I first started to hear about deer population problems two summers ago when I went to a town hall meeting in Cornwall, N.Y.  At this meeting, any concerned person could learn about and discuss the deer population with other residents and a panel of people from the area who had experience with or jobs related to deer.  The range of responses at this meeting amazed me.  Some argued that there was no deer problem.  Others claimed that deer populations were only in the nearby forest and not actually in the town.  One woman's repeated announcement that "nature will take care of the deer" was met with the majority of the attendees quickly casting aside any amiability and reacting with sheer disagreement.  Fortunately, less than two years later, residents have been more educated on the subject of deer and a deer management program has been implemented in the area due to the actions of a certain woman, Emily Thomas. 

The people claiming that deer populations were not observable in the town would be shocked to find out how many deer were actually estimated in the area.  Several staff at Black Rock Forest and I conducted a population estimate of the deer in the town of Cornwall, New York and came up with a number of about 70 deer per square mile.  This is horrifyingly high compared to the controllable, ideal deer population size of 10 to 20 deer per square mile. 

Later on at the town hall meeting, another woman proclaimed, "If you don't want deer, move to the city".   I wonder if she'd be surprised to hear that deer are recently being spotted in New York City in Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx, which is not the first spotting of deer in a city.  Just last year, John Rhea saw a deer on the street on his way to the mail box in Washington, D.C. He managed to capture a picture on his phone but when the transfer from the phone to the internet did not work, he created this photoshopped version to share what he saw. 

Hearing the incorrect and quick-to-react responses to deer population problems can be avoided if each of us educates ourselves and others on the issue.  Once we realize if there is a problem and to what severity it exists, a management plan can be determined that best deals with the deer overpopulation.