We live in the woods. Trees surround our house on all sides; in fact, our home backs to one of the county parks. Whenever my husband and I are hankering for the great outdoors, all we need to do is walk outside and a wooded trail awaits us. When visitors stay with us, they sit on our back porch and take in view of the trees, commenting on the calming effect of being with nature.
Of course, living among the trees, as we do, involves everything else that lives in trees, like birds, raccoons, squirrels, bugs, deer, and much more. This is our first summer in our home, and so far, we’ve found birds living in an opening on the backside of our house, their nest wedged into our siding; we noticed another family of robins living in a nest on top of our outdoor light; my husband has cleaned up our garbage more than once from the friendly raccoon we see scurrying away from our yard; and now, we have ants crawling through a hole beneath our kitchen window where, apparently, they’ve launched a campaign to reach our pantry where we store the sugar.
We’re beginning to feel overrun by Mother Nature and her many children. Sure, we love keeping a vegetable garden, a bin full of worms for composting, a compost container in our kitchen, and using environmentally friendly products that won’t harm the local water supply; in fact, living in the woods was important to my husband and me because we wanted our children to grow up surrounded by more trees and less concrete.
Of course, the question, for me and my family, now is, does Mother Nature and the glory of her many children appreciate the overabundant presence of their human neighbors?
This past weekend our family traveled to Valley Forge National Historic Park, where some 1200 white tailed deer can be seen grazing in the lush fields and forests, and are described by locals as “out of control and destroying the place.”
According to the National Parks Conservation Association: “Current deer density is approximately 14 times greater than then that recommended by the state to maintain forest regeneration. This concentration of deer threatens forest health and visitor safety.“
Currently, Valley Forge National Historic Park is working to implement a deer management program to control the abundant deer population. Methods for “thinning the deer population” include sterilization, hiring snipers to kill the deer, introducing natural predators to the park, and capturing the deer and releasing them elsewhere. Based on what the most recent local news source says, environmental groups are on board with Valley Forge holding its “first ever deer hunt.”
In news from last summer, alligators, raccoons, birds, and snakes are wandering into neighborhoods in Florida because their natural habitats, Everglade marshlands, are short on water. Fortunately, last week Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced a 1.75 billion deal to buy the U.S. Sugar Corporation, which includes 187,000 acres of farmland that once sat in the Everglades.
Posted on the Everglades Foundation website, Senior Scientist Dr. Tom Van Lent remarks:
“The significance of this cannot be overstated. This acquisition will provide the land needed to construct a reliable water supply for the Everglades much faster and at a lower cost than previously envisioned. It will allow us to eliminate about 85 percent of the damaging releases to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee, and it will do so decades earlier than we thought possible.”
So, there is hope for the Everglades, the animals who are seeking refuge in Florida suburbia, and the folks living in suburbia who wake up finding alligators in their swimming pools.
Admittedly, the overpopulation of animals and animals displaced from their natural habitat are unique to the environment and situation created by human beings and the evolution of Mother Nature. However, whatever the circumstances for man invading nature, or nature invading man’s “territory,” there is something to beg for when considering the humanity of population management methods.
In our own time, human beings are confronting the problem of our own overpopulation. In China, overpopulation was dealt with by limiting the number of children born to a family; now, additional children are permitted, but women who give birth before a certain age are fined.
Might we apply the same population management methods for animals to our own population crisis? Of course, in many cultures young women are discouraged from having children too soon, birth control is widely available, and some environmentalists are choosing not to have children. But it would be considered obtuse to suggest “thinning” the human population with murder, though sometimes I wonder at the prevalence of war and violence in our human communities, and the outcomes that inevitably result: fewer people.
When I sat down to write this post, I wanted to reflect on how I might manage our home environment and how to cope with living with the animals who live around us. I want to live peacefully, have respect for the animals, and yet find ways to keep them out of our indoor spaces; and yet, I realize that we are the true invaders here, offsetting the natural balance of the woodlands.
What do you think? Is it necessary to manage animal populations with violence? Is it possible to find compassionate ways for coping with the abundance and presence of animals in human communities? And last, what is the best and most holistic approach to balancing human and animal populations on Planet Earth and for the health of Mother Earth?
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Image courtesy of PDPoto.org
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June 27th, 2008 at 5:51 am
I’ve got a lot to say… but I’m going to keep it short.
-Try stuffing dryer sheets in the hole that ants are coming in. They don’t like them, and they worked for me when I had a similar problem. Mint will work, too. Also, I keep anything ants will like (bread, sugar, cereal, etc.) in the fridge, in the microwave, or in a sealed container that I know they can’t get in.
-I have a ton of wildlife in my backyard, too. A few deer, a bunch of turkeys. We counted 13 baby turkeys and now they’re down to only two. I actually witnessed a hawk grab one of them, it was sad… but the hawk probably had a family to feed, too.
-Deer are overpopulated. My great-grandfather never saw a deer until he was in his 60’s, because the numbers were so low and then they came back. The predators that kill them (coyotes, wolves, etc.) aren’t keeping the numbers down. Hunting has also greatly decreased. The population will crash, eventually, if there’s imbalance in the ecosystem, due to lack of food, or a disease (there’s a wasting disease similar to mad cow in deer), or some other natural thing. I believe in hunting responsibly, and I’ve eaten all different kinds of meat that my husband has shot. However, I don’t believe in hunting for sport only. But hey, I have a deer head and a caribou head on my wall, so who am I to judge?
