Corny Biologists Rappahannock High School

Wildlife Biologist                                                                                                   11/1/2007

                                                                                                                            6:46:00 AM

Deer are not as big a deal that everyone makes them, or are they? Sure their population,

whether big or small, affects the forest, but so do all animals.  Its like a food web; take away

one thing, everything is affected, not just one certain thing.  PETA members may believe killing

 deer is wrong, but hunters are only helping to control the population.  Over population can be a

bad thing with deer, but overpopulation of any animal can have negative outcome.  We don’t

need to be making a big deal about deer; they are only one species of animal in a world of a

wide variety of species. Though deer are a small part of the environment, they do have an

impact on it.  Deer don’t necessarily hurt an animal itself, but it may hurt its environment by

eating the wide variety of shrubs that host that certain species of animals.  Particularly cedar,

oak, and Canada yew are the favored shrubs of the whitetail deer species. Deer kill some trees

during the rutting season when they start mating. The bucks use their antlers to rub the bark

off the trees to mark the area their own.  Deer also control the overgrowing of certain plants

by eating them and keeping them from taking over.  Deer also serve as a reservoir for Lyme

disease. They even affect biodiversity through intensive browsing of the forest under story in

some locations. So are deer a big deal to your environment or not? 

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Bambi Lovers Rappahannock High School

PETA                                                                                                                      11/1/2007

                                                                                                                            6:50:00 AM

   We are the deer lovers. We are trying to find a solution to keep deer alive. Even though they

may destroy some of the farmers crops, mess up drivers cars, cost insurance companies money

and invade homeowners space doesn’t give you a reason to shot them. When deer establish a

territory they will not leave, so why should hunters run them out of their habitat. Some may

think that deer’s are pests but they are not. Some think its fun to kill deer, but its not. Deer’s

have feelings just like humans.   Hunting is a violent form of recreation. Our main priority for

 controlling the population is to make sure people do it in a humane way. We can do this by

giving them birth control so they won’t over populate and to stop using dogs to run deer out of

their habitat, which causes them to harm our community. If we could find the perfect diet that

provided all the necessary nutrients, then maybe they won’t starve and we could get them to not

destroy other habitats.

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Bunnies have rights too Rappahannock High School

Wildlife Biologist                                                                                                   11/1/2007

                                                                                                                            9:05:00 AM

We need to extend the hunting season because the deer are overpopulated and the hunting

seasons given are not enough.  Virginia has over 1 million deer. Deer serve as a reservoir for

Lyme disease.  Deer have a tendency to ruin bird nesting.  They cause thousands of vehicle

collisions every year.  Deer cause crop depredation and ruin gardens and landscaped yards. 

The deer affect biodiversity by over-browsing the forest under-story in where there is too

many deer. A buck can range anywhere from 125 lbs.-250 lbs.  Bucks this large require 4,000

to 6,000 calories daily.  The bucks are consuming 4 to 10 pounds of forage daily. Deer

consume about 3% of their body weight daily. This does not seem like a lot, but it adds up.  The

impact on horticulture and garden plants can be devastating. Damage caused by deer is likely

to increase in the future if herd population is not decreased.  If firearm restrictions increase,

 hunting will decrease; this will greatly intensify deer population.  We need long-term solutions

for deer population control.  Extending the hunting season would help manage the population of

 white-tailed deer in Virginia. 

(http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/chdp/Reducingdeerdamage.htm)

(http://www.extension.org/faq/4458)

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Wild Life Forever Rappahannock High School

Wildlife Biologists                                                                                                  11/1/2007

                                                                                                                            9:54:00 AM

           When a forest has a high population of deer this causes a high impact and a poor forest.

Deer can change forests and affect their habitat and the habitat of other species. When the

deer population is high deer will cause many things to happen. Deer will clear the under story

completely of their preferred foods like oak seedlings. They will show a browse line of

everything cleared that they like. Also when the impact is high deer will leave the non-

preferred plants an advantage. For example deer do not like black cherry so black cherry may

have the dominance over oak. Deer will cause harm to other wildlife that depend on the plants

on the forest floor and those that live in the under story. They will have less food and homes

when the deer clear the plants. There may be some ways to prevent damage in over populated

forests or ways to help fix over populated areas. Forests that are abundant of deer may be set

up as hunting grounds to help decrease population that season; this may help plants reproduce.

