here - Satellite Beach

Internet – Newspaper Archives Searches
CALVIN R. PECK, JR.
(Articles are in reverse chronological order)
Tab 9
But the typical deer population in Southeastern North Carolina is about 35 animals per square
mile. Experts estimate Bald Head's density before the first controlled hunt was approaching 200
deer per square mile.
Dorsey said a survey by the conservancy this summer estimated the population at 106 deer per
square mile, a slight dip from the 114 per square mile estimated in the 2005 survey. But she
warned that the count doesn't include fawns, and that preliminary numbers this fall are showing
it was a good breeding year.
Subsequently, estimates of the island's deer population are creeping upward.
"We have large bucks and does that signify a healthy population that's reproducing, possibly
triplets," Dorsey said.
A survey by a consultant hired by the village also shows deer numbers to be about the same as
last year.
Dorsey said the conservancy was willing to help the village explore alternatives to the annual
cull, such as shooting does with darts containing semipermanent birth control, if and when the
methods are shown to be effective and cost-effective.
"But the risk to the plants and the environment is too high right now to take a chance on
something that might not work," she said.
Anthony Snider, manager of the Division of Coastal Management's southern reserve sites, has
previously expressed concerns about the deer's impact on the agency's 173-acre maritime forest
reserve in the middle of the island, which is a favored haunt for the island's four-legged
residents.
With limited scientific data about the island's environment, the conservancy has hired Steven
Brewer, a biologist with the University of North Carolina Wilmington, to look at the animal's
impact on the island's flora.
"We're trying to back up objectively what the impact of the deer are on the island's maritime
habitat, particularly the maritime forest," Dorsey said.
Brewer's study, which is planned to last five years, involves setting up enclosures to protect
portions of the island's maritime forest.
The vegetation that takes hold in the enclosures will then be compared to areas nearby that are
subject to constant nibbling by deer.
"It's clear they're eating a lot over there and having a significant impact," Brewer said. "But what
kind of impact? I don't think we know that yet."
Page 53 of 84