Deer Alliance Seminar Focus On Habitat Decimation

WESTON — The Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance hosted its second fall seminar on the impact of deer overabundance October 14 at the Weston Public Library. The full house was welcomed by Weston’s First Selectman, Woody Bliss, who conveyed his personal accounts of how deer overabundance has impacted his family through Lyme disease.

He also spoke of the commitment the Town of Weston has to reducing the deer herd density for environmental reasons.

Ridgefield representative to the Alliance, Chairman Patricia Sesto introduced the expert speakers, noting that “damage to our natural areas and the consequences to other wildlife are probably the least recognized negative impacts associated with deer overabundance.”

Dr Emile DeVito, manager of science and stewardship at New Jersey Conservation Foundation, spoke of the loss of native vegetation below the browse line of five feet and the opportunity this browse line provides for nonnative vegetation.

“If you want your forests to recover,” stated Dr DeVito, “you are going to have to reduce the deer population to single digits.”

Once the forest is healthy again, which could take a decade or more, the forest can support 15–20 deer per square mile. Dr DeVito also spoke to the need to create seed banks within the recovering forest.

He recommends fencing off plots within the damaged forest and replanting those with native species to provide the desired seed source.

Wilton Alliance representative David Lynch recalled how striking the photographs of the damaged forest were. “The landscape of Wilton is just like Dr DeVito’s slides, no shrubs except for some areas of nonnative species such as barberry and winged euonymus.”

Dr DeVito’s talk detailed the problems with the overbrowsed forest.

“If there is a blow down from a hurricane or an old tree that falls and creates a light gap, then there are no young trees waiting to fill that gap.” He spoke of the need for a multilayered forest of shrubs and saplings in the understory and mature trees in the canopy.

“The dense shade that results from these multiple layers favors native flowers and discourages nonnative species.” A diversity of plants is needed to support a diversity of wildlife, he said.

The multiple layers also contribute to more stable soils and less storm water runoff. Soil compaction from deer “traffic” and accelerated consumption of leaf litter by an invasive Asiatic earthworm were also cited as contributors to more storm water runoff.

Milan Bull, senior director of science and conservation for the Connecticut Audubon Society, spoke specifically about the reduction of birds in area forests. Mr Bull stated that rufous-sided towhees have declined by 95 percent, blue-winged warbler by 73 percent, and brown-thrashers by 99 percent.

These species, in addition to several others named, need shrubs and scrub for nesting and feeding. As the deer browse these plantings into nonexistence, the birds have lost necessary habitat, he explained.

Both speakers clearly made the point that in order to restore local forests and open spaces to a healthy condition, deer populations must be reduced and planned; managed hunts and increased private hunting are the two options.

Additional information on deer damage to area forests and other topics related to deer overabundance can be found on the Alliance website, deeralliance.com.