HomeMy WebLinkAboutDeerAugust 2010
To Our Town, CountyiState and Federal representatives:
We the undersigned feel we are facing numerous serious problems caused by the ever-increasing number
of deer on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island.
We believe that our children deserve the right to play in their own backyards without fear of
contracting a disease. We feel that we have a health emergency that has reached epidemic
proportions.
· We are afraid of deadly as well as costly car accidents causes by deer on our roads.
We are concerned about how deer overpopulation is affecting farmers ability to earn a living.
· We fear the permanent devastation of our woodlands and native flowers vegetation and native
small animals.
When one component of the ecosystem such as deer jeopardizes the other native plant and animal
communities in an area, then drastic and non-traditional actions are justified to ensure the natural
functioning of all communities in the ecosystem.
In Suffolk County alone the DEC estimated there are 10.000 to 20,000 deer.
In the 1960's if a deer was spotted on the North Fork it would be a rare sight.
The NYSDOH and local health departments name at least four tick-borne diseases frequently found on
Long Island: Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
The number of cases of these diseases are increasing.
Children have the highest risk for the ravages of tick-borne illness. If left untreated, the diseases can
involve learning and behavioral problems, depression, nerve damage, memory loss and other cognitive,
~psychiatric and neurological complications. Children with serious Lyme infections have developed
symptoms very similar to those of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-
compulsive disorder (OCD) and other neuropsychological disorders.
In New York State there are forty to sixty thousand reported deer/car crashes, probably underreported at
least by half. Nationwide, cars hit at least 1.5 million deer a year, the insurance Institute for Highway
Safety reports, causing more than a billion dollars in vehicle damage.
Browsing by white-tailed deer has transformed woodland ecology, resulting in "ghost forests," as one
environmental scientist called them. With the protective ground cover gone, small creatures from frogs to
songbirds disappear. Invasive plants like Japanese knotweed crowd out ferns and other native plants.
At high deer densities, profound changes occur in the composition of herbaceous ground cover. The most
significant indicators of an overpopulation of deer is the occurrence of 'bark stripping'. During winter deer
strip significant amounts of bark from trees giving them an increased susceptibility to disease and mortality.
There is a significant economic impact from the cost of repeated attempts at landscaping, implementation
of protective measures, or, failing all that, the reduction in estimated real estate value. And the increased
cost of food caused by the appetites of scavenging deer in the fruit orchards of the east end is a direct
cost to the consumer as well
The state of Maryland claims that lethal car-deer accidents have declined by more than half in
Montgomery County since the implementation of managed deer hunts
Mohegan island ME got ride of its entire deer population and the tick population went way down. Ticks
need the deer for their last blood feed and for transportation.
~ THE UNDERSIGNED REQUEST A COUNTY WIDE MEETING THIS FALL TO REVIEW WHAT ACTIONS ARE
BEING DONE NOW AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO
BEGIN TO SOLVE THESE SERIOUS THREATS TO OUR WELL BEING.
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WE THE UNDERSIGNED OF THIS PETITION REQUEST A COUNTY WIDE MEETING THIS FALL TO REVIEW
WHAT ACTIONS ARE BEING DONE NOW AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN
THE NEAR FUTURE TO BEGIN TO SOLVE THESE SERIOUS THREATS TO OUR WELL BEING. C.~.f' ~oO
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THE NEAR FUTURE TO BEGIN TO SOLVE THESE SERIOUS THREATS TO OUR WELL BE?G. ~ ~1~/~
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WE TH E UNDERSIGNED OF THIS PETITION REQUEST A COUNTY WIDE MEETING THIS FALL TO REVIEW
WHAT ACTIONS ARE BEING DONE NOW AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN
THE NEAR FUTURE TO BEGIN TO~yESE SERIOUS THREATS TO OUR WELL BEING.
WE THE UNDERSIGNED OF THIS PET1TION REQUEST A COUNTY WIDE MEETING THIS FALL TO REVIEW
WHAT ACTIONS ARE BEING DONE NOW AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN
THE NEAR FUTURE TO BEGIN TO SOLVE THESE SERIOUS THREATS TO OUR WELL BEING.
WE THE UNDERSIGNED OF THIS PETmON REQUEST A COUNt' WIDE MEETING THIS FALL TO REVIEW
WHAT ACTIONS ARE BEING DONE NOW AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN
THE NEAR FUTURE TO BEGIN TO SOLVE THESE SERIOUS THREATS TO OUR WELL BEING.