Experts Offer Solutions to New Jersey’s Deer Dilemma
By Nicola Suraci
Deer populations in Essex County are on the rise and advocates are promoting solutions that could help bring more balance to local ecosystems.
A campaign by Deer New Jersey, a nonprofit advocacy group, is aiming to educate communities about ethical ways to manage the state’s deer population, citing ecosystem, safety and public health concerns.
Joe Basralian, Project Coordinator for Deer New Jersey, shared opportunities for involvement in responsible and ethical deer stewardship at a recent meeting organized by the Great Swamp Watershed Association and held similar talks at various nonprofits throughout the state this past summer.
Deer consume native tree leaves, shrubs, vines and wildflowers faster than plants can regenerate, Basralian said. This “browsing pressure” removes understory vegetation used by native nesting birds to construct their habitat.
“When deer populations are high, it creates an ecological imbalance in plant life. Deer avoid eating most invasive plants, creating a desert in terms of diversity,” Basralian said. “We want farmers to be able to farm. We want all kinds of song birds, and pollinators to be able to thrive.”
Back in the early 1900’s deer were overhunted and endangered in New Jersey. But suburbanization and bans on hunting brought them roaring back. Now deer densities in many parts of northern New Jersey exceed ecologically sustainable levels, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Several factors have contributed to the increase.
Healthy ecosystems depend on predators keeping herbivore populations in balance, said Jay Kelly, a professor of environmental studies at Raritan Valley Community College. But New Jersey's populations of bobcats, bears, coyotes and other natural predators have declined.
Kelly said ecologically balanced forests typically support about 10 deer per square mile. In parts of New Jersey, however, deer densities have reached as high as 100 per square mile.
Hunting and Road Safety
As development has reduced access to land where recreational hunting can safely occur, hunting—which could help balance the lack of predators—has declined.
Byron DuBois, Senior Ecologist with the NJDEP and a recreational deer hunter, said that commercial and residential development expands areas where deer experience little “hunting pressure.”
“In New Jersey since the ‘80’s we were only allowed to shoot bucks,” DuBois said in an email exchange. “Given the no-hunting areas and lack of natural predation, deer had a steady [population] climb from the 1970s to [the year] 2000.”
The increase of deer has created hazards on our roadways. The state has about 15,000 deer-vehicle collisions each year, according to New Jersey Drives.
Lou Cassagrande, who manages the South Orange Pool, struck a deer with his car recently.
“The deer bounced off my hood,” he said. “I know people who have had accidents because of deer… higher up on their hood, hooves through the windshield, and events like that.”
Agriculture and health
The deer population creates challenges for farmers as well. In a recent survey of New Jersey farmers by the New Jersey Farm Bureau, one quarter reported abandoning parcels of land because the deer overpopulation was so significant. And 36% of the farmers surveyed had to trade down to a less desirable and profitable crop due to deer pressure.
Beyond road safety and agriculture, deer are hosts for adult black-legged ticks, making them the primary spreaders of Lyme disease.
Solutions
In response to these problems, the NJDEP has adjusted hunting regulations in parts of the state, while wildlife managers and municipalities continue evaluating how deer populations can be brought closer to sustainable levels.
Essex County runs a yearly deer culling program. During the winter season, the parks are closed for designated hunting days. Trained and licensed, volunteer marksmen are invited in.
Deer New Jersey’s Joe Basralian said he is a proponent of using the meat from culled deer to address food insecurity.
Essex County is already doing this in the South Mountain and Hilltop reservations. Deer killed in their annual culling is tested for disease and processed for meat, which is packaged and donated to the New Jersey Community Food Bank. According to county officials, more than 60,000 pounds have been donated since the program began in 2008.
Allison Mitchell, executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and an expert on New Jersey’s ecology, wrote that New Jerseyans are responsible for finding ways to solve the deer population crisis: “We owe it to our forests, our communities, and future generations to address the problems we’ve created for New Jersey’s wildlife and their habitats.”
Nicola Suraci is a senior at Columbia High School with a strong interest in biology and the life sciences. She plans to pursue a degree in biology and hopes to build a career in medicine to help others.