Deer Management on Fire Island, NY

1
Deer Management on Fire Island, NY

• By Kendall Brunette, Chad Johnson, Alyssa
  Hernandez, Mark Leopold, Kelley McCrudden,
• Pelle Rudstam

2
Whats the Problem?
-An overabundance of deer on Fire Island has led
to hundreds of thousands of dollars in property
damage. -The deer also have become the main host
for ticks on the island, which are a vector for
Lyme disease. -Many residents feel that managing
the deer population will lead to a reduction in
instances of Lyme disease on the island and cut
down on property damage. -However, constant head
butting between the islands residents and
between the residents and the Park Service has
made any sort of management difficult.
3
Vegetation

• Sunken Forest is a maritime holly forest in old
  growth state
• Vegetation impacts are most dramatic in SF
• Trees act as anchors for wind-blown sand
  essential to the stability of barrier island
  systems
• Browsing on the herb layer
• Lack of regeneration of canopy tree species since
  about 1970 coincides with the initiation of the
  deer population eruption

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eer-eating.jpg
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Early Studies

• Studies in 1966 and 1985 to assess the impacts of
  deer browsing
• Fenced off experimental plots
• Results were inconclusive due to small sample
  size
• By the second growing season, herb-cover inside
  deer exclosures increased by about 50
• Since 1985, density of dominant shrubs has
  increased dramatically inside fenced plots

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/gtwn20images/images/DeerFeedingWisconsin2.JPG
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Latest Studies

• Permanent plots were relocated and resurveyed in
  1999
• 1. Assess the change in the structure and
  composition of the SF from 1967 to 2003
• 2. Describe the age structure of the SF
• 3. Analyze the vegetation-environment
  relationship of the SF
• 4. Measure the availability of seed source within
  the SF
• What needs to be done and when to regenerate
  canopy tree species?
• Recruitment events?

6
Public Feeding

• Outreach activities
• -bumper stickers
• -informative brochures
• -speaking engagements to end-user groups
• -voluntary pledge drives for island service
  personnel and contractors
• -daily education/enforcement patrols
• -activities for primary school-aged children

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77.jpg
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Immunocontraception

• Female deer creates antibodies toward its own
  eggs
• Eggs released from the ovary are attacked by ZP
  antibodies which block potential fertilization
  sites for sperm
• Deer population has declined by almost 50 since
  1998

8
Population Trends

• Hard to adequately estimate the deer population
• Aerial analysis is currently the best option
• Initial estimates of deer density indicated about
  80 deer/km2 in most communities during 1995
• Deer abundance has stabilized along western Fire
  Island
• Remains high in the mid-island communities

9
Lyme Disease

• An infectious disease, its vector is generally
  black legged ticks or deer ticks.
• Animals do not carry the disease, but carry the
  ticks that spread the disease to humans.
• The disease can be spread after two or more days
  of feeding
• 70 of all people are bitten in their own yards.
• At earlier stages the symptoms include rash and
  flu-like symptoms
• Nearly 150 million people are currently infected
  or have been infected
• (world-wide)

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Life Cycle

• Takes place over the course of 2 years, beginning
  with the larval stage.
• Ticks are born and feed off of white-footed
  mouse, who are the original hosts of the disease.
• Inactive till spring
• Molt into Nymphs
• Nymphs feed on small mammals
• Molt into adults

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The Risk

• Medical
• -The majority of infections are spread by ticks
  in their nymph stages
• -Only 20 of individuals infected with Lyme
  Disease notice their deer tick bite
• -Lyme disease is also known as the great
  imitator
• Financial
• - Lyme Disease costs on average 61,688.00 per
  year, per patient.

12
Auto-Related Injury

• Highest rate of car accidents occur at dawn and
  dusk.
• 92 of all deer are killed in the accidents
• Annual
• -1.5 million car accidents with deer
• -vehicle damage costs 1 billion
• -nearly 150 human fatalities
• -10,000 personal injuries
• -human injury costs of 1,002,401

13
Actions Thus Far

• Federal treatment research has cost over 30
  million plus 22 billion for military
  bio-defense.
• Success Stories
• -Monhegan Island, Maine
• -Mumford Cove, CT
• -Great Island, Mass

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egan.jpg
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Management
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Stage 1 1995-2005

• Failed management hunt by the Park Service.
• Head-butting led to slow adoption of strategies.
• Well-educated, rich residents have more power
  than most communities in getting their way.
  Forget about doing anything controversial.

Head-butting. Get it?
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Management, cont.

• How can we enact management in an area where
  residents are completely divided?
• Finally, immunocontraception developed as a tool
  to help control population. Just a tool.
• Effective to a degree.

What does Madonna have to do with deer?
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Leave it to the locals.

• Residents have to deal with the deer, let them
  decide what they want.
• Underwood Third party liaison to act as a
  mediator between FIIS and the residents.
  Preferably from the Nature Conservancy to form
  an independent board that specializes in conflict
  resolution with land managers.
• If the communities on the island can agree on how
  or if they want to manage deer populations they
  can take it upon themselves.
• Spatially defined? community based initiatives
  and resource management.

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Management Recommendations

• Creative, sensitive approach that elevates the
  awareness of residents and visitors to the
  consequences and responsibilities of living in a
  natural environment
• Permanent, dedicated liaison between FIIS and the
  island communities
• Establish a science and management advisory team
• Establish an organization to search for financial
  means to fund research, community fencing, and
  other management costs.
• Expand research not only focusing on the deer
  population but the white-footed mouse.
• Continued high National Park Service visibility
  among communities

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Acknowledgements

• The Park Service
• Center for Disease Control
• USGS
• The Interweb
• Jim Watkins