Arlington Co. and its deer problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The effect of deer browsing — which is described as deer eating leaves, twigs and woody plants — was determined to be currently “moderate” in Arlington County, but does “not bode well for the future forest health of Arlington’s parks,” according to the consultant report by White Buffalo, Inc.”

Did anyone suggest feeding the deer? Throw up a few troughs or feeders and hire some guys to fill it with corn every day. Or plant some apple trees, berry bushes, etc. In the meantime they can go local farms and pick up their seconds of apples and pumpkins and other fruits and veg, deer love those and there’s always too much. What about a local bakery- deer love bread. Do they provide salt blocks right now? They’re like 10 bucks (cheaper in bulk) and last for months. If they have other things to eat they won’t eat as many plants, though it does not sound like an actual problem right now, just a made up problem because some higher up doesn’t like deer eating their flowers or has their pockets tied to white Buffalo.

Instead of killing something beautiful turn it into a teaching opportunity, send some science classes out there to learn about deer behavior and feeding patterns. Heck I’ll buy them a couple trail cams. Let the parents that are hunters teach their kids what they know. Let the kids with extra land plant a garden and test different foods that deer like to eat. They’d probably learn more doing that for a year or two than paying some multi-million dollar “non-profit”.

Meanwhile, people are going hungry?

I never said don’t shoot them, but there are certain times of the year you should kill them and right now is one of those times. Open these parks to hunters, kill away, responsibly.

^ right now is not one of those times. They just had babies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds like a waste of money, you can just add an extra week of bow hunting and let the rednecks handle it. Too many deer caught at once in one area can really throw off a herd. Also if you hire people to cull the population in only one area then the other herds nearby will just spread out naturally in a couple years. They travel several miles, especially the bucks. Also how long are they doing this for? One night only we take them all out? Who is going to process all that meat? Will they waste it? Sounds like the people making these rules never watched a deer herd in their life.

All very good points! Arlington Co is full of ideas but rarely do they think them all the way through and then create another problem. This needs to be very carefully researched and the parties involved in making the decision need to thoroughly understand the downstream impact of their choices.

Sounds like we need a couple million dollar government funded studies! Does anyone know of a nonprofit willing to do this work?

So you want to send some guy in a suit with a government badge to talk to hunters?

Sounds BRILLIANT!

About as brilliant as your ability to detect sarcasm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The effect of deer browsing — which is described as deer eating leaves, twigs and woody plants — was determined to be currently “moderate” in Arlington County, but does “not bode well for the future forest health of Arlington’s parks,” according to the consultant report by White Buffalo, Inc.”

Did anyone suggest feeding the deer? Throw up a few troughs or feeders and hire some guys to fill it with corn every day. Or plant some apple trees, berry bushes, etc. In the meantime they can go local farms and pick up their seconds of apples and pumpkins and other fruits and veg, deer love those and there’s always too much. What about a local bakery- deer love bread. Do they provide salt blocks right now? They’re like 10 bucks (cheaper in bulk) and last for months. If they have other things to eat they won’t eat as many plants, though it does not sound like an actual problem right now, just a made up problem because some higher up doesn’t like deer eating their flowers or has their pockets tied to white Buffalo.

Instead of killing something beautiful turn it into a teaching opportunity, send some science classes out there to learn about deer behavior and feeding patterns. Heck I’ll buy them a couple trail cams. Let the parents that are hunters teach their kids what they know. Let the kids with extra land plant a garden and test different foods that deer like to eat. They’d probably learn more doing that for a year or two than paying some multi-million dollar “non-profit”.

And this is why Trump will be our president again.

Bite your tongue. Arlington is highly educated!

Arlington just paid multiple people to figure out that deer eat plants and like some plants more than others. They could’ve figured that out in week at the local library. Now they want to pay more money for people to kill then when multiple people will literally do it for free. So they’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to solve a problem that could have been solved in a week with a waiting list and a few extra hunting permits, maybe an overdue book charge. They’re clearly so educated they’re stupid.

You pay expert sharpshooters for the liability shield. The guys who “will do it for free” are not properly insured and like to drink a beer while they shoot. What could possibly go wrong?

