Other Things Deer Do In the Woods

The support for the deer kill last night in Millburn could lead one to believe that the deer are the forest ravagers the County of Essex would claim.

But in speaking with a good number of Millburn residents, it is their own back yard that they are more concerned with than the South Mountain Reservation.

So to save a few patches of lawn and some postage stamp gardens, the Millburn Township Council supported the County's plan to once again kill the Reservation deer and any poor stragglers who have the misfortune to be in that area at the time of the kill.

But I did encounter one Millburn resident who told me a story that was rather remarkable. She is against the kill, not at all convinced that the County's argument holds water, and saw for herself a benefit of deer inhabiting an unstable forested environment.

She visited Mount St. Helen's after the volcanic eruption in the 1980's and observed to her ranger guide that there were already shoots of greenery springing up every where. The guide told her that the elk and deer in the area were fertilizing the devastated landscape with their droppings, contributing nutrients for the plants.

Indeed, the deer and elk were credited with the reintroduction of vegetation by the U.S. Forest Service.

So deer do what bears do in the woods, even though we don't see them do it.

And perhaps, just perhaps, the deer in South Mountain Reservation are adding just as much to the environment as they are taking away.

But if the County has its way, we will not only lose the deer, we will lose what they naturally leave behind. And with that loss, we may even lose the potential for massive fertilization that might be the saving grace for reforestation of South Mountain.

The Amazon rain forest----"the lungs of the world" that could hold the medicinal formulas for all kinds of disease cures---may well disappear because of human ignorance before we can fully discover and tap its benefits.

So, too, the the County will decimate a natural population before it performs due diligence on what benefits may be yielded through their preservation rather than devastation.

Human ignorance knows no bounds.

A Bare forest or Bare Emperor?

Responding to a reader of this blog, Dennis Percher, The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of South Mountain Reservation, defended the deer kill as the only solution to maintaining a healthy forest.

In an email to this blog's reader, Percher cited Gail Keirn, Public Affairs Specialist, for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Keirn has indicated that makers of Gonacon have not yet submitted the registration package to the Environmental Protection Agency for the approval of GonaCon pending the completion of additional documents.

Kerin also indicated that "once that is done, it will be another '12 to 18 months' until approval.

She went on to say that by that point, the Reservation population can hopefully be brought down to a level where we want to stabilize the herd.

Percher concluded his own argument based on Keirn's statements that: "We cannot regenerate the forest without the deer population being under control. And without regeneration, the forest as we know it will continue to die."

All of this is circuitous logic. And, apparently, there are many who are buying into this circuitous argument and repeating the same party line. The Conservancy is even getting NJ Audubon to back their logic by stating that bird species are disappearing, again drawing the nebulous line back to defoliation, and, ultimately, back to the deer.

But let's back up.

If the main reason for the deer kill is the defoliation of South Mountain Reservation, then shouldn't we be absolutely certain that the deer are the main--- if not only---- reason for the defoliation?

According to another reader of this blog who has done extensive research, the defoliation is not the only or even major reason.

"Forests everywhere in New Jersey and other states are failing due to fragmentation, sprawl, the draining of wetlands, the clear-cutting of forests, pollution, invasive species, climate changes, and the acid rain that has been falling throughout the entire 20th century. In addition the soil in most areas was already acidic because the many rocks are acidic.

Decades of acid precipitation have removed alkalinity and lowered the pH of the forest soil. Liming is necessary to improve soils and grow new trees, particularly acid-sensitive species such as sugar maple and red oak. In addition, liming has been shown to increase the number and diversity of forest birds and wildflower species. Liming of areas may increase the ability of the soil to regenerate plant and tree life, but killing the deer will not.

Although deer are a part of the forest equation, the issues involving forest ecology and regeneration are complex with many contributing variables. Deer are constantly villainized, but forest soils are a far bigger problem than the deer. Light is also a limiting factor due to forest canopies."

Are the forests really bare because of the deer, or are all the supporters for the deer kill closing their eyes to the reality of forest defoliation? Or put another way, despite the greater number of people who saw the emperor finely attired, there was one (and only one) voice from the crowd who called it as it was. The emperor was bare. And so is the story of the deer killing the forest and reducing bird populations. Let's call this for what it is.

How One Email Will Create An Army For a Cause

The Maplewood Township Council voted last night to continue the deer slaughter in the South Mountain Reservation. The Council voted 4 in favor, 1 opposed.

The story might have ended there, but for a very ill conceived and ill created communication on the part of the Dennis Percher, Chairman of the Board of the South Mountain Conservancy.

His first mistake was sending an email on a sensitive subject, and sending it to a large group of people.

His second mistake was assuming that people supporting the Conservancy and appreciating the Reservation would necessarily be in favor of the slaughter.

His third mistake was using highly volatile language, calling those who oppose the slaughter "zealots" and belittling their efforts to protect the deer.

Additionally, his accusation that the West Orange Township Council was manipulated in some way to reject the slaughter is completely off target. Those Council members did not buy the slate of "evidence" presented by the County and the Conservancy. They took a more conservative and higher path: they are to be highly praised, not subtly ridiculed.

