group has targeted 13 "hot spots" of deer overpopulation
throughout the county. In 12 of those spots, it has called for killing more
deer -- either by hunters or police sharpshooters. Only the Wheaton area
is exempt.
Of course, "kill" is not the word used. Rather, more palatable terms
substitute, such as "harvest," "deer management practices" and "lethal
methods."
But the fuzzy semantics have not stopped a continued outcry from animal rights activists who oppose what they call the
"murder" of thousands of innocent deer for the convenience of humans.
"It really is doomsday for the deer," said Susan Rich, president of the Animal Protection Alliance of Montgomery County.
The two sides of the deer issue came together for a public information meeting on this year's deer management plan last week
in Germantown.
County parks officials said deer problems have continued to worsen despite more intense deer management programs in the
past several years.
More car collisions, more crop damage and more damage to forests are being reported.
The number of deer-car encounters continues to rise, reaching 1,891 in 1999, up from 1,774 in 1998, according to the county.
Last year 11 people were injured in those accidents, down from 19 last year but still more than the seven in 1997.
Police blame some of the increase on traffic growth in upcounty areas. The Germantown police district represented about half
of the increased accidents, but all areas of the county saw increases.
Parks officials say some measures are working. Despite the overall increase in traffic accidents, collisions near parks that have
had managed hunts are dropping, they said.
Roads near Seneca Creek State Park in western Montgomery, for example, saw accidents drop from 101 in 1996 to 20 last
year after hunters thinned out the herd. Outside Little Bennett Regional Park north of Clarksburg, accidents dropped from 43
in 1996 to 11 last year.
Other measures, such as more reflectors and fencing intended to keep deer off the roads, have had mixed results.
But there are still far too many deer, managers said. Some areas have as many as 170 deer per square mile, compared to a
recommended figure of 30 or fewer.
Agriculture suffering
Deer damage costs farmers an estimated $1.55 million a year in Montgomery County and $38 million across the state. Some
of them are abandoning fields, including the farmer who was leasing land at the Agricultural History Farm Park, because deer
are destroying crops.
Robert Butz of the Soil Conservation District said his upcounty farm has seen up to half of its crops destroyed by deer.
"We cannot afford to keep feeding the county's unmanaged, growing deer population," he said.
If the situation does not improve, he predicted, more farmers will put houses in place of fields.
Hal Baker, a farmer and member of the county's Agricultural Advisory Committee, brought three mutilated trees from his
nursery to the June 28 meeting. His exotic trees and plants can sell for up to $600 each but are frequently ruined by
marauding deer.
The problems have continued despite increased hunting in the county. The deer harvest has risen from 2,306 in 1995 to 3,609
last year, largely as a result of higher state bag limits on antlerless deer.
Police killed another 228 deer last year -- most after traffic accidents.
Ecological imbalance
Joseph Howard, representing the Montgomery County Forestry Board, said the county's forests are facing "subtle
destruction."
Older trees are fine, but smaller trees do not have a chance, he said. Low-lying brush and saplings, which provide food for
small animals and replenish tree stock over time, are fast disappearing from the forests. Even if the deer were eliminated, it
would take up to 15 years for the forest to recover, he said.
"Sadly, the condition only seems to get worse," he said.
Howard said the destruction is also creating ideal conditions for exotic and invasive species and leading to a loss of native
plants and diversity.
"Our forests of the future may be determined by what deer like to eat," he said.
Nonlethal controls
Edward Milenky of Rockville's Manor Lake Civic Association said his association has seen an outbreak of Lyme disease and
traffic accidents. He urged the task force to approve killing more deer.
"These animals are going to die anyway, either from disease, overpopulation or on the road," he said.
But Rich, who in the past has thrown bloody deer parts at her opponents to make her points, said only nonlethal methods
should be used to control the deer population.
"Contraception is the only long-term solution," she said.
Most traffic accidents could be prevented if vehicle traffic were diverted from areas near deer habitats during mating season,
she said.
More under- and overpasses should be built for deer, she added, and homeowners concerned about deer chomping their
pansies should use only plants that deer do not like to eat.
Rich noted that one area slated for deer reduction is Rachel Carson Conservation Park near Brookeville, named for the famous
environmentalist.
"She must be turning over in her grave, knowing that a park with her name is going to be the site of a bloodbath."
Birth control for deer?
Contraception is used at only one site in the county -- the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg,
where the deer population has dropped by 30 percent since the program was instituted three years ago.
But expansion of that program to other areas of the county is on hold for now because of both cost and feasibility. Deer must
get repeated injections to stay infertile, making programs outside of confined areas difficult.
Allen Rutberg of the Humane Society of the United States, which runs the contraception program at NIST, said Montgomery
County's deer management program is "as good as it gets" nationwide, even though deer will continue to be shot by the
thousands.
"The underlying problem is human use of the land," he said.
Until the county changes development practices, "we're basically just going to be wasting our time."