Most hunters aren’t wandering around drunk in the forest with weapons, you’re an idiot. If they use bows I imagine they’d be a terrible shot if they’re boozed up anyways. It’s easy enough to check a truck for alcohol on the way into the park if that’s your actual concern. Hell you could make them do a breathalyzer on the way in and out of the park and you’d still have more people signed up than you need. You must be one of the smart people from Arlington I hear so much about.

Brilliant idea to let random hunters wander around forests adjacent to dense communities, shooting at deer. Again, what could go wrong?

The whole point of using professional sharpshooters is that it’s a canned hunt with pre-vetted and insured contractors or government employees themselves. They use bait stations positioned in areas with clear shots and are positioned such that the shooter is not firing toward housing or other shooters. Plus lots of markers to warn the public to not enter adjacent areas. They do it at night and use night vision optics to minimize disruption to the public use of land or from a tragedy happening (where a park user wanders in the firing range).

[Anonymous]

Montgomery County has done it for years without any major issues. It's generally pretty well organized, and they donate the venison to feed the needy.

https://montgomeryparks.org/caring-for-our-parks/wildlife/montgomery-parks-deer-population-management/

The DC area used to have wolves (hence areas with names like Wolf Trap) that organically kept the deer population in check, but we killed them all off. Without a natural predator (aside from the occasional coyote or ambitious fox) the deer population exploded. It's an ecological necessity to do population control in the absence of a natural predator. I'm in awe of the person who suggested we start putting out food for them; that would make it even worse.

It's more humane to have a couple organized hunts a year and donate the meat than it is to let them get constantly obliterated by cars while also throwing off the ecological balance of the region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County has done it for years without any major issues. It's generally pretty well organized, and they donate the venison to feed the needy.

https://montgomeryparks.org/caring-for-our-parks/wildlife/montgomery-parks-deer-population-management/

The DC area used to have wolves (hence areas with names like Wolf Trap) that organically kept the deer population in check, but we killed them all off. Without a natural predator (aside from the occasional coyote or ambitious fox) the deer population exploded. It's an ecological necessity to do population control in the absence of a natural predator. I'm in awe of the person who suggested we start putting out food for them; that would make it even worse.

It's more humane to have a couple organized hunts a year and donate the meat than it is to let them get constantly obliterated by cars while also throwing off the ecological balance of the region.

NPS donates about 1000 pounds of venison every year to DC Kitchen from its annual culling in Rock Creek Park. They require use of non-lead bullets to preserve edibility of the meat. It’s a very good program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The effect of deer browsing — which is described as deer eating leaves, twigs and woody plants — was determined to be currently “moderate” in Arlington County, but does “not bode well for the future forest health of Arlington’s parks,” according to the consultant report by White Buffalo, Inc.”

Did anyone suggest feeding the deer? Throw up a few troughs or feeders and hire some guys to fill it with corn every day. Or plant some apple trees, berry bushes, etc. In the meantime they can go local farms and pick up their seconds of apples and pumpkins and other fruits and veg, deer love those and there’s always too much. What about a local bakery- deer love bread. Do they provide salt blocks right now? They’re like 10 bucks (cheaper in bulk) and last for months. If they have other things to eat they won’t eat as many plants, though it does not sound like an actual problem right now, just a made up problem because some higher up doesn’t like deer eating their flowers or has their pockets tied to white Buffalo.

Instead of killing something beautiful turn it into a teaching opportunity, send some science classes out there to learn about deer behavior and feeding patterns. Heck I’ll buy them a couple trail cams. Let the parents that are hunters teach their kids what they know. Let the kids with extra land plant a garden and test different foods that deer like to eat. They’d probably learn more doing that for a year or two than paying some multi-million dollar “non-profit”.

And this is why Trump will be our president again.

Bite your tongue. Arlington is highly educated!

Arlington just paid multiple people to figure out that deer eat plants and like some plants more than others. They could’ve figured that out in week at the local library. Now they want to pay more money for people to kill then when multiple people will literally do it for free. So they’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to solve a problem that could have been solved in a week with a waiting list and a few extra hunting permits, maybe an overdue book charge. They’re clearly so educated they’re stupid.