His fourth mistake was letting that derisive email, created to rally his troops, get into the hands of his adversaries.

Those campaigning to halt the kill were not happy to see Percher's strategies and "successes" in lobbying the Maplewood council spelled out so clearly. This was particularly troubling when these same council members literally shut the door in the face of others hoping to present the opposite side of this issue.

I think I may represent many people opposed to this kill.

We all work and have families and friends and neighbors and enjoy the outdoors. Most of us have pets whom we love and take care of, in sickness and in health. Not one of us think that violence is a solution of any kind.

And none of us want to see perfectly healthy animals killed when we believe that there is a better way to thin the deer population, if indeed, that is necessary. We are repulsed by the idea of the deer being wounded and left to die in some one's back yard. There probably isn't a person among us who would, however, physically harm those asking for the kill, authorizing the kill or implementing the kill.

Zealots? Hardly.

I think other than being outspoken on this issue, and for good reason, we are pretty ordinary. Not zealots. Not fanatics. Not militants.

What makes us a little different perhaps, is that we hate injustice.

Killing the deer in the fashion created last year is injustice.

Dismissing our own evidence regarding studies that refute those of the County and the Conservancy is injustice.

And besmirching our good intentions with bad names is injustice.

So, should Mr. Percher or Mr. DiVincenzo ever read this blog post, please keep in mind that your arrogance and dismissive attitude are creating a monster.

Where there there were 20 of us, next time there will be 200. Where there were 200, there will be 2000. And so on. You have re-dedicated us to our cause. You have refreshed a deep distrust for you, and all you stand for.

And you have galvanized a few dissenting thinkers into an army of dissenting voters.

Holding Life in Your Hand

This is an open plea to the Township of Maplewood.

And, yes, I'll resort to begging to save a life.

In this case it is not just one life. It is dozens, and it could be hundreds. There is no max or cap on the number of deer that will be allowed to be slaughtered if the Essex County "Deer Management" Plan goes unchallenged and unchecked.

There is a controversy raging about this so-called "deer hunt". You need to listen to all sides and not take for granted that the information being presented by the County is the only story.

It is just one side, and it is greatly flawed.

Before you condone and allow this slaughter to take place again, please note the following:

1. Consider that there were 213 deer killed in last year's hunt. Regardless of who is doing the counting, that is a large number of deer and that is without even getting into the finer points of the inhumane methods employed in the kill.

2. With that number of deer slaughtered, there is every reason to believe that Gonacon, the emerging and most efficient contraceptive to limit deer population, will work in the Reservation.

3. Deer are not the only reason for the defoliation of the Reservation. There is a block of "evidence" to attest to that fact. Why are deer being singled out as the only cause when there is documentation that mountain and dirt bikes are causing enormous damage?

4. Why, when the documentation exists, are mountain bikes not just allowed but encouraged by the South Mountain Conservancy and the deer are targeted for slaughter?

5. Deer are not the only carrier of the tick causing Lyme Disease. Analyse the logic here. The deer don't "grow" the tick. The ticks exist in the soil and use the deer as hosts. Birds and other mammals can be convenient hosts as well, aside from the fact that the ticks are perfectly capable of transporting themselves without hosts.

6. There is no guarantee that even with the slaughter of the deer that the foliage in the Reservation will regenerate. No one knows if it will, yet the slaughter is being touted as the answer.

7. Weigh the impact of your action. Do you want to tell your community and the children living in Maplewood that guns, bullets and violent actions are the solutions to problems? Just think about that message as that is the one that will be heard if you again approve this slaughter.

The West Orange Township Council stated that more study and exploration needed to be done before it would consider endorsing another hunt.

The Maplewood Township Council desperately needs to follow the same path.

A Tempest In A Teapot?

The discussion about the deer, to kill or not to kill, goes round and round. There are heated debates taking place on every chat board and every corner regarding the elimination of deer in South Mountain Reservation.

There are those who say, quite honestly, that deer are vermin, with the status of rats and raccoons, that they are harmful to humans and other animals alike.

There are those who say that there is no other way to manage the deer population other than to slaughter these deer in an orchestrated massacre. That without this slaughter, the Reservation will be defoliated and its future threatened.

There are those who say that there are better ways to manage the deer other than posting men in trees with guns shooting at the deer feeding below. Sometimes killing them, sometimes wounding them.

And there are those that say all this discussion about the deer is a tempest in a teapot. That the issue of deer management is just not that important in the overall scheme of things.

And all of these factions are passionate in their belief. Just mention the subject and watch the flames that ignite.

But just about everyone agrees, a rare occurrence, that there is an inescapable correlation between deer overpopulation and land over development. Were we the forested, agri-society we once were in Essex County, there would be plenty of land to co-exist peacefully.

And just about everyone agrees, depending on whether they are pro or anti slaughter, that the Essex County Executive has his finger on the gun trigger, whether he pulls it or hires out to have it pulled.

Finally, there is agreement that depending on their vote on the issue, the West Orange Town Council will be supported or challenged in the next election. Indeed, it is feasible that the deer management issue could be a significant deciding factor as to who gets elected and who does not in the next Town Council election.

