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Take Action on Non-Native Deer in Marin
Many visitors to the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County have been lucky enough to glimpse the beautiful white fallow deer and spotted axis deer who have resided in the park for more than half a century.
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.
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.
For more information:
http://www.marinhumanesociety.org/ExoticDe...
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Comments
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It is common to think of the "environmental" community and the "animal welfare" community as being allies, all fighting for the same things. But when a case like this comes up it becomes clear that it just isn't so, that on som eissues, they may be on totally opposite sides.
What is important is that these two communities (especially the "animal welfare" side) not only realize this but come to some sort of understanding how they might deal with the problem. How to deal with the problem of in spite of being "enemies" on some particular issue they might nevertheless continue to work together on other issues.
The reason I put the onus on the "animal welfare" side is that the "solution" I often hear expressed from that camp, that the environmentalists "convert", give up their environmental focus in exchange for concern for the welfare of individual organisms is not a solution << it solves the problem of the conflict by eliminating one side >> On the other hand, what I usually hear from envirnmentalists is that they can accept and live with the reality that on some issues the "animal welfare" folks are among the enemy but are prepared to work with them on other issues where they are not.
Now listen here "humane" folks. I am willing to pay attention and even help when you demand that the method of removal of the fallow and axis deer be done in a humane manner, minimal cruelty to the individual animals. But I am not going to go along with your idea that it doesn't matter that these are exotics. Hell, if all the deer there had been replaced with cows, why they'd be animals with rights too, yes? What you can't seem to understand is that I am already making a compromise with your concerns because the reality is that while I prefer they be removed humanely (to being removed otherwise) this is not a major concern on my part concern on my part compared to my concern that they be removed and native deer re-established (I wouldn't stop the removal because it was "cruel" to individual fallow or axis deer)
What is important is that these two communities (especially the "animal welfare" side) not only realize this but come to some sort of understanding how they might deal with the problem. How to deal with the problem of in spite of being "enemies" on some particular issue they might nevertheless continue to work together on other issues.
The reason I put the onus on the "animal welfare" side is that the "solution" I often hear expressed from that camp, that the environmentalists "convert", give up their environmental focus in exchange for concern for the welfare of individual organisms is not a solution << it solves the problem of the conflict by eliminating one side >> On the other hand, what I usually hear from envirnmentalists is that they can accept and live with the reality that on some issues the "animal welfare" folks are among the enemy but are prepared to work with them on other issues where they are not.
Now listen here "humane" folks. I am willing to pay attention and even help when you demand that the method of removal of the fallow and axis deer be done in a humane manner, minimal cruelty to the individual animals. But I am not going to go along with your idea that it doesn't matter that these are exotics. Hell, if all the deer there had been replaced with cows, why they'd be animals with rights too, yes? What you can't seem to understand is that I am already making a compromise with your concerns because the reality is that while I prefer they be removed humanely (to being removed otherwise) this is not a major concern on my part concern on my part compared to my concern that they be removed and native deer re-established (I wouldn't stop the removal because it was "cruel" to individual fallow or axis deer)
are Ohlones?
"Hell, if all the deer there had been replaced with cows, why they'd be animals with rights too, yes?"
in fact, one of the main reasons these non-native deer are suddenly the hot topic for the park service is that area ranchers are tired of the exotics competing with their cattle for resources and wrecking the fences they have to restrain the cattle, not so much because of a new-found desire in the park to restore the indigenous aesthetics of the land. of course, there are compelling arguements for restoring the park which all sensible people can agree on, but when you hear the park service talking about protecting native birds, you've hear nary a word from them on the damage cattle do to the land and there's no plans to remove them whatsoever
------------------------------------------------------
John Dell'Osso, a spokesman for the park... said a study in Pennsylvania concluded that whitetail deer populations of 25 animals per square kilometer (247 acres) can strip woodlands of low- lying bushes and small trees, wiping out native ground-nesting birds. "We'd be surprised if there wasn't a similar impact," he said.
[[ and now the *other* motivation for this supposedly urgent deer removal ]]
The deer are also causing conniption fits among ranchers near Olema on the park's eastern edge by gobbling up cattle feed and destroying fences.
"They eat our hay in the winter and flatten our pastures in the spring," said Ann Stewart, who with her daughter, Amanda Wisby, runs Angus cattle on both family land and about 2,500 acres leased from the park service.
Additionally, said Stewart, large bands of young bucks congregate during the rut and become entangled in fences.
"They tear out yards and yards of fencing," she said. "It's really a major expense."
[[ and if "whitetail deer populations of (just) 25 animals per square kilometer (247 acres) can strip woodlands of low- lying bushes and small trees," I can't help but wonder what all those cows are doing to the land and its indigenous animals ]]
------------------------------------------------------
I believe both the exotic deer and the cattle need to go -- but both have been there are long time and need to be removed thoughtfully and humanely
in fact, one of the main reasons these non-native deer are suddenly the hot topic for the park service is that area ranchers are tired of the exotics competing with their cattle for resources and wrecking the fences they have to restrain the cattle, not so much because of a new-found desire in the park to restore the indigenous aesthetics of the land. of course, there are compelling arguements for restoring the park which all sensible people can agree on, but when you hear the park service talking about protecting native birds, you've hear nary a word from them on the damage cattle do to the land and there's no plans to remove them whatsoever
------------------------------------------------------
John Dell'Osso, a spokesman for the park... said a study in Pennsylvania concluded that whitetail deer populations of 25 animals per square kilometer (247 acres) can strip woodlands of low- lying bushes and small trees, wiping out native ground-nesting birds. "We'd be surprised if there wasn't a similar impact," he said.
[[ and now the *other* motivation for this supposedly urgent deer removal ]]
The deer are also causing conniption fits among ranchers near Olema on the park's eastern edge by gobbling up cattle feed and destroying fences.
"They eat our hay in the winter and flatten our pastures in the spring," said Ann Stewart, who with her daughter, Amanda Wisby, runs Angus cattle on both family land and about 2,500 acres leased from the park service.
Additionally, said Stewart, large bands of young bucks congregate during the rut and become entangled in fences.
"They tear out yards and yards of fencing," she said. "It's really a major expense."
[[ and if "whitetail deer populations of (just) 25 animals per square kilometer (247 acres) can strip woodlands of low- lying bushes and small trees," I can't help but wonder what all those cows are doing to the land and its indigenous animals ]]
------------------------------------------------------
I believe both the exotic deer and the cattle need to go -- but both have been there are long time and need to be removed thoughtfully and humanely
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