HARPSWELL ANCHOR • January 13, 2023
In the early 1900s, we exploited the deer herd in America, reducing it to fewer than 500,000. Thanks to regulated hunting seasons and the conversion of farmland to suburbia, the deer herd is now estimated at 34 million and growing. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife puts the population in Maine at 320,000. In Northern Maine the deer population is declining, partly due to changes in timber harvesting. In southern Maine deer have adapted to living among suburban developments and hunting access is increasingly restricted. Recent mild winters have resulted in higher survival and birth rates. Because deer are significant hosts to ticks, the Maine Medical Center Research Institute labels southern deer populations as a public health hazard. Here, deer densities may reach 40 per square mile, well beyond the carrying capacity of the land. Choose native plants for landscaping that deer will not eat. Fence your garden. Suspend deer feeding. If you have a few acres, consider allowing access to responsible hunters. ~ Ed Robinson