Wait, what? Deer eat plants? I am going to need a citation for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County has done it for years without any major issues. It's generally pretty well organized, and they donate the venison to feed the needy.

https://montgomeryparks.org/caring-for-our-parks/wildlife/montgomery-parks-deer-population-management/

The DC area used to have wolves (hence areas with names like Wolf Trap) that organically kept the deer population in check, but we killed them all off. Without a natural predator (aside from the occasional coyote or ambitious fox) the deer population exploded. It's an ecological necessity to do population control in the absence of a natural predator. I'm in awe of the person who suggested we start putting out food for them; that would make it even worse.

It's more humane to have a couple organized hunts a year and donate the meat than it is to let them get constantly obliterated by cars while also throwing off the ecological balance of the region.

We obviously should re-introduce wolves to Rock Creek Park

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County has done it for years without any major issues. It's generally pretty well organized, and they donate the venison to feed the needy.

https://montgomeryparks.org/caring-for-our-parks/wildlife/montgomery-parks-deer-population-management/

The DC area used to have wolves (hence areas with names like Wolf Trap) that organically kept the deer population in check, but we killed them all off. Without a natural predator (aside from the occasional coyote or ambitious fox) the deer population exploded. It's an ecological necessity to do population control in the absence of a natural predator. I'm in awe of the person who suggested we start putting out food for them; that would make it even worse.

It's more humane to have a couple organized hunts a year and donate the meat than it is to let them get constantly obliterated by cars while also throwing off the ecological balance of the region.

We obviously should re-introduce wolves to Rock Creek Park

The wolves would get killed pretty quickly by cars, eating garbage, etc. Man and wolves don’t mix well. They wouldn’t last long in our current urban environment. Coyotes are better adapted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County has done it for years without any major issues. It's generally pretty well organized, and they donate the venison to feed the needy.

https://montgomeryparks.org/caring-for-our-parks/wildlife/montgomery-parks-deer-population-management/

The DC area used to have wolves (hence areas with names like Wolf Trap) that organically kept the deer population in check, but we killed them all off. Without a natural predator (aside from the occasional coyote or ambitious fox) the deer population exploded. It's an ecological necessity to do population control in the absence of a natural predator. I'm in awe of the person who suggested we start putting out food for them; that would make it even worse.

It's more humane to have a couple organized hunts a year and donate the meat than it is to let them get constantly obliterated by cars while also throwing off the ecological balance of the region.

We obviously should re-introduce wolves to Rock Creek Park

The wolves would get killed pretty quickly by cars, eating garbage, etc. Man and wolves don’t mix well. They wouldn’t last long in our current urban environment. Coyotes are better adapted.

Coyotes are not successful predators of adult deer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County has done it for years without any major issues. It's generally pretty well organized, and they donate the venison to feed the needy.

https://montgomeryparks.org/caring-for-our-parks/wildlife/montgomery-parks-deer-population-management/

The DC area used to have wolves (hence areas with names like Wolf Trap) that organically kept the deer population in check, but we killed them all off. Without a natural predator (aside from the occasional coyote or ambitious fox) the deer population exploded. It's an ecological necessity to do population control in the absence of a natural predator. I'm in awe of the person who suggested we start putting out food for them; that would make it even worse.

It's more humane to have a couple organized hunts a year and donate the meat than it is to let them get constantly obliterated by cars while also throwing off the ecological balance of the region.

We obviously should re-introduce wolves to Rock Creek Park

The wolves would get killed pretty quickly by cars, eating garbage, etc. Man and wolves don’t mix well. They wouldn’t last long in our current urban environment. Coyotes are better adapted.

Coyotes are not successful predators of adult deer.

If they were, we wouldn't have such a huge deer problem. We do have coyotes here, but they're not native to the area and won't do the level of culling that's necessary.

Regardless, the first poster was obviously joking. But not the worst idea- a few wolves in Rock Creek park might help me get my run times down 😉

[Anonymous]

I’m fully in support of sharpshooters thinning out the deer herd. They will do it in the fall/winter when there are no babies and will take a certain number of bucks and does. Arlington is too densely populated to allow random hunters, so it has to be sharpshooters.