So as to the question of whether the deer management plan debate is a tempest in a teapot, I would have to say most definitely not. When an issue generates this much animosity, when it becomes an every day topic of conversation, when it underlines some fundamental issues about the way a town develops and when it can be a one issue vote in local elections, it is far more than a tempest in a teapot.

It's the morning cup of coffee that charges up the day and provides the parameters by which we judge character, define our values and proceed with our lives.

Taking A Moral Stand

The Township Council Meeting of four and a half hours on Tuesday night was probably the most emotional I have ever witnessed.

Though County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and his team of experts, in an organized and comprehensible fashion, gave their reasons for wanting to continue the deer kill in South Mountain Reservation, it was the animal activists who could not contain their distress. Some might fault the activists for their show of anger and frustration, but it is understandable.

It is difficult to sit silent or listen passively on an issue such as this kill. Indeed, the activists were often in tears as they described the horrors of the kill of last year in the Reservation.

Their tears may not have moved the township council, but neither did the case made by the county executive and his expert team have its desired impact. Although Councilwoman Patty Spango and Councilman Robert Parisi voted to continue the deer kill, Councilwoman Susan McCartney, Councilman Sal Anderton and Council President Renard Barnes voted against the kill.

Those voting for essentially repeated the case made by the CE, that the deer are responsible for defoliating the reservation and must be stopped. The method, men armed with guns and climbing trees to shoot deer feeding at staged feeding spots below, was not an issue for Spango or Parisi. Nor was there much interest or comment on the fact that these deer were not killed on first shot and wandered wounded into streets and yards nearby.

Those voting against were not convinced of the validity of the argument of de-foresting or of the County's diligence in exploring alternatives to the kill. Both Anderton and McCartney spoke with conviction but it was Barnes who expressed his decision most eloquently. His refusal to endorse this kill was based on his observation that the County had offered no real plan for containing deer in the future or for re-planting the Reservation.

It would have been very easy for these three council members to have just voted approval, especially so as the County Executive began his presentation saying that their vote was of no consequence---that he had the right to, and would, pursue the kill regardless of their vote.

But the three members stood firm, and in this listener's eyes, stood tall in their decision. If the kill is to continue, it will not be with their approval.

It was a moral stand, if nothing else, and those committed to the humane treatment of animals as well as those committed to exploring alternative non-violent solutions, are deeply appreciative.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma), perhaps the most noted pillar of moral stands against violence, once said: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated".

The Township of West Orange, in their denial of authorizing the deer kill, took an important step in helping to polish its image and its legacy with the courage and conviction of these three council members.

But this is not the end. Other towns need to join in this effort to stop the kill.

The Maplewood Town Council will be meeting to vote on October 21st - 7 pm - Maplewood Town Hall, 574 Valley Road,Maplewood NJ 07040. We need to be there to encourage them to take the same moral stand.

Deer Hunt Bogus on All Counts

You may find this above image disturbing, as do I. But it's not nearly as disturbing as the story that goes with it.

For some totally unfathomable reason, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, ordinarily a good guy doing good things, is insistent that the deer hunt in South Mountain Reservation continue.

This, despite the fact that independent studies have shown that there are less than 50 deer living in the Reservation, that reflectors at high accident locations have proven successful in preventing car collisions with deer, and that an immunocontraceptive has been proven to be 88% effective in limiting deer reproduction.

All of these proven methods of deer count, deer containment and deer contraception are just being ignored by Mr. DiVincenzo and he is claiming that Lyme Disease, car accidents and damage to the foliage in the Reservation are justification for this barbaric killing spree.

Even if we were to accept the Executive's rationale (and no one who has seen the studies or knows the issues does accept them, including the American Lyme Disease Foundation), let's look at the circumstances.

The deer killed in the last hunt were not humanely killed. Don't kid yourself that these "marksmen" put a bullet through the head of the deer and that was that. These deer included bucks, does,and yearlings (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings should be here to chronicle this!). Some of the "kill" included fawns that were less than 35 pounds (that's the weight of a full sized beagle as point of comparison). They were shot and then wandered out onto the road to be run down by cars, collapse in a pool of their own blood while still alive, and in one particularly horrific case, eaten alive by an unleashed pit bull.

Not enough yet to move you?

Then consider the density of the population surrounding the Reservation. Any stray bullet could easily penetrate a home, a car window, or some one's head.

And if none of this moves you, ponder the message we send to children living in this area in allowing this to happen. That lovely, essentially benign creatures are allowed to be slaughtered, that guns and bullets are accepted as solutions rather than regarded as problems, and that one person---- for whatever reason---- can potentially sway an intelligent body of people to let him have his way in continuing this massacre.

PLEASE, please attend the West Orange Township meeting on October 7 to protest and halt this "deer hunt". Call for the reinstatement of Resolution 648-04 which opposed the deer hunt. Make your minds known and your voices heard. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. If you can not attend the meeting, please send an email to the City Council members who will be listening to the Essex County Executive that night make his case for the hunt.

There is no case, and you need to let the council members know that you are in direct and resolute opposition to this hunt.