Hunting may cause the big bucks to decline, which possibly could lead to smaller deer. Forests

may have fencing set up in areas to keep deer out and help plants stay healthy. Fencing could be

 effective but is expensive. Deer can be trapped and taken to other areas. These ways aren’t

guaranteed to work but will be worth trying to save the forests. When a forest has low deer

impact the basic elements of life are more abundant for other wildlife species and the habitat

quality is higher. The species that prefer that type of forest have a large amount of cover and

an ample amount of food. A forest will also have no definite browse line. The advantage of

competition can change among species and depending on how many deer are in a certain area.

The changes can be ecologically devastating, but when there aren’t many deer in a forest then

the change will most likely be better for other organisms. When deer browse on certain plants

then the competition between them decreases. Many factors can decrease deer populations.

Cougars and coyotes decrease deer population when they hunt them and eat them. Humans

decrease population too when they shoot and kill them. One more factor is diseases. Deer can

catch diseases and pass them to other deer or wildlife.

http://www.deerandforests.com/home/habitat

http://www.deerandforests.com/home/impact/in-what-ways-can-deer-affect-other-wildlife/

www.msucares.com/wildfish/wildlife/deer.htmlhttp://deerandforests.org/home/habitat

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Road-kill Insurance Rappahannock High School

Moterist                                                                                                                 11/1/2007

                                                                                                                            9:56:00 AM

The deer population has caused car insurance of driver’s cars to rise. In 1994 Michigan alone

had 56,666 deer-vehicle collisions. In Bloomington Illinois an estimated 10,000 occurred in

2006. In 2006 most State Farm claims data shows that deer- related vehicle collisions have

risen almost 6 percent the last deer season. From July1, 2005 through June 30, 2006 average

property damage cost was $2800, up $300 from the previous year. According to the

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety there are an estimated 1.5-million deer-vehicle

collisions annually in the United States, causing more than 150 fatalities and $1.1billion in

property damage. Deer and car collisions are becoming more frequent during the fall and

winter season. Deer accidents occurred mostly from 3-6 in the evening. The highest month for

deer accidents is November. Strangely, the day that has the most deer collisions is Tuesday and

 Friday.            We need to come up with a way to prevent insurance companies from raising prices

on car insurance. Because of deer, we must try to keep deer off roadways. Some precautions

are: signs that warn people of deer crossings, reflectors that ward off deer, deer underpasses,

diversionary feeding areas, longer hunting seasons, and deer whistles or noise makers.

Reflectors cost $17.95 each.  They only operate at night.    Some states report that reflectors

are not making any changes with the deer and car collisions. While other states are finding

that they work well.  I guess if depends on the deer population for the area on whether the

reflectors will actually work or not.                Sometimes, however, deer cannot be avoided. 

When confronted with a deer the best thing to do is stomp on the brakes and don’t swerve out

of control.  If you can’t avoid hitting the deer even after braking, then let go of the break

before impact.  Don’t go out of your lane, you may hit another car or even a tree.  If you do hit

a deer stay in your car, the deer may only be stunned and when it gets up it may hurt you very

bad if you mess with it.               

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/10/17/025264.html

http://www.usroads.com/journals/rmej/9806/rm980601.htm

http://www.gazetteextra.com/cardeer_tips100107.asp

http://www.esurance.com/auto_insurance_&_travel/deer.asp

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Deer Freaks Rappahannock High School

Animal Rights                                                                                                          11/1/2007

                                                                                                                           10:00:00 AM

Deer population is high this year and many people think that hunting is the best way to keep the

population down; well I got something I want to tell them. There are other ways to keep the deer

 population down. Instead of hunting, we can introduce a new predator in an area like a coyotes

 where you want the deer population to go down. The rising of the deer population is also

caused by humans. Humans feed deer in state parks and some other places; we can prevent

humans from feeding the dears in those places, deer should be reliant on their own habitat for

food.    Most people accuse deer for most of the accidents they have when crashing their cars

with deer. One thing to reduce these accidents is for drivers to be more careful while driving

and respect the speeding limits. The most important thing you can do to prevent this is to

remove vegetations from roadsides. Since deer are attracted to human vegetation they tend to

get close to were the vegetation is. They don’t care if they are close to a road. Many farmers

also complain because the deer eat their vegetation. The farmers can put fences around their

crops so deer can’t get in.  Some hunters don’t care about the animals they kill they just do it

for a sport. They just kill the deer and leave them there. In places were hunting is allowed the

deer population has increase and where hunting is not allowed the population has decreased.

