Submitted by Steve Ulvi, Journal contributor.
After decades of living and traveling in the wilds of Alaska, I can’t help but think about the foundering ecosystems and whacky exurban ways around here.
Fluctuating deer populations are a useful lens into our conflicted and fuzzy notions about naturalness. I live in nice deer habitat, not by accident, as I prefer forest and peace and quiet over nearby neighbors. Spoiled that way. Oddly, I may be the only remaining venison harvester along our gravel road. Prior to herd decimation by the virulent Hemorrhagic adenovirus, it was an ongoing struggle to keep them out of our large, fenced area and garden. Now the deer population is again increasing due to genetic vigor, forest browses regrowth, increased twinning and a near-complete lack of predation. It is a classic eruption following a crash on a small island with few population-controlling factors except loose dogs, car bumpers and a few score hunters.
I am heartened to see alert and healthy deer again. Cage-shrunken red fox and released European Hares ought to be viewed as a result of faulty human actions, not protected as natural fauna. Eruptions of deer results in a lot of noticeable things: vultures, ravens, eagles, racoons and of course insurance claims, vehicle repairs, fencing supply sales and headaches for growers and irrational drivers who swerve to miss deer in order to smack a tree or another motorist.
Prior to the deer population crash, concerns about deer were aired at several public forums convened to identify ways to increase the harvest. The open discussions were mostly civil with biologists, hunters, and farmers brainstorming potential solutions. The all-to-familiar and misguided anti-hunting crowd (who often illegally feed wildlife) were effectively muted by adult discussion. I have heard some doozies; “No one needs to hunt anymore,” “DFW introduced the virus.” “Hunting is cruel.” and “Deer browsing helps with fire prevention.”
As informative and useful as the dialogue was, there were few realistic ways to increase harvest – extra deer tags for farmers experiencing crop loss or extra tags for hunters willing to spend more money – but there were a few landowners who connected with hunters for access to their property. The idea of bow hunters was preferable to most. Stewards of Conservation Land Bank preserves have created limited hunts for registered hunters.
However, the agonizing results of widespread fuzzy thinking were already baked into the 2019 cake. The dire consequences of gross overpopulation, severely depleted natural browse, stressed animals and sickness were at a crescendo and the fuse was lit for the inevitable precipitous decline. We should know that nature always bats last.
In a few years we will be overrun once again. Is it possible to rise above misguided community notions that insure animal suffering and untold human expenses? A helpful friend in eastern Washington offered to sell me a breeding pair of coyotes to begin to trim back several destructive populations; feral cats, European hares, rats and too many deer.
