There will be public input meetings for 3 nights, starting TONIGHT. Our Federal gov has now determent that the Sika deer is a resource THEY now want to do away with. They claim because it's not native, well neither are the horses! They claim because the Sika are destroying other resources...are they eating to many greenbriars? myrtle bushes maybe? They want to protect resources yet want ideas how to get more visitors on the island at one time {can ya feel a new bridge coming? or maybe some more parking lots?} How many of those parking lots or bath houses or boardwalks are NATIVE RESOURCES? They say they want public input but this is the first notice I've seen {the day of the meeting}. Coincidence they don't tell you what building and room # at Wor Wic? It's in the student center room 302, you have to go through special channels to find that out. Why is it a new, "not from here" superintendent thinks its OK to destroy a locally loved recourse for several generations that also brings in alot of off season income to many local businesses in the off season. If you Cherish this resource, the Sika deer, this will be your ONLY chance to discourage the governments take over of your resource, your tradition, your heritage, your treasure....your passion.
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfmparkId=207&projectId=26140&documentID=29148
Unbelievable, if they are doing so much damage why not let more hunters on the island to harvest them back to a managable herd. They are the best tasting deer you will ever eat. Also didnt they just add land to Black water with tax payer money?
ReplyDeleteyou do realize that there have been scheduled sika deer hunts on Assateague for well over 30 years, right? I doubt that they are planning on eradicating them completely. and yes, they eat too many greenbriars and Myrtle- the White-tailed deer population on the Island is virtually non-existant because the Sika have taken over.
ReplyDeleteBTW- that link takes you to an error page.
it is true that they compete with the native white tail deer. the Sika actually are more opportunistic eaters. they will eat the white tail deer favorite food first, then can move on. white tailed deer dont have much of a chance.
ReplyDeleteBTW: I used to be a park ranger in the 80's.
Corrected URL:
ReplyDeletehttp://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkId=207&projectId=26140&documentID=29148
I love that island, I first started hunting there as a kid. I still remember being down there in the early morning, Mr Davis, Mr Alexander,Mr Hazel and all the old bow hunters. I dont remember them ever having a white-tail season, I could be wrong though.
ReplyDeleteThis is all Obama's fault...
ReplyDeleteThe Sika have been reduced to well below a manageable heard via large bag limits {this year its 4 deer per weapon}...and at the same time whitetail numbers have been brought back up to above good numbers. With hunters and biologist, deer have been kept at or below a manageable herd. While their eradication has been a threat for some years now, with the new superintendent, it's clear she intends to push for the final phase. They have also taken measures to control the horses too, their not native either, are they next for eradication or is it actually the hunters that are no longer welcome there? Heck...if its the "native" reason for their motives...lets go back a few hundred thousand years instead of 50 or 75...when only dinosaurs were native..lets eradicate everything!
ReplyDeleteAre the park rangers native? How about we get rid of them
ReplyDelete2:45 Thats interesting, think that is it, no hunters wanted?
ReplyDeleteEradicate my Sika, I will eradicate your horses. Read their so called news letter...I'm so sick of selfish idiotic government know-it-alls! Eradicate some of the nuisance visitors that stop in front of the NO STOPPING signs to feed the nuisance horses beside the DONT FEED THE HORSES sign!
ReplyDeleteThey preach save the resources after they just built several new parking lots and bathhouses....hypocrites!!!!
Did anybody catch the recent tv special on the farmers in california whos crops have died for lack of water.
ReplyDeleteWater that has been diverted to save a sardine. If we closed the camping areas look much more there would be for the deer.
They are much cuter than those nasty horses that poop on the roadway. A lot of time those damn horses will stay on the road which makes all the folks from jersey, pennsylvania and quebec real fussy.
Next, you do gooders will want to save all the resident Canada geese! I say shot them all. No limit, just lock and load. As far as the sika, it is only a matter of time before they get to the mainland, more rats with hooves. Take them out before they become a real problem.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of geese, if they really want to control the resident goose population, why does the season end Sept. 15? Most fields still have standing crops which leaves slim pickins for an opportunity at resident geese. On the western shore, the season runs till the end of september. As far as sikas, I have hunted and seen both animals feeding at the same time. Neither seemed aggressive towards the other. I have often heard that sikas will run off the whitetails, however after observing them together, I have my doubts. Sometimes I just think a sika will live in areas less desirable to whitetails. The meat is definitely better tasting. I wouldnt want them totally eradicated, it is one of the few places to be able to see a good stag that close up (standing on the side of the road). My daughter loves to go down there and see them.
ReplyDeleteFirst the Sika, then the white tails.
ReplyDelete6:41 PM- Sika are already on the mainland. they were introduced by a hunt club years and years ago in Dorchester county (as was the herd on Assateague). Blackwater and the Cambridge area sports a sizable population.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for it being tastier than White-tail? that's because it's actually a sub-species of Elk, believe it or not.
Here's an idea, let's introduce grey wolves into Assateague. They will cure us of the deer population and most of the damn Pennsylvania and Jersey tourists too.....
ReplyDeleteWell I must say that the ponies cause no end of trouble, always getting out of thier enclosures and damaging things. Of course, they are the bread and butter of the Chincoteague economy. The sika deer are an invasive species, and therefore compete with native species for resources. Thier population is out of control, therefore we have the annual hunt to try and reduce the population. Even if we wanted to we could not eradicate them entirely. This year we didn't even fill up all the hunt zones, because people didn't show up for stand by.
ReplyDelete