Post by Woody Williams on Oct 28, 2005 20:39:26 GMT -5
New option for limiting deer population found
BY KENNETH L R. PATCHEN
STAFF WRITER
Findings from taxpayer funded study, which started in 2001, are preliminary.
A four-year, $369,000 study funded by Highland Park taxpayers to control the deer population appears to offer wildlife management professionals a new option for areas that do not allow hunting.
Excessive deer populations can be controlled by a program to trap, neuter and release female deer, the study maintains. This is a no-kill control option suitable for high-density suburban communities.
Scientific findings from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and wildlife professionals from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the Milwaukee County Zoo were reported to Highland Park City Council members Monday night.
The findings will be reported to the public during the Nov. 14 city council meeting, also available on Channel 10.
"This is truly ground-breaking research in the wildlife management community," said Nancy E. Mathews of the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. "This is a very high-profile project."
The findings are considered preliminary in the scientific community, Mathews said.
In 2001, the City Council hired a research team to explore ways to control an overpopulation of deer in the city without having to kill them. The desire resulted in this state-sanctioned research study to determine if neutering female deer would reduce the number of deer over time. This final report summarizes four years of research that involved trapping 180 deer (101 female; 79 male) and sterilizing 67 does (not all does captured were sterilized). Bucks are not sterilized since they do not remain in Highland Park.
Council members voiced optimism about the project's value to the city but urged caution until its findings can properly be presented to the public.
Study-related conclusions include:
* Sterilizing female deer, as a tentative conclusion based on the small sample size, seems to have little effect on their behavior although neutered deer seem to move around more than do fertile deer.
* Sterilizing deer under field conditions can be done. This involves capturing, chemically immobilizing the doe, and performing surgery.
* The cost to sterilize a deer is about $750, after start-up costs. The cost includes about $150 worth of drugs per deer as well as a month's worth of veterinarian time.
Not every deer participating in the study survived. Deaths related to capture were six percent (11 deer). Only one death was attributable to surgery. In the four years of the study, more neutered deer died than did those not neutered, although many deaths were caused by collisions with vehicles. Other causes of death were: collisions with trains, predation, poaching, and killing by neighboring communities. Surgery did not affect fawns developing in does at the time of sterilization.
To maintain the success of the program, researchers estimate about six deer a year must be sterilized. The ultimate outcome of a control program is that the deer population stabilizes in about 9 1/2 years.
The deer populations on the west and east side of Route 41 do not mix. Only five deer, sometime during the study, crossed Route 41, and only two moved their home range from one side of Rt. 41 to the other.
The initial cost of the project is high because of the research approach, radio-tracking costs, and the analysis. The average cost per deer was about $1,000 with scientific and police department personnel time included. However, the direct cost per deer was estimated at $750.
About a dozen Highland Park police officers were involved with field operations, especially Sgt. George Pfutzenreuter.
"We could not have done (this study) without the support of the ambulance and the police staff," said Mathews.
Funding was supported by the City of Highland Park, the research institutions, Sir Finance Corporation, the Metroparks Deer Preservation Council of Milford, Mich., and nine Highland Park residents: R.D. Misch, Martha MacLeod, Albert MacLeod, Virginia Knox Collins, Bruce J. Johnson, Dr. Joel A. Kaplan, Anne Flanigan Bassi, Victor M. Bassi and Donald R. Dann.
Contact Kenneth L R. Patchen at patchen@pioneerlocal.com
BY KENNETH L R. PATCHEN
STAFF WRITER
Findings from taxpayer funded study, which started in 2001, are preliminary.
A four-year, $369,000 study funded by Highland Park taxpayers to control the deer population appears to offer wildlife management professionals a new option for areas that do not allow hunting.
Excessive deer populations can be controlled by a program to trap, neuter and release female deer, the study maintains. This is a no-kill control option suitable for high-density suburban communities.
Scientific findings from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and wildlife professionals from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the Milwaukee County Zoo were reported to Highland Park City Council members Monday night.
The findings will be reported to the public during the Nov. 14 city council meeting, also available on Channel 10.
"This is truly ground-breaking research in the wildlife management community," said Nancy E. Mathews of the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. "This is a very high-profile project."
The findings are considered preliminary in the scientific community, Mathews said.
In 2001, the City Council hired a research team to explore ways to control an overpopulation of deer in the city without having to kill them. The desire resulted in this state-sanctioned research study to determine if neutering female deer would reduce the number of deer over time. This final report summarizes four years of research that involved trapping 180 deer (101 female; 79 male) and sterilizing 67 does (not all does captured were sterilized). Bucks are not sterilized since they do not remain in Highland Park.
Council members voiced optimism about the project's value to the city but urged caution until its findings can properly be presented to the public.
Study-related conclusions include:
* Sterilizing female deer, as a tentative conclusion based on the small sample size, seems to have little effect on their behavior although neutered deer seem to move around more than do fertile deer.
* Sterilizing deer under field conditions can be done. This involves capturing, chemically immobilizing the doe, and performing surgery.
* The cost to sterilize a deer is about $750, after start-up costs. The cost includes about $150 worth of drugs per deer as well as a month's worth of veterinarian time.
Not every deer participating in the study survived. Deaths related to capture were six percent (11 deer). Only one death was attributable to surgery. In the four years of the study, more neutered deer died than did those not neutered, although many deaths were caused by collisions with vehicles. Other causes of death were: collisions with trains, predation, poaching, and killing by neighboring communities. Surgery did not affect fawns developing in does at the time of sterilization.
To maintain the success of the program, researchers estimate about six deer a year must be sterilized. The ultimate outcome of a control program is that the deer population stabilizes in about 9 1/2 years.
The deer populations on the west and east side of Route 41 do not mix. Only five deer, sometime during the study, crossed Route 41, and only two moved their home range from one side of Rt. 41 to the other.
The initial cost of the project is high because of the research approach, radio-tracking costs, and the analysis. The average cost per deer was about $1,000 with scientific and police department personnel time included. However, the direct cost per deer was estimated at $750.
About a dozen Highland Park police officers were involved with field operations, especially Sgt. George Pfutzenreuter.
"We could not have done (this study) without the support of the ambulance and the police staff," said Mathews.
Funding was supported by the City of Highland Park, the research institutions, Sir Finance Corporation, the Metroparks Deer Preservation Council of Milford, Mich., and nine Highland Park residents: R.D. Misch, Martha MacLeod, Albert MacLeod, Virginia Knox Collins, Bruce J. Johnson, Dr. Joel A. Kaplan, Anne Flanigan Bassi, Victor M. Bassi and Donald R. Dann.
Contact Kenneth L R. Patchen at patchen@pioneerlocal.com
