Audubon Society offers solution to deer problem: Shoot them

SUSSEX COUNTY-They're elegant and lithe, with big brown eyes as soft as butter. And, says the New Jersey Audubon Society, New Jersey hunters have to shoot more of them if the state's woodlands are to survive. This verdict on white-tailed deer was delivered in a recent society report entitled "Forest Health and Ecological Integrity: Stressors and Solutions." The deer, the report says, are denuding the underbrush, allowing imported species like multiflora roses and Japanese barberry to take over the niches formerly occupied by native plant species that nourish indigenous wildlife, thus destroying the habitat and food supply for hundreds of species of birds and small mammals. "We're neither pro-hunting nor anti-hunting, said Eric Stiles, vice president of conservation and stewardship for the New Jersey Audubon Society. The Audubon Society is generally viewed as passionate about protecting wildlife, and such a recommendation coming from them is evidence that the deer overpopulation problem in New Jersey has grown serious. And it's not just the forests that are at risk. Farmers, too, increasingly are seeing their crops eaten by the ubiquitous corvids. "Deer eat everything," says Sussex County farmer Tom Brodhecker. "When I was a boy, the forest ground cover and understory used to be thick and green with new growth and seedlings. Now, even in midsummer you can see straight through the woods. Even in winter, the deer are gobbling up the cedar seedlings." Two aerial infrared surveys taken in March of 2000 and March of 2001 revealed a Sussex County deer population of 200-400 per acre in selected areas, said Brodhecker, who was chairman of the N. J. Board of Agriculture Committee at the time. That's ten times what the experts say the population should be. The results were bad news for Sussex County farmers. Deer are especially fond of eating corn and alfalfa, and cause millions of dollars in crop losses for local farmers. "Farmers now have quantifiable evidence that can be used by regulators to help decide how to manage this crisis that threatens the livelihood and productivity of farmers," Brodhecker said. Residential gardens also offer deer choice delicacies. People don't want to purchase expensive plants only to feed them to the deer, and they spend huge amounts of money on various kinds of deer repellent. Local nurseries specializing in deer-resistant plants report an increase in sales. Dyana Robenalt, who is associated with Glen Brook nursery in Lafayette, says, "Now we have seriously credible data about deer resistant plants. People are hungry for this kind of knowledge. The growth in our business is huge." The 2001 New Jersey Agricultural Report noted a loss of over $13 million in deer depredation of nursery stock. "There are way too many deer," says Robert (Bob) Kriete, owner of Mohawk Gardens in Sparta. "We must either control the population by culling or a major biological disaster is going to come along and wipe them out. The entire woodlands are dominated by one species. There is little cover for small birds, and the hawks and owls populations are growing because their prey has nowhere to hide." There are an estimate 200,000 deer in New Jersey. The population exploded in the twentieth century when their natural predators, wolves and pumas, were wiped out and suburban development cut down forests, creating more habitat for them. As America becomes more urbanized, there are also fewer hunters. Deer are implicated in the spread of Lyme disease, with 215 cases of the tick-borne infection reported in Sussex County in 2004. About one million deer-vehicle collisions occur every year in the United States, costing about $1.1 in repair costs, 29,000 injuries to humans, and 211 human fatalities. The New Jersey Department of Transportation estimates that in 2000 (the last year for which data are available), the cost of such accidents was $38 million dollars. There were 50 car-deer accidents in Hardyston alone in 2004, according to township Police Chief Keith Armstrong. Some have welcomed the society's recommendation. "We're happy the Audubon Society has come out and endorsed most of our programs," says Larry Herrighty, the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection's bureau of wildlife management chief. But animal rights activists think that hunting is counterproductive because a decreased deer population means more food for those that remain, and more food means a higher rate of reproduction. They believe contraception is the way to go. However, researchers at Rutgers say that it isn't possible to sterilize enough deer to control even a small, isolated population. After a ten-year study of nonlethal strategies for controlling deer, Larry Katz, head of the Department of Animal Science at Rutgers University's Cook College, said medically preventing deer from conceiving is "impractical, counterproductive, and absolutely unworkable." Today, Sussex County residents are wondering if the time has come for area hunters to assume the role wolves, coyotes and cougars once played. No one deer eradicated. "Deer are beautiful and they belong here," said Brodhecker. "But twenty deer per acre is a population we can live with. That ought to be our goal."