Sharpshooters May Take on Camp David Deer

[DoYouEverWonder]

April 7, 2005, 8:55 PM EDT

HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- Too many deer roam the woods surrounding the presidential retreat at Camp David, and the government is considering sharpshooters as one way to manage the outsize herd, an official said Thursday.

A workshop will be held April 20 to gather public comment on four alternatives derived from more than 20 years of study at the 9.1-square-mile Catoctin Mountain Park.

The alternatives include using National Park Service sharpshooters to kill approximately 900 white-tailed deer; using fencing, repellents and contraceptives; using a combination of lethal and nonlethal controls; or doing nothing.

The government will choose a strategy in 12 to 18 months, said Scott Bell, the park's environmental protection specialist.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-camp-david-deer,0,3987822.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines


OMG, they're going to kill Bambi. :sarcasm off:

This story is a good example of what's wrong with this country. First they spend 20 years studying the problem and they still can't figure out what to do? I wonder if the fundies will go nuts if they try to give the deer birth control?

[applegrove]

1. Oh please. There must be a fence around those deer. Perfect for a

canned Cheney hunt!

[truthisfreedom]

2. hmm. so they're letting pros with high-powered rifles and sights roam

camp david? this must be a first.

[rooboy]

3. Shouldn't they just tether them so Dick Cheney and Scalia can have a go?

eom

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. I'm surprised Bush isn't going to hunt 'em down himself

BTW: Has Bush ever even shot a rifle?

[rooboy]

17. Pickles could just scare 'em off with her passive smoke. n/t

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[jmowreader]

7. They're going to have to choose a combination

Even better than the fact that they spent 20 years studying the problem (which is that the deer have no predators because there is no deer hunting around Camp David and they've managed to kill off all the nonhuman predators) is that they're going to wait another 18 months to choose a strategy.

The strategy that will work: contraceptives, coyotes and hunting. They're going to have to hunt first because using coyotes alone means using a LOT of coyotes, and when you have that many coyotes, some of 'em are going to get bored with venison and start going down into town to dine on poodles. They can't use hunting alone because humans can't be trusted not to shoot all the deer. Contraceptives alone won't work because they do nothing to affect the currently-standing population, only the unborn deer, and the currently-standing population is stripping all of the bushes bare.

(There is a fourth strategy: live capture. Just capture half the deer population, box them up, ship them to Crawford, Texas, and let them clear the brush from Bush's pig farm. They'll do a better job than Dubya ever could, and they'd give him the time to do the duties 59 million people voted for him to do. This will never happen for one simple reason: if they send deer to Dubya's "ranch," the deer will take away the only thing Bush does well.)

[Kyregan]

8. I wouldn't be surprised

if they managed to botch up all of those methods and then waste tons of time, effort, and money on the incident.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Strip all the Bushes bare

On no please don't do that? Just looking at those jerks with their clothes on is bad enough. Haven't we have suffered enough already?

[rodeodance]

10. does George have pigs on his farm in Crawford?

[EFerrari]

11. No, just at the big house : )

[jmowreader]

12. No, Rent-a-Cow

They bring 'em in for Dubya visits and haul 'em out when Bush goes back to DC.

We call it the pig farm because before Dubya bought it, that's what it was.

[Silverhair]

15. No. The previous owner raised pigs. NT

[MileHiStealth]

47. "does George have pigs on his farm in Crawford?"

Yup .... Delay, Rove, Babs ....

[alarimer]

39. yes

I am sure the area is fenced off for security reasons so the deer have been left alone for a long time. I say hunt the deer but give the meat to charity. Otherwise it would be a waste.

[LizW]

13. Deer contraceptives?

Then the deer could be having sex just for fun! We can't have that!

:evilgrin:

[LevelB]

34. Even worse...

where will they get a pharmacist to fill the Rx? :rofl:

B.

[qazplm]

14. those sharpshooters better be careful...

last deer I saw were possessed by Samara and going after people in cars!




Ok, those were CGI deer, but still!

[Catchawave]

16. Immunocontraception studies sound perfect for

this environment ! More info here:

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/immunocontraception/index.html

[DeaconBlues]

18. Another excellent use of taxpayer money

I hope they decide to use contraceptives and other non-lethal tools, but with this crowd, its pretty futile to expect anything but bloodshed.

[Botany]

19. With a background in ecology and botany

Deer over population is a huge problem. It strips out native plants, song birds,
and they are tremendous vectors for lime disease. Nationwide the population
levels are not healthy. Contraception is very expensive and not all that effective.

Some large predators are returning to the ecosystem but not in #s to effect the
White Tail population. Besides in the suburb urban interface and in many rural
areas a cougar or wolf pack is not the answer.

Shooting them is. Does should be chief targets because they cause the population
dynamics to spike. But for God's sake do not let * have a gun.

Deer are nice but so are Wood Thrushes, Trillium, Bloodroot, and Linderia.

BTW WTF are they spending money to study this? The science has been done.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[Robb]

21. Well, to be fair

...it sounds like most of the time is some sort of public comment period, like when USFS changes a forest plan.

Me? I vote they reintroduce cougars. :evilgrin:

[Botany]

22. Me too.

and send president bunny pants out for a jog in the woods. In a tan outfit
with a white tail and some buck musk all over him?

[MADem]

33. Who wants a fun hat?

[DoYouEverWonder]

23. Don't you think

jackels might be more appropriate?