This is because of the competition there is between the deer. The more deer you kill the less

competition there is between the deer and the more food they have. The less deer you kill the

more population there is but in time that population is going to decrease because there will be

less food and more competition between the deer. During  2003, 1,894 deer kill permits were

issued in Virginia and 7,221 deer were reported killed.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/deer/index.shtml

http://www.idausa.org/facts/deercontrol.html

http://www.dgif.state.va.us/hunting/va_game_wildlife/deer_management_program.html

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To Deer or Not to Dear Rappahannock High School

Animal Rights                                                                                                          11/1/2007

                                                                                                                            12:12:00 PM

The overpopulation of whitetail deer is a significant issue because of the impact that it has on

society. Each year thousands of people die from car accidents. The deer population is slowly

destroying the vegetation of our forest and fields to meet their needs. As much as 70% of

crops have been damaged from deer’s appetite.  So how can we control a population that has

feelings as we too? Our main priority for controlling the deer population is to make sure that it

 is enforced in a humane way. We prefer that there be no deer hunting at all but knowing this is

 an unrealistic request we push to stop raising dogs to just hunt one month out of a year.

Raising dogs to just hunt all their lives is considered inhumane. Many dogs are neglected and

abused during the months they do not hunt. In most extreme cases when the dog does not return

in a certain amount of time after the hunt they are left to fend for themselves. If they are

injured during the hunt many owners will abandon their dogs on the side of the road, because

they have outlived their usefulness. What is a humane way we can lower the deer population in

 order to save our lives and food stock?  One way is to trap them, neuter them, and then release

them.  In the end it will cut down on the population. Unfortunately this method would be

expensive but less expensive than the loss of crops and human lives in the United States.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/ai_63323541

http://network.bestfriends.org/hawaii/news/17421.html

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Dear Venados Rappahannock High School

Animal Rights                                                                                                          11/1/2007

                                                                                                                             1:23:00 PM

Deer populations are decreasing because of many recent factors. Hunters are a major problem.

 They kill deer for their skins and to eat them. They take the deer to the slaughterhouse to

cruelly process these deer. Temperature is also affecting deer population. In Arizona, deer

population drops from 25% to 80% during the summers because of low food sources and dry

weather. Many baby deer born during this season die. Also, many deer are being killed by car

accidents.Some people say that deer populations are too high and that hunting is the only way

 to solve the problem. There are plenty of alternatives to hunting. One way to help the deer

population is to reintroduce natural predators such as the bear, bobcat, or wolf, species, which

are also threatened species. Also, disease is a natural way to control population.For a long

time, hunters have been using other hunting methods to justify the killing of these deer.

Hunting dogs is now a major technique for hunting. Using dogs for hunting has its pros and

cons:    Pros: *Any other form of deer hunting will not bring as much revenue as using dogs .

*Hunting keeps the balance in the deer population which are all threatened* Dogs are trained

well.* Hunting deer gets rid of deer with diseases that may contaminate the forest in direct

contact or indirect contactCons:*Hunting dogs are pinned up for a long time until hunting

season and are sometimes not fed or treated right.*Mistreating the dogs used in hunting

varies the view on hunting deer and thus gives us the anti-hunters.*Animal rights (dogs) are

violated    In order to continue the use of dogs for hunting people must treat them right.Not

using dogs in hunting will cause the local economy to drop because dogs are currently a good

source for revenue. The white deer population needs to stay in balance because some of the

deer have transmittable diseases. Deer provide natural fertilizers; they carry seeds with their

food thus transferring another species of plants to the forest. Hunting deer isn’t entirely bad

because it is a better way to keep a balance. Other methods could be used but would cost time

and money… more than people are willing to give. Introducing natural predators may take a

while to sync in and take action. www.roanoke.com/outdoors/bill/cocharn/wb/119667

http://www.deerandforests.org/home/strategies/other-choices/

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/120824

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Maryland Mounties Clear Spring

Maryland Department Natural Resources                                                                11/2/2007

