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Laura Simon is field director of The Urban Wildlife Program of The Humane Society of the United States and is based in Woodbridge, Conn.
A recent study by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies casts doubt on a widely held assumption about deer, biodiversity and forest regeneration.Yale researchers set up an intensive field survey to see how local deer numbers affect forests in six western Connecticut towns. The results were recently published in the Journal of Wildlife Management. The researchers looked closely at the relationship between deer and plant abundance, diversity and forest regeneration. In study plots, researchers identified, measured and counted plants and recorded deer browsing levels. Then they correlated the data with deer numbers at each site.The study found that areas with higher numbers of deer did not show more negative impacts on plant growth or biodiversity. The researchers hypothesized that in these locations, forest conditions may be determined more by other factors such as those related to our land development practices.The researchers cautioned against automatically assuming a link between high deer densities and negative environmental effects based on studies from other areas. They point out that deer and forest dynamics can vary tremendously between locations.So if deer are not causing the loss of biodiversity and forest regeneration, then hunting deer won't provide the kind of landscape that people want to see.The reality is that Fairfield County's forests, like most in the Northeast, are shaped by many direct and indirect influences. These include acid rain, insect damage, disease, development, pollutants, fast-growing invasive and non-native plants, and more.This study suggests that addressing the complex problems affecting Connecticut's forests will require a much more comprehensive approach than attempting to reduce deer numbers through hunting.
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