[Redstone]

24. No, thank you.

I sure like wildlife, but would just as soon not have any cougars / mountain lions around. Wolves and coyotes and bobcats manage to perform their predatory functions without attacking people, but not so mountain lions.

Even as dangerous as GRIZ can be, they don't actually stalk people like mountain lions do. Shiver.

Redstone

[Botany]

25. So what is the problem w/ cougars ......

...... stalking you know who @ Camp David?

[Robb]

26. Being serious for a moment

(alert the media!) :D

...the big cats are also much more efficient at controlling deer populations than wolves or coyotes, too. We're starting to see a few around here again (backwater CO). It's like a deer buffet in this state.

[kineneb]

29. Agreed - too many deer=serious damage

Deer breed like large rabbits. There is nothing romantic about them, especially after they devastate a garden. Simple solution: shoot the deer, and give the meat to the food pantries. Venison is tasty if cooked slowly. And probably healthier than any beef found in a grocery store. After all, they were just eating plants not a lot of chemicals.

[TheWraith]

35. Not to mention the fact that they're stupid and aggressive.

And if you think that an herbivore can't be aggressive, you haven't met many deer. I've seen them literally chase down a car in order to jump in front of it. Their ecosystem niche really is as a cheap, dumb food source for wolves and the like. Don't get me wrong, I love looking out back of my house and seeing a herd crossing the field, but I'd love it even more if there were a bunch of wolves watching with me.

[WillParkinson]

36. Oh yes, I agree...

Oh, wait, I thought you meant people. Never mind.

People amuse me greatly. We destroy entire ecosystems so that nature is out of balance and figure we can fix it if we destroy more. Sure, that'll work. It's been doing just fine all these years, right.

[SOS]

27. Speaking of uncontrolled overpopulation...

Camp David is in Frederick MD.
Maryland human population figures:

1800:....342,000
1900:.1,188,044
2000:.5,296,486

+ 1,500 %

Humans might want to look in the mirror when it comes to overpopulation and ecosystem destruction.

[BornLeft]

42. Actually it's Thurmont, MD. n/t

And "Fredneck" is sort of close.

[SOS]

44. Does Frederick County count?

nt

[BornLeft]

48. yeah "Fredneck"

county is alright i suppose.

[mbperrin]

28. What? No shock and awe?

OMG, here we go with another "cakewalk." You might be surprised how wily those deer insurgents can be! For gawd's sake, don't leave ammo caches lying around!

Soooooooooo glad we have solved all the problems of human housing, hunger and medical care in this country so that we have time to worry that there are "too many" deer.

There damn sure are too many politicians.........

[LdyGuique]

31. We have a nice supply of brown bears up here in Alaska

that have been targeted for "baiting" this spring to lower their predation on the moose population. While I realize that there are no moose in the Bushes, deer would be a nice alternative -- and the freepers who live in and around Camp David.

Grizzly bears wandering out of their winter dens in the eastern interior of Alaska this spring may be in for a lethal surprise - for the first time, hunters can kill the animals after attracting them with bacon grease, doughnuts and other bait. Continued . . .

Brown bears are a fun species and take no prisoners if riled up. Stupidity riles them a whole lot. A new campaign slogan: "Bush Protects Wildlife through Personal Sacrifice."

Bush could revive the Theodore Roosevelt campaign of making Grizzlies aka brown bears the national symbol instead of the Eagle.

[mbperrin]

32. By gosh, I think you're ONTO something!

Second the motion on the personal sacrifice theme! ;)

[Bridget Burke]

46. A pack of wolves & a few mountain lions ....

Could also be moved to Camp David. Together with the bears, they'd trim the deer population nicely.

And if a couple of Republicans went missing--well, they aren't exactly an endangered species.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

30. Everyone is missing the real problem which is not

mentioned...

The deer set off the infrared and acoustic sensors on the perimeter of the compound and that makes the SS have to work too hard.

[SoCalDem]

37. Maybe someone can drag one over to the truck, so Dick can blast it

:grr:

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

38. Wouldn't it be funny...

If all the sharp-shooters got there and then couldn't find any deer?

I mean, I'm just saying. It would be freaking ironic.

[INDIA]

40. Wow...

another misuse of the word "ironic". Please explain the irony.

[mbperrin]

41. OK, pick definition 3.

Irony is an implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.
Three kinds of irony:

1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means something else.
2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.
3. irony of situation is a discrepency between the expected result and actual results.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

43. Wow...

Another pseudo-intellectual brought down by basic ignorance.

Say "Hi" to all the fellow at the Cato Institute for me, won't you?

[southlandshari]

45. Not an easy call, actually

Alabama's Oak Mountain state park has faced the same, growing problem over the years - overpopulation of deer, which in and of itself is a threat to deer.

I'm not making a call one way or the other on what should be done. I'm not an ecologist, a hunter or an animal rights activist. I do know that in our state's case, the deer were suffering malnutrition and even death because the herd outgrew the local habitat and its ability to sustain them.

Alabama chose to allow 70 bow hunters in to the park last year. Again, I'm not arguing for or against this, just found it interesting in light of the current discussion. More info here:

http://www.al.com/specialreport/birminghamnews/?121303deer.html

[Thor_MN]

49. So once again * says "The buck stops over there"

Somebody take care of it....