Take Action on Non-Native Deer in Marin

http://www.marinhumanesociety.org/ExoticDeer.html

Now, the National Park Service wants to eradicate these special animals because they are non-native, even though there is no evidence that these deer are having negative impacts on the seashore environment. Currently, the Park Service is advancing a plan to eliminate the fallow and axis deer through a combination of killing and contraception. You can view the Park Service’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement at: http://www.nps.gov/pore/home_mngmntdocs_exoticdeer_deis.htm.

Public comments are being taken on this proposal and are due by April 8, 2005. In addition, the Park is holding a public information workshop on March 3 at 6:30 pm. If we are to succeed in stopping the park from shooting the deer, the Park Service needs to hear from as many citizens as possible. The Point Reyes National Seashore is a national park — operated for the enjoyment of the American people — so citizens from across the country must have their voices heard! For key information, please see our talking points.

Talking Points:

1. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) lacks evidence to indicate that the fallow and axis deer are negatively impacting the environment or other species in the park.
2. The DEIS lacks full and objective information about the feasibility of wildlife contraception methods. The DEIR should include an analysis of the feasibility of wildlife contraception written by experts in the field.
3. The DEIS lacks an alternative that considers management of the axis and fallow deer through contraception alone. (The preferred alternative uses contraception, but only in combination with lethal control, i.e., shooting the deer.)
4. The exotic deer are in the park because of human action — they were placed on a private ranch in the 1940s for hunting purposes. We now have an ethical responsibility to devise a humane and non-lethal approach to managing them.
5. The axis and fallow deer are a special and important part of the visitor experience to the Point Reyes National Seashore and this unique wildlife viewing opportunity should not be destroyed.

What You Can Do:

* Submit comments in opposition to any lethal plan to eliminate the fallow and axis deer (we recommend you send your letters by U.S. mail instead of email):

Superintendent
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, CA 94956
ATTN: Non-native deer management plan

Or email: ann_nelson [at] nps.gov

All comments must be postmarked or transmitted by April 8.

* Send a copy of your comments to the following Federal representatives whose district includes the park. Include a cover letter know letting them that you support only humane, non-lethal methods of managing the deer populations.

Senator Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 403-0100 phone
(415) 956-6701 fax

Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 393-0707 phone
(415) 393-0710 fax

U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey
Marin Office:
1050 Northgate Drive, Suite 354
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 507-9554 phone
(415) 507-9601 fax

Sonoma Office:
1101 College Avenue, Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 542-7182 phone
(707) 542-2745 fax

* Attend the public information meeting on March 3 from 6:30–8:30 pm at the Point Reyes National Seashore Red Barn, Park Headquarters, Bear Valley Visitor Center, Inverness, (415) 464-5100.

* Write a letter to the editor of the following newspapers:

Letter to the Editor
San Francisco Chronicle
901 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Fax: (415) 543-7708
Email: letters [at] sfchronicle.com

Letter to the Editor
Point Reyes Light
Box 210
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Fax: (415) 663-8458
Email: editor [at] ptreyeslight.com

Letter to the Editor
Marin Independent Journal
PO Box 6150
Novato, CA 94948-6150
Fax: (415) 883-5458
Email: letters [at] marinij.com

Talking Points:

1. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) lacks evidence to indicate that the fallow and axis deer are negatively impacting the environment or other species in the park.
2. The DEIS lacks full and objective information about the feasibility of wildlife contraception methods. The DEIR should include an analysis of the feasibility of wildlife contraception written by experts in the field.
3. The DEIS lacks an alternative that considers management of the axis and fallow deer through contraception alone. (The preferred alternative uses contraception, but only in combination with lethal control, i.e., shooting the deer.)
4. The exotic deer are in the park because of human action — they were placed on a private ranch in the 1940s for hunting purposes. We now have an ethical responsibility to devise a humane and non-lethal approach to managing them.
5. The axis and fallow deer are a special and important part of the visitor experience to the Point Reyes National Seashore and this unique wildlife viewing opportunity should not be destroyed.

If you have questions, please contact Captain Cindy Machado of the Marin Humane Society at (415) 506-6209 or cmachado [at] MarinHumaneSociety.org.