                                                                                                                           10:54:00 AM

DNR Position on Deer Overpopulation.  Department of Natural Resources, (DNR), is interested

in controlling the deer population through the Deer Project. The Deer Project conserves and

manages native white-tailed deer. Currently the Deer Project is up for revision. They currently

have a deer management project that helps to control the population with different goals. The

goals are to preserve the present and future well- being of the deer and their habitat. Maintain

deer population to a level that is necessary to ensure compatibility with land and their natural

communities; encourage and promote the recreational use and enjoyment of the deer resource;

and inform and educate Maryland citizens concerning deer biology, management options, and

the impacts that deer have on landscapes and people. The DNR utilizes broad-based deer

management techniques to meet these goals.  Hunting remains the most cost-effective

population control mechanism available in most Maryland landscapes. The economic side of

this is the total payroll and profits spawned by firms affected by Maryland's deer hunting

industry topped $37 million, a 65% increase over 1996 figures.  Over $4.1 million in Maryland

 sales tax is collected due to Maryland deer hunting.  The deer hunting industry in Maryland

contributed $1.4 million in Maryland state income taxes and $6.3 million in federal income

taxes. There are such proposals to bring back the check in stations, and make the laws on the

deer sizes different. They want to have the bucks mature longer so the rack size is at least

three on each side. This law comes from Pennsylvania; where the DNR in Pennsylvania makes

sure that no buck smaller than a six point is harvested.

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People Lovin' Animals North Harford High School

Animal-rights                                                                                                          11/5/2007

                                                                                                                            7:54:00 AM

As PLA (People Lovin' Animals) an animal-rights stakeholder group, we believe that the

reintroduction of natural predators is important to bringing balance to the ecosystem. In a

study preformed in Corvallis, Oregon the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National

Park aided in the repopulation of cottonwood trees. After the systematic killings of wolves in

the 1920’s, the elk population’s range of food area began to expand. Without the threat of

wolves, the elk were able to roam new areas that were previously inhabited by the wolves. The

elk ate small cottonwood trees and stunted the growth of the cottonwood tree population.

Similarly, the deer population can be balanced by the reintroduction of natural predators and

our Eastern forests returned to their previous healthy state. Hunters cannot perform the same

task of balancing an ecosystem because they shoot the trophies, whereas natural predators cull

the herd of the weak and sick. To add natural predators would be to replace a keystone species

to an area. Eastern forests have been out of balance since we extirpated the wolf population.

Reintroducing wolves into the ecosystem may cause some cultural backlash but educating the

public would help us to improve the Eastern ecosystem. 

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Ye Ol' Animals Petersburg High School

Animals                                                                                                                  11/5/2007

                                                                                                                             8:16:00 AM

We are the animals of the forest.  We believe that deer season is important to regulate an

overall deer population.  Shortening the deer season would overpopulate the deer and leave the

rest of the animals to deal with the shortage of food and the rest of the economic

consequences of deer overpopulation.  On the other hand, killing off too many deer would lead

to an unbalanced ecosystem, and also draw the hunters’ attention to other animals like us.  Deer

are part of some animals’ food chain, therefore, these animals would be directly affected by

the killing off of too many deer.  Although the overpopulation of deer would also directly

affect us because we eat the same food that deer eat, our food supply would be limited, which

would cause our species to be greatly affected. Currently our position about the length of the

deer season is to keep it the same.  The forest in our area has maintained a balanced ecosystem

 with the deer season that is in place now (1).  This season is just enough for the hunters to

distract their attention from the rest of us animals, and, yet, keep the forest balanced and not

one species being overpopulated.(1) http://www.wvdnr.gov/Hunting/FundDeerMan.shtm

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Grant County Business Association Petersburg High School

Business Owner                                                                                                      11/5/2007

                                                                                                                             8:19:00 AM

As business owners, we feel that the deer are grossly overpopulated. In this aspect we agree

with Ted Williams. (1) This is affecting our community in a negative way. Insurance companies

 are paying much more money to policyholders due to deer related accidents. This in turn also

increases the policyholders’ premium. These accidents have increased significantly as the deer

 population has increased. It is also affecting people running farms. They rely on the farm’s

success to make their living and deer overpopulation causes problems that decrease success.

They eat the farmer’s crops as well as destroy fencing, which is costly and needs to be fixed

immediately. (2)            We feel that the deer-hunting season should be extended from September

1st to June 1st with no limitations on weapons used during this time period. This will help to

decrease the deer population and also help increase the economy of the community. It will help

the economy because hunters spend more money on hunting gear as well as groceries to take

with them on hunting expeditions. While we would like population to decrease, we do not want

the deer to become extinct. Therefore, we would like there to be a limitation on the number of

deer killed by an individual during the deer season. We think that this number should be

about10 to 12 deer per person per season. 1.  Ted Williams

http://magazine.audobon.org/incite/incite0203.html2.  Journal of Extension “Assessment of

Negative Economic Impacts from Deer in the Northeastern United States”

http://www.joe.org/joe/2005february/rb5.shtml

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