-The best thing, in my opinion, that we can do to reduce world population is to support the education of women. If a woman has just an 8th grade education, she will have half as many children as a woman who doesn’t, for all different reasons. Availability of birth control for those who want it is also important.
-Of course I don’t think anyone has the right to dictate how many children people can have. Theoretically, if we all had 2, there would be no population growth. The reality in the developing world is that it’s not always possible to limit family size. But, I think if women are educated and birth control is available, it would do wonders to help with human overpopulation.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:17 am
From what I’ve read regarding Valley Forge’s deer overpopulation problem, one argument for “thinning” the population is that the deer are causing an imbalance in the ecosystem there (although it is my opinion that this has become an issue because the national parks are concerned with preserving the historicity of the park). However, any deer that would be killed by snipers at Valley Forge are not, according to the media sources I’ve located, being used for meat because it is not FDA certified. This means that the deer hunted at Valley Forge are being burned and buried.
I personally don’t believe in hunting for sport, and I still haven’t made up my mind whether killing and eating animals is a humane choice. At the same time, I understand that meat eating is practiced in many cultures throughout the world and likely is not going to disappear as a practice any time soon.
As far as the overpopulation of deer is concerned (or the presence of animals displaced from their natural habitats to suburban neighborhoods ), it seems that man creates these problems. We killed off natural predators for deer (because those predators would kill us), and now we must find a way to manage the overpopulation of deer. We destroyed parts of the Everglades, and the animals left the Everglades and wandered into human neighborhoods.
Honestly, I am not certain what the answer is or should be to coping with problems of overpopulation. I raise the issue of human overpopulation because we would never consider dealing with our own overpopulation with outright violence. I agree that educating women is a positive measure for all cultures, although at the same time, how many children a woman chooses to have must be a decision left up to the individual culture, family, and childbearing woman. At the same time, as a species, we have an overpopulation problem.
These issues are complicated, and sigh, all I wanted to think about, as I noted, when I sat down to write, was how to cope with the birds, ants, and raccoons in my own yard and house. We cannot ignore the fact that we are all interconnected and at times are stomping all over each other.
Harmonious living, nature and all, is possible though, isn’t it?
June 27th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I agree that the deer problem and other pest problems are due to destruction of their habitats. Deer and other animals live in my backyard because it used to be their home before my house was built. We built a fence to keep them out of our garden, but I love seeing them here. They’re not a nuisance to me, but I worry about them being hit and about them injuring people in car accidents.
The sniper idea just sounds ridiculous. Why not open up deer hunting? That way families can eat the meat, as opposed to just burning the deer. Why kill them off at all? I think the problem is that people want to be in control.
You’ve come upon an interesting thought. Can we live harmoniously with nature? Since we planted the first seed and domesticated the first animal… and what about this fossil fuel mess we’re in now? Can we? I’m not sure. Sometimes I think we just need to go back to living off the land, raise our own animals, burn firewood, and stay at home. Go back in time like 200 years. Oh well, that’s a depressing thought, I would hope we could be more humane with all this progress.
June 27th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
GreenMamma, while I have no answers to any of your questions above, I just want to say I loved this article and agree with your viewpoints.
I wish people could demonstrate respect for all of nature and humbly consider all of the Earth’s resources as borrowed. This attitude actually seems to be emerging.
Viewing all of Mother Earth’s children (from ants to antelopes) with respect, empathy and even love seems to be a further leap. But isn’t it so rewarding?
June 28th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
GreenMamma, First I want to say I am new to your blog and I love it. You provide such inspiration and I hope to improve my life and the lives of my children by using some of your ideas.
Secondly- I think one of the main issues is the top of the food chain is missing. The animals that hunt the dear need territory and unfortunately man has taken it from them or just murdered them out of fear or sport. In Yellowstone, wolves have been reintroduced and the elk and deer populations have become more under control. The wolves are thriving and so is the rest of the ecosystem. Maybe if the government considered some reintroduction programs then some natural “thinning” could start to occur. Every ecosystem has such a delicate balance and unfortunately man’s reckless invasion of these ecosystems has brought forth problems that have no simple solutions. If they must be hunted then I believe they should be put to use just as the Native Americans did with their food. Use the hides for warmth, the meat for food, etc.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:51 am
Sharlene, I agree that all the deer meat and body should be used, just as the Native Americans did. It angers me that deer would be killed only to have their bodies burned and hidden. Perhaps Valley Forge will consider introducing natural predators, although in my opinion it is doubtful. While there, we walked a paved trail through the park and saw many locals enjoying the trail for running, walking, and leisure. I am not sure what the local feedback would be if the park decided to compromise human safety. And yet, they have an overpopulation problem . . . so? It is a complicated problem.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:53 am
Prasanna, of course I find it rewarding to direct positive energy and love towards all things, including animals, people, and our planet. The idea that the Earth’s resources are borrowed reminds me of how the Native Americans lived in harmony with nature, respecting all parts of life, including life taken (like animals killed for food, clothing, etc.). Christopher Columbus called them “God’s People” because of their love and respect for the earth.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:05 am
[...] last month I published this entry regarding Valley Forge National Historic Park’s deer population and desire for [...]