Too many deer sounds like a fairy tale, but it is a real problem when nature’s limits are exceeded.
Overpopulation of deer leads to over browsing; flowerbeds, vegetable patches and deer-safe shrubs disappear beneath hungry mouths.
Homeowners pay more for fencing, turning once-open neighborhoods into mini-forts, changing our community’s feel.
We hesitate to plant a tree.
Vehicle accidents are also an issue.
Nature suffers, too: new trees and shrubs can’t establish, and native wildflowers dwindle.
Flowers for dinner mean seeds never set and future plants will not grow.
This means less food for pollinators, birds and the caterpillars that become butterflies.
Deer eat understory homes for creatures and shrub berries never grow.
The Audubon Society documents that the diversity of bird species declines in areas with heavy browsing; pollinator researchers warn of similar species shifts.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes losses in ground-dwelling mammals.
Botanists, of course, have been warning us for decades.
The deer themselves struggle when there are too many. Overcrowding leads to disease risks like chronic wasting and makes it harder for deer to find quality food.
Deer-safe food becomes desperate-deer food.
Importantly, deer aren’t the villains.
Habitat loss and loss of natural predators have thrown our ecosystem off balance.
Other communities have found success using a diversity of approaches.
What matters most is restoring a balanced ecosystem.
Doing nothing isn’t working for people, pollinators, birds or the deer we adore.
Alex Wilson
Port Angeles