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Oh Deer!" 2008 Environmental Forum

 

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The Forest Gumps of Hampshire High School Hampshire H.S.

                                                                                                                           10/30/2008

                                                                                                                            9:25:00 AM

We represent all the living things in the forest.  The deer population is taking it all away.  A

solution to this problem could be to increase the time for deer season.  This way more

hunters could have alot more time to hunt and kill off the over population of deer.  Hunters

 who love hunting will spend alot more time in the forest so deer will quickly disappear.  This

 will help the forest grow into a beautiful place, because there will not be a over abundance

 of deer to take it all away.  This could be a great sloution to our over populated deer

problem.

 

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Thoughtful_Question

  From:   Geico - Insurance Company - NHHS                                             Ask

                                                                                            11/5/2008           12:26:00 PM

     If you kill more deer and don't eat the meat or use the hide the deer will be just like

      the buffalo and will eventually become extinct further injuring the ecosystem.

       Response    The Forest Gumps of Hampshire High School -

                                                                                       11/7/2008        10:34:00 AM

             Killing the deer and not doing anything with them would be wrong. But the

             hunters here in hampshire county use the meat from the deer, and they also

             use the hides for many different things. increasing the season on hunting

             would give the hunters more deer to kill and make product from them. also

             making it legal to sell deer meat and hide at certain times would make sure

             that people arnt killing the deer just to kill them.

 

  From:   Team Car Ramrod - Other Stakeholder - NHHS                         Ask

                                                                                            11/5/2008           12:30:00 PM

     Well, your idea does make sense as it would lower the deer population but what

     about the deer. How is overhunting them humane. You are the forest apparently and

     the deer are part of the forest so why would you want to kill off all the deer.

     Sterilization is a much better solution as it will not harm the deer.

 

  From:   Deer Assassins - hunter - BGHS                                                        Ask

                                                                                          11/19/2008            7:45:00 AM

     What are you going to do with the deer that you kill?

     If hunters hunt all the time then eventually there will be no more deer.

     But once the deer population decreases will you want to change the law back

     because if hunting is all the then eventually the deer will die off? But i agree with

     hunting more just maybe instead of extending the hunting season maybe higher the

     bag limit to where more doe are killed.

 

  From:   Girl With Big Guns - hunter – BGHS                                                 Ask

                                                                                          11/21/2008            8:40:00 AM

     Hunters only want to help to keep the deer population in check. Why do you think

     hunters will wipe out the deer population completely?

 

  From:   Deer Assassins - hunter - BGHS                                                        Statement

                                                                                          11/25/2008            8:00:00 AM

     How do you know that the deer will disapear quickly?

 

 

 

Mystic Forest Hampshire H.S.

                                                                                                                           10/30/2008

                                                                                                                            9:30:00 AM

Like everyone else that love deers so do we. But we sometimes have problems with them

though. One of the many problems we have with deer is what they can sometimes do to the

forest. They strip the bark off of trees which in the winter the trees freeze and die.The

other big problem is that when the deer eat the young and little trees/seedlings.Some

people don't see deer eating the young trees/seedlings as a problem but it is! The reason

why we say this is because when the old trees have died or rooted up the young

trees/seedlings are sapose to take their place so there can be a forest. But when the deer

eat to much of the young trees/seedlings and when the old trees do die there is hardly

enough to replace the old trees. With out there being enough trees the forest starts to

decline. There are some good things that the deer do for the forest though. One of the

good things that the deer do is they eat enough trees to help prevent forest fires. The

other thing that the deer do is help feed our familys. So there is a balance of deer being

good but also not good.

 

 

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From:     Artist - Other Stakeholder - HHS                                               Ask

                                                                                          10/31/2008            9:32:00 AM

     How do humans help or disable the forest?

       Response    Mystic Forest - forest - HHS

                                                                                       11/3/2008        10:41:00 AM

             humans help and disable the forest by hunting deer. When they hunt deer it

             contorls the amount of deer.

  From:   Revenge of the Flora - forest - PHS                                           Ask

                                                                                          11/12/2008             8:12:00 AM

     Do you feel that there is an overpopulation of deer? If so, how would you address

     it? Also what exactly is the correlation between the overpopulation of deer and

     forest fires?

       Response    Mystic Forest - forest - HHS

                                                                                       11/14/2008      9:34:00 AM

             I do think that there is a overpopulation of deer I would address it by having

             maybe two hunting seasons then just one. Deer halp keep forest fires down

             by sometimes eating the right amount of the young trees/seedlings.

  From:   Deer Assassins - hunter - BGHS                                                        Ask

                                                                                          11/19/2008            7:49:00 AM

     How do people disable the forrest?

  From:   Buck Masters - hunter - BGHS                                                          Statement

                                                                                          11/19/2008            8:27:00 AM

     the deer horning the trees is a part of the deer's life it is how they mark boundaries

     there is not a way to stop deer from doing it.

  From:   Girl With Big Guns - hunter – BGHS                                                 Statement

                                                                                          11/21/2008            8:26:00 AM

     definitely have their positive and negative traits. There are ways that hunters can

     really help to thin out the population but not so much as to unbalance nature

  From:   Deer Assassins - hunter - BGHS                                                        Ask

                                                                                          11/25/2008            8:04:00 AM

     How do you plan to keep the deer from killing the plants?

 

 

 

Revenge of the Flora Petersburg H.S

                                                                                                                              11/5/2008

                                                                                                                            8:08:00 AM

Voraciously chewing up trees and seedlings, it places the forests of the eastern United States in danger of becoming pasturelands or small tree farms. It’s not a new parasite that’s causing the destruction of our forest but a familiar antlered animal we call deer.
The lush forest floor we once knew is rapidly being stripped of the saplings and small plants that keep the forest thriving. There is an excessive overpopulation of deer. The healthy 16 deer per square mile has risen to an astonishing 67(DCNR)! Certain types of trees such as the sugar maple, black birch, and yellow birch are especially attractive to the appetites of these mammals. These species have become hard to find while others remain largely untouched by the deer.  The plants that have gone unnoticed by the deer have spread throughout forest floors stealing the valuable sunlight from others.
With a declining habitat quality and increasing agricultural damage something needs to be done about the vast overpopulation of deer. The deer are not only hurting the habitat, they’re hurting themselves. The physical condition of these huge herds of deer is declining with the increase of Lyme disease and chronic wasting disease.
We believe hunting to be the most efficient, cost effective, and beneficial solution to the deer overpopulation problem. Hunting must increase in order to save deer from themselves, keep them from harming others, and prevent deforestation. After all, the only species capable of consciously acting to save another species is