Doh! A Deer

Dealing with Deer is the Jan/Feb '08 issue cover story of Washington Gardener Magazine and obviously on the minds of many local folk who have seen their yards recently decimated by hungry deer. Today's MNCPPC press release (here) describes the public's reactions to a recently announced deer-control hunt expansion and it is eye-opening. Things sure have changed in the last 10 years!
A decade ago this kind of thing was vociferously protested as cruel and inhumane. Now the hunts are actually being welcomed and encouraged by area residents. In their current large numbers they are no longer so Disney-cute. Instead, the deer are being seen as a disease-carrying, destructive scourge on the level of roaches, pigeons, and rats. See our current issue for the latest methods local gardeners are using to deal effectively with this plague.