The Nature Conservancy has labeled deer browse as the #1 threat to the eastern forest: “…no other threat to forested habitats is greater at this point in time — not lack of fire, not habitat conversion, not climate change… We can argue about which threat is more significant than another, but no one who walks the eastern forests today can deny the impact of deer to forest condition.”
Whether you’re a backyard victory gardener, bird watcher, ruffed grouse society member, or online vegan shopper, deer are impacting you in some way. Deer are voracious herbivores that can have significant effects on plant vegetation and associated wildlife.
Mitigating deer browse impacts upon forests and food crops costs money and loss of ecological services into the future. What to do? Shoot more deer? Liberalize hunting regulations? Bring back market hunting? Better forest management?
THE GROWING DEER DEBATE – hosted by Catskill Forest Association (CFA) – will be held on Saturday, October 31st @ Margaretville Central School from 9AM to 4PM.
THE GROWING DEER DEBATE will feature speakers from AROUND THE COUNTRY to discuss both problems & solutions about deer.
Visit CFA’s website @ www.catskillforest.org for more information.