Locals and tourists have long fawned over Catalina Island\u2019s mule deer population. For nearly a century, the ungulates have roamed the land\u2019s waterfronts and woodlands, so comfortable around humans that it is not uncommon to spot deer roaming downtown Avalon.<\/p>\n
But that sight will soon disappear, after a judge this week paved the way for the island\u2019s conservancy to kill nearly all the island\u2019s 2,000 deer.<\/p>\n
A non-profit controlling 88% of the island off the southern\u00a0California\u00a0coast has been trying for years to eliminate a non-native deer population. Experts statewide have expressed support for the Catalina Island Conservancy proposal, saying the deer\u2019s consumption of a native shrub plant has led to a growth of an invasive grass species that ignites faster and spreads fire more easily.<\/p>\n
The prospect of killing so many deer has\u00a0sparked fierce \u2013 and emotional \u2013 opposition\u00a0from the public, creating an unlikely coalition of animal activists and hunters that has tried to prevent the culling in court. An\u00a0online petition\u00a0against the move has garnered more than 32,000 signatures.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles county supervisor Janice Hahn, an outspoken critic of the deer\u2019s killing, asked California\u2019s governor, Gavin Newsom, to intervene earlier this week. But the plea was to no avail, and on Thursday a county judge issued a final ruling denying a preliminary injunction filed by opponents.<\/p>\n
The conservancy said it would now move forward with a five-year plan to eliminate the island\u2019s deer population, according to its director of communications, Pepe Barton, with an estimated 200 to be hunted with rifles over the next two months. Formally known as Santa Catalina Island, it is the last leg of the Channel Islands to remove non-native deer species.<\/p>\n
Barton said the conservancy\u2019s decision was \u201cnever our first choice\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand the gravity of the situation and the responsibility, and it\u2019s a noble sacrifice on the part of the deer that didn\u2019t ask for this,\u201d Barton said. \u201cBut this is a necessary step to protect the island, the native plants and animals that are only found here, as well as the residents and livelihoods that depend on Catalina.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunters first introduced mule deer to Catalina for sport about a century ago. What began as a population of a few quickly grew to a few thousand, and save for minor dips in drought seasons, the island\u2019s deer population has not dwindled.<\/p>\n
The animals developed an appetite for shrubs native to the island. That presented a unique ecological problem, according to Anna L Jacobsen, a professor and plant biologist at\u00a0California\u00a0State University, Bakersfield, who studied the island deer\u2019s relationship with its vegetation after its last major fires in 2006 and 2007.<\/p>\n
Jacobsen said when non-native deer eat shrubs already threatened by climate change, the native plants cannot regenerate or recover fast enough, and can become locally extinct. They are subsequently replaced by invasive grasses that ignite and spread fire faster than native species.<\/p>\n
In southern California, which has seen increasingly dangerous wildfire seasons in recent years, prevention \u201chas shifted away from, say, fuel reduction to focusing on ignitions\u201d, according to Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist who provides scientific advisory to California state and local governments.<\/p>\n
Seeing that loss, and increasingly concerned as wildfires become\u00a0more frequent across California, scientists sought deer population control measures.<\/p>\n
The conservancy examined contraception and sterilization for the deer, which Barton said was infeasible for such a large population. They considered fencing the animals, but it \u201cjust isn\u2019t a thing that would be approved\u201d, he said. Four decades of regular hunting seasons have not been enough to reduce populations. And introducing new predators would create new risks to native animals and local people, Barton said.<\/p>\n
That leaves total extermination. The conservancy filed for a restoration management permit with the California department of fish and wildlife, which in January approved the plan.<\/p>\n
Only a small population of deer will be sterilized \u2013 those living near the town of Avalon \u2013 and all others will be killed. Island residents will be allowed one last hunting season from late October to mid-December of this year.<\/p>\n
The meat from the deer killing will go to the California condor recovery program or local tribal groups, and Barton said deer carcasses near trails or roads will be removed; only those in steep, dangerous terrain will be allowed to decompose naturally. People traveling or hiking the island will not regularly see deer carcasses, Barton said.<\/p>\n
Still, the question over what to do about Catalina\u2019s deer has created a complex situation where \u201cpeople feel some strong attachment to the deer\u201d and it becomes difficult to see the science behind decisions, Moritz said. \u201cBut the fact is, you can\u2019t realistically constrain the deer to graze only targeted areas … From a scientific, ecological, and fire perspective, removal is the best way.\u201d<\/p>\n