[Anonymous]

Latest thing they sent me had deer pop and desired pop and it was 40% killed. Almost 1 in 2. That is a big change.
They go for the family groups, kill them all.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I read into it further, I'm more comfortable now with them shooting the deer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The effect of deer browsing — which is described as deer eating leaves, twigs and woody plants — was determined to be currently “moderate” in Arlington County, but does “not bode well for the future forest health of Arlington’s parks,” according to the consultant report by White Buffalo, Inc.”

Did anyone suggest feeding the deer? Throw up a few troughs or feeders and hire some guys to fill it with corn every day. Or plant some apple trees, berry bushes, etc. In the meantime they can go local farms and pick up their seconds of apples and pumpkins and other fruits and veg, deer love those and there’s always too much. What about a local bakery- deer love bread. Do they provide salt blocks right now? They’re like 10 bucks (cheaper in bulk) and last for months. If they have other things to eat they won’t eat as many plants, though it does not sound like an actual problem right now, just a made up problem because some higher up doesn’t like deer eating their flowers or has their pockets tied to white Buffalo.

Instead of killing something beautiful turn it into a teaching opportunity, send some science classes out there to learn about deer behavior and feeding patterns. Heck I’ll buy them a couple trail cams. Let the parents that are hunters teach their kids what they know. Let the kids with extra land plant a garden and test different foods that deer like to eat. They’d probably learn more doing that for a year or two than paying some multi-million dollar “non-profit”.

And this is why Trump will be our president again.

Bite your tongue. Arlington is highly educated!

Arlington just paid multiple people to figure out that deer eat plants and like some plants more than others. They could’ve figured that out in week at the local library. Now they want to pay more money for people to kill then when multiple people will literally do it for free. So they’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to solve a problem that could have been solved in a week with a waiting list and a few extra hunting permits, maybe an overdue book charge. They’re clearly so educated they’re stupid.

You pay expert sharpshooters for the liability shield. The guys who “will do it for free” are not properly insured and like to drink a beer while they shoot. What could possibly go wrong?

Most hunters aren’t wandering around drunk in the forest with weapons, you’re an idiot. If they use bows I imagine they’d be a terrible shot if they’re boozed up anyways. It’s easy enough to check a truck for alcohol on the way into the park if that’s your actual concern. Hell you could make them do a breathalyzer on the way in and out of the park and you’d still have more people signed up than you need. You must be one of the smart people from Arlington I hear so much about.

Brilliant idea to let random hunters wander around forests adjacent to dense communities, shooting at deer. Again, what could go wrong?

The whole point of using professional sharpshooters is that it’s a canned hunt with pre-vetted and insured contractors or government employees themselves. They use bait stations positioned in areas with clear shots and are positioned such that the shooter is not firing toward housing or other shooters. Plus lots of markers to warn the public to not enter adjacent areas. They do it at night and use night vision optics to minimize disruption to the public use of land or from a tragedy happening (where a park user wanders in the firing range).

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. The county does not need overpriced consultants to figure out how to reduce the deer population. This is something that could be done with regular hunters using bait stations during the day. They don't need to spend millions to hire trained deer snipers with night vision goggle. This is why Arlington has to raise taxes every year, because they waste money on stuff like this and no one has any common sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The library had a program and a book talk. Apparently some culling operations in yards is via nets and bolt guns. Book described the "eee eee eee" cries of fawns being killed. It's not painless.
See The Age of Deer pp 190-194.

I am not supportive of culling 40% of the deer.
But I encourage supporters to be clear just what means are planned. Just sharpshooter and head shots? Or....????

Not in my yard.

You don't headshot a deer. The skull is quite thick and a small target

Well how do they get the instant, painless kills Arlington says will happen? Or is that bull?

The original poster is conflating trapping deer with nets and using a bolt gun with "sharpshooters performing a headshot," no doubt to create confusion around the issue. If the deer is immobilized, then a bolt gun would be viable. If you are hunting with a gun as a "sharpshooter," you are not going to aim for a tiny target like the head. You aim for the heart/lungs and use a projectile with sufficient kinetic energy to send the deer into shock.

Arlington previously used a deer sterilization program that was roughly $1,000/deer.

This is also ridiculous. They must think the deer need mental health counseling after the procedure or something because this is overpriced. . My vet only charged me $200 to sterilize my dog so that seems steep.