The Thrill Is Gone

To the Editor:

I grew up in Asheville, N.C., very near the huge Vanderbilt Estate Busby Mountain watershed property. It contained deer and was ringed by miles of eight-foot-high wire fence. As a kid it was a thrill to spot a deer in early morning along the forest line or small herds grazing in the meadows in the evening.

When we moved to Newtown years ago I was so enthused upon spotting deer tracks on gravel Tamarack Road that I put out a salt lick for them.

Today the thrill is gone. In most seasons we regularly see six or more deer in our backyard. The record count so far is 16 at one time. We no longer can have tulips. I love mountain laurel and rhododendron. In Western North Carolina we had a yearly Rhododendron Festival. In Newtown the only way we can have laurel or rhododendron is by paying $300 to have them sprayed with deer repellent.

It has been decades since we have seen trillium, heard the beating wings of ruffed grouse, or spotted a pheasant. They are gone. Deer have destroyed their forest undercover.

In recent years I have had so many deer leap across in front of my car on Hanover, Echo Valley, and Tamarack Roads that I feel it may be just a matter of time before I hit one.

Deer damage to the ecology is serious. Deer hazards to drivers are severe.

I have had Lyme disease, but at this point I regard any correlation or lack thereof of the deer population to the incidence of Lyme disease as almost irrelevant. The fact is there simply are too many deer. The population is out of control. It is huge and growing. Apparently the only natural predator is starvation, and that is a cruel sentence.

Years past I was lukewarm to hunting. Today I favor any sensible plan that will reduce this exploding population to responsible numbers. If that means sharpshooting culls, so be it. Load and lock.

Jim Wright

Tamarack Road, Newtown                                     February 10, 2010