Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 01/11/2010 10:49:08 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
SYRACUSE, NY--The Chair of the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology at SUNY Syracuse says deer overpopulation is a greater threat to biodiversity in New York state than global warming.
Donald Leopold explained that "climate change isn't eliminating species, only moving their ranges."
Deer overpopulation, on the other hand, does eliminate other species, he noted.
"No other real or perceived threat is so pervasive throughout the entire state, nor eliminates the majority, if not all, of the understory of natural communities, greatly reducing the diversity of our natural communities and the function of these communities," Leopold explained.
"Ignoring what deer are doing... is worse than throwing litter on the highways, driving gas guzzlers, not recycling, and many other actions."
Leopold, who also serves as a Distinguished Teaching Professor in the program, researches "drivers of diversity and causes of varity in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems." According to his website he has published over fifty-five peer-reviewed papers, six books, six book chapters, six invited book reviews, three proceedings, and many miscellaneous publications, all generally about topics in forest and wetland ecology, and native plants.
God’s neat! Let’s EAT!
I’m doing all I can but I can’t keep up with em.
Uh, ok, so what exactly are the deer supposed to be doing? Hanky panky in the woods? Eating people’s gardens? Running out into the road, turning around to take aim and charging into the back of vehicles for certain suicide? Huh?
Bambi - It’s whats for dinner.
In sufficient population density foraging undercover and food sources needed by other species. In short out competing other species when population controls are removed. Not enough people hunt and in urban areas that are a real environmental problem. Deer are not Bambi! Plus they taste good and are low in fat. Yummy!!!
I hit a deer last winter. It done $4,000 damage to my car and scared the heck out of me. It flipped on top of my car and rolled around. Its antlers and legs were dangling outside my window right next to my head. There are too many deer here in central Indiana.
Of course there would be plenty of food sources for all species if there weren’t so many of the human kind moving into their habitats.
He’s probably right. In many places, you can see the browse line to four feet, and what understory there is, is garlic mustard and stilt grass and a few Norway maple saplings, all allopathic invasives and providing cover for nothing but Lyme-bearing ticks.
Then it’s settled. Sarah Palin does more to fight global warming than Al Gore.
I think most of these “scientists” are cracked.
Too many here in MN ,too.
They’re just considered giant woods rats.
This is interesting...I saw a thing on either Discovery or History channel...one of those documentary stations... it was an hour giving information about how wild pig populations are growing like Topsy and getting way out of control and becoming quite dangerous.
The more common smaller wild pigs have been crossed with the imported Russian wild pigs which for one reason or another have been let go wild, and they are huge and very aggressive!
It sounds like the spreading of the scourge of the take-over of the domestic bees with African killer bees.
According to my other half, there are also other invasive species which are creating havoc in the environment such as walking catfish, zebra snails, starlings, kudzu (a plant,)and probably others.
We definitely need to encourage a change in our hunting license structures to handle the growth this article is referencing about the deer population...and it wouldnt hurt to allow that to happen as well with the wild pig population.
A dilemma for liberal sapheads everywhere who wring their hands over global warming but are frequently spotted feeding deer by hand and/or putting feed out thus drawing deer in their numbers to populated areas.
New England, New York and Pennsylania all have deer overpopulation problems.
OTOH, I’ve heard that North Carolina has such a shortage of deer that inbreeding has become a problem.
Seems to me that there’s a solution here, somewhere.
Have gun, will travel.
The deer are so bad here that they are coming out in the light and eating things in full view of people. Almost every week there is a serious accidnet involving one and many smaller accidents because of the over population.
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