Barbour's Pond

Barbour's Pond
Barbour's Pond - November 11, 2013

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

More support for the deer hunt

This is a letter to the editor 2/16/10 The Record

Overreacting against deer hunt


All I know about the deer hunt on Garret Mountain is what I've read in The Record. In "Questions on hunt mount like deer" (Page L-1, Feb. 11) Columnist Mike Kelly says bow hunting is "medieval," that scientific conclusions about ecosystems seem "overly exaggerated" and that dialogue about deer is "hyper-embellished." With these comments at the heart of his column about the recent deer hunt on Garret Mountain, his general assessment is wrong.

The scientific reason for culling the deer is that they destroy the natural ecosystem because the deer density is too high in the county park. This is a serious problem that should be dealt with. One of the simplest solutions is a bow hunt, and the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders should be given credit for authorizing it.

It appears that Kelly is upset at United Bowhunters because they had not told him or The Record how many deer were killed. Have a little patience; the results should be made public. Similarly, a report on the amount of venison given to homeless people should be forthcoming. Kelly should commend the freeholders for giving the deer meat to homeless people, and not call it a "lame attempt at political correctness."

If the bow hunters were allowed to complete their mission, it could have been a success. However, as the momentum has turned against the hunt, it's easy to jump on the bandwagon and to conclude that the deer hunt was a bad idea.

Michael J. Sebetich

Hawthorne, Feb. 11

The writer, a bow and gun hunter, is an ecologist in William Paterson University's biology department.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Torrey Botanical Society plant walk - April 17, 2010

17 April (Saturday). GARRET MOUNTAIN RESERVATION, WOODLAND PARK/ WEST PATERSON, PASSAIC CO., N.J. Meet at 10:00 AM in the parking lot of Mina’s on the Mountain Restaurant in the strip mall along Rifle Camp Road opposite the Park. By car: via Route. 80, east or west-bound take Squirrelwood Road exit (Exit 56), bearing right and proceed through the light for about 0.5 miles to the intersection of Rifle Camp Road. Look for the strip mall with corner restaurant opposite the New Street Reservoir. By bus: Take NJ Transit 192 bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal in N.Y.C. Get off of the bus at the corner of Valley Road and Fenner Avenue in Clifton and could be met at the Getty Service Station for pick up and short shuttle to the meeting place. Please check most current bus schedule with NJ Transit in advance of the trip. Call first trip co-leader by early Friday evening so local transportation can be arranged. After a brief meeting we will car caravan via the lower Park loop road to the parking lot at the south end of the Pond. We will explore the south end of the Park for early spring flora of the First Watchung Mountain and compare our findings with the last previous trip here in April 2005. The trip will cover the most “natural” area of the Park and will be dedicated to the late Dr. S. Marie Kuhnen, botanist and educator. The trip will finish around 12 noon. Wear sturdy footwear for rocky/wet trails and bring beverage and insect repellant; binoculars and camera optional . Trip Leaders: Joseph A. Labriola, 863 Allwood Road, Apt. D-1, Clifton, N.J. 07012; 973-472-8451; jlabriola49@optimum.net and Dr. Barbara Brummer, State Director, The Nature Conservancy, NJ Chapter, Chester, N.J. , (908) 879-7262, Ext. 350, bbrummer@tnc.org.

NJ Dept of F&W - An Evaluation of Deer Management Options

New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife's website contains an evaluation of Deer management options. This report represents the lastest state of the science on deer management. An Evaluation of Deer Management Options

Freeholders suspend deer cull

Passaic County Freeholders have suspended the deer cull on Garret Mountain indefinitely. Too many questions have been raised about how United Bow Hunters handled the hunt and whether all rules were followed properly. Division of Fish and Wildlife says it has received several anonymous tips suggesting that there have been problems with the tagging process. This sounds like the fringe deer lovers have found a way to attack the hunt by contacting Fish & Wildlife with either truths or lies about the hunt. If the tagging was in question, was Division of Fish and Wildlife doing its job on site? Every deer was to be tagged and processed on site. Was Fish and Wildlife neglectful or were the bow hunters? Read The Record's Richard Cowen's story Freeholders suspend deer cull

Thursday, February 4, 2010

US Government Sharpshooters to cull National Park Deer Herd

Government sharpshooters will cull 2000 deer in 15 years from Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland to reduce the herd which has devoured so many saplings and low-hanging tree branches that the health of both the forest and the deer have suffered. Estimated deer density in the park is 123 per square mile is about eight times that of healthy forest ecosystems. If Garret Mountain has only 200 deer, and it may have 400-600, it would have an estimated density of 100 per square mile, still well over a healthy amount. Read more Sharpshooters hunt deer in park around Camp David

Monday, February 1, 2010

Deer-Vehicle Collision Frequency Jumps 18 Percent In Five Years

See link below to very recent (Sept 2009) press release from State Farm Insurance with updated public safety related data on the hazards posed by too many deer.
“Among the 35 states where at least 7,000 deer-vehicle collisions occur per year, ... New Jersey and Nebraska have posted the largest increases, 54 percent.”
Entire press release is here:
State Farm deer-vehicle collision Press Release

The alternatives to hunting simply don't work

The Record columnist James Ahearn offers his views on the Garret Mountain Deer Hunt read it here Ahearn: Bulletins from the deer-control front