deer management on fire island, ny
DESCRIPTION
Deer Management on Fire Island, NY. By: Kendall Brunette, Chad Johnson, Alyssa Hernandez, Mark Leopold, Kelley McCrudden, Pelle Rudstam. What’s the Problem?. -An overabundance of deer on Fire Island has led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Deer Management on Fire Island, NY
By: Kendall Brunette, Chad Johnson, Alyssa Hernandez, Mark Leopold, Kelley McCrudden,
Pelle Rudstam
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What’s the Problem?-An overabundance of deer on Fire Island has led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage.
-The deer also have become the main host for ticks on the island, which are a vector for Lyme disease.
-Many residents feel that managing the deer population will lead to a reduction in instances of Lyme disease on the island and cut down on property damage.
-However, constant head butting between the island’s residents and between the residents and the Park Service has made any sort of management difficult.
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Vegetation• Sunken Forest is a
maritime holly forest in old growth state
• Vegetation impacts are most dramatic in SF
• Trees act as anchors for wind-blown sand; essential to the stability of barrier island systems
• Browsing on the herb layer• Lack of regeneration of
canopy tree species since about 1970 coincides with the initiation of the deer population eruption
http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/images/Deer-eating.jpg
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Early Studies• Studies in 1966 and 1985 to assess the impacts of deer browsing
• Fenced off experimental plots• Results were inconclusive
due to small sample size• By the second growing
season, herb-cover inside deer exclosures increased by about 50%
• Since 1985, density of dominant shrubs has increased dramatically inside fenced plots
http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/georgetown/images/gtwn%20images/images/DeerFeedingWisconsin2.JPG
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Latest Studies• Permanent plots were relocated and
resurveyed in 1999:1. Assess the change in the structure and composition of the
SF from 1967 to 20032. Describe the age structure of the SF3. Analyze the vegetation-environment relationship of the SF4. Measure the availability of seed source within the SF• What needs to be done and when to
regenerate canopy tree species?• Recruitment events?
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Public Feeding• Outreach activities:-bumper stickers-informative brochures-speaking engagements to end-user groups-voluntary pledge drives for island service
personnel and contractors-daily education/enforcement patrols-activities for primary school-aged children
http://www.gardengrapevine.com/DeerFeedingRxBC-K6277.jpg
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Immunocontraception
• Female deer creates antibodies toward its own eggs
• Eggs released from the ovary are attacked by ZP antibodies which block potential fertilization sites for sperm
• Deer population has declined by almost 50% since 1998
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Population Trends• Hard to adequately estimate the deer population• Aerial analysis is currently the best option• Initial estimates of deer density indicated about 80
deer/km2 in most communities during 1995• Deer abundance has stabilized along western Fire
Island• Remains high in the mid-island communities
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Lyme Disease• An infectious disease, its vector is
generally black legged ticks or deer ticks. • Animals do not carry the disease, but
carry the ticks that spread the disease to humans.
• The disease can be spread after two or more days of feeding
• 70% of all people are bitten in their own yards.
• At earlier stages the symptoms include rash and flu-like symptoms
• Nearly 150 million people are currently infected or have been infected
(world-wide)
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Life Cycle• Takes place over the course of 2
years, beginning with the larval stage.• Ticks are born and feed off of white-
footed mouse, who are the original hosts of the disease.
• Inactive till spring • Molt into Nymphs• Nymphs feed on small mammals• Molt into adults
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The Risk• Medical
-The majority of infections are spread by ticks in their nymph stages -Only 20% of individuals infected with Lyme Disease notice their deer tick bite -Lyme disease is also known as the “great imitator”
• Financial- Lyme Disease costs on average $61,688.00 per year, per patient.
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Auto-Related Injury• Highest rate of car accidents
occur at dawn and dusk.• 92 % of all deer are killed in
the accidents • Annual:
-1.5 million car accidents with deer-vehicle damage costs: $1 billion-nearly 150 human fatalities -10,000 personal injuries -human injury costs of $1,002,401
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Actions Thus Far• Federal treatment
research has cost over $30 million plus $22 billion for military bio-defense.
• Success Stories:-Monhegan Island, Maine -Mumford Cove, CT -Great Island, Mass http://www.jmorrow.com/images/Last-Light-Over-Monhegan.jpg
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Management
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Stage 1: 1995-2005• Failed management hunt
by the Park Service.• Head-butting led to slow
adoption of strategies.• Well-educated, rich
residents have more power than most communities in getting their way. “Forget about doing anything controversial.”
Head-butting. Get it?
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Management, cont.• How can we enact
management in an area where residents are completely divided?
• Finally, immunocontraception developed as a tool to help control population. “Just a tool.”
• Effective to a degree.What does Madonna have to do with deer?
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Leave it to the locals.• Residents have to deal with the deer, let them
decide what they want.• Underwood: “Third party liaison” to act as a
mediator between FIIS and the residents. Preferably from the Nature Conservancy to “form an independent board that specializes in conflict resolution with land managers.”
• If the communities on the island can agree on how or if they want to manage deer populations they can take it upon themselves.
• Spatially defined community based initiatives and resource management.
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Management Recommendations
• Creative, sensitive approach that elevates the awareness of residents and visitors to the consequences and responsibilities of living in a natural environment
• Permanent, dedicated liaison between FIIS and the island communities
• Establish a science and management advisory team• Establish an organization to search for financial
means to fund research, community fencing, and other management costs.
• Expand research; not only focusing on the deer population but the white-footed mouse.
• Continued high National Park Service visibility among communities
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Acknowledgements The Park Service Center for Disease Control USGS The Interweb Jim Watkins