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"Oh Deer!" Environmental Forum

Points of View with Thoughtful Questions - Homeowners

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School: North Harford High/  Class: Environmental science 2
Teacher: Mrs O'leary
POV Group Name: The homeowner group... 4 students
Date: 11/10/2006/  Time: 11:39 AM

Homeowner Deer are very overpopulated and this is a big problem to me. First of all the deer are very hazardous and can cause many collisions at night because you can’t see them and they don’t move out of the way. For example deer caused over 68,000 accidents in 1996. Also the deer feed on my gardens putting all my hard earned time to waste. This is a huge problem and it needs to stop. There are many reasons deer are overpopulated. One reason is there are few natural predators around, such as wolves, bears, and lynx, to keep deer populations in check. Another reason is there are restrictions on hunting near areas populated by humans. Another reason is deer are prolific reproducers, which means one buck (male deer) can mate with several does (female deer). Finally another reason is suburban neighborhoods offer deer a nutritious diet of ornamental plants and fertilized lawns. There are various different solutions to these problems. One solution is to increase the amount of hunting days. But take only responsible shots at deer to ensure a quick, clean kill. For most, that's a shot 20 yards or less at a deer broadside. Another solution is to relocate excess deer to other areas. This includes the use of trapping, netting and/or immobilization for the purpose of capturing and relocating deer. Another solution is to start using repellants and fencing to either contain deer to a certain area or to keep them out of a certain area. Also we could begin using contraceptive agents to manage deer numbers. We have proof this works because wild horses on Assateague Island have been successfully managed using this method. Another thing we could do is to start releasing predators for deer population control, wolves and mountain lions efficiently hunt white-tailed deer. Finally we could manage deer numbers through Sharpshooters. Sharpshooters can be an effective means of controlling deer populations and has successfully been implemented in several locations. This also has some benefits over letting the public hunt them instead because there is less accidents.


 

School: Hampshire High School/  Class: 1st Block Enviromental Science
Teacher: Bill Moore
POV Group Name: 1st Block Homeowners 6 students
Date: 11/08/2006/  Time: 08:43 AM

Deer are a major factor in todays rural society. In some ways they benefit homeowners but in some ways they have negative effects. Such as destroying wildlife and making ruts in a yard. They are an over populated species that sometimes needs to be taken care of. But in other ways they have positive effects. Such as eating weeds and supplying us with food and clothing in some ways. They tear up flowers and sometimes cause automobile accidents. I have heard some people talk about the feces in the yard. the insurance policys are higher because of the deer in the area. Some people put up fences to stop the deer but to no prevail. They damage many shubs that are planted by man. In my opinion the deer in my area don't go after any other plants but the ones my family plants.


Thoughtful Questions

From: Foresters/  Class_Name: Env. 2/  Teacher: Laura Oleary/  School: NHHS/  Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2006/  Time: 12:46 PM

You said deer benifit the homeowners but never described how...how do deer benifit homeowners??


From: The Farmers/  Class_Name: Environmental science 2/  Teacher: Mrs. O'Leary/  School: North Harford High School/  Askee: Homeowners/  Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2006/  Time: 12:55 PM

1. How is deer being a major factor a benfit to homeowners? 2. Why do you believe the deer only go after your family's plants? Don't they eat anything else? 3. Do you really think that having sharpshooters in neighborhoods is safe?


From: insurance/  Class_Name: Ag1/  Teacher: Mr. halterman/  School: East Hardy /  Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2006/  Time: 01:24 PM

How much damage truly does the deer cause to the home in the year, and why would deer come into a front yard in the day or night. For or to tear up the bushes or to get a little food. Not saying they won't but it does not happen that offen.

 

 

School: Hampshire High School/  Class: 2nd pd Environmental Earth Science
Teacher: Mr.Moore
POV Group Name: Homeowners/7
Date: 11/08/2006/  Time: 10:21 AM

We are the homeowners of West Virginia and we do not like the fact that there is an over population of deer within our state. Our reasons for not liking the over population is as follows: They trample all of our gardens, in which we grow some fruit, vegetables, and flowers. They are a hazard to our safety when driving down roads, since they tend to appear out of nowhere. They also are ruining the forests and woods around our homes in which lower a houses value when thinking about the possibility of selling it. Now our solutions to these problems are also as follows: Allowing hunters to hunt multiple seasons instead of the amount that they are currently allotted. As well as putting up a deer fence around a specific amount of land in problem areas. Now as to the people who should pay for such things it should be our fellow tax payers as well as us. Because they should care about they’re property value and how the scenery around they’re home looks.


 

School: North Harford High School/  Class: Environmental Science II
Teacher: Mrs. O' Leary
POV Group Name: One Homeowner
Date: 11/10/2006/  Time: 11:28 AM

Deer cause major problems in a homeowner’s life. First things first, they’re all over the road! This leads to preventable car accidents for us and our kids who jut got there license and a new car, that costs us money out of our own pockets (not the deer) that normally we don’t have. Also, the deer eat the vegetable plants we grow, and even get into our own flower gardens which we also pay for out of our own bank accounts! There are simple solutions that we could take to easily reduce the risk of the problems. We could extend our hunting seasons even if we make it all year round. We could also take the limits off of how many can be killed each year. This would reduce the population greatly, but not too much. This is only my opinion on being a homeowner with the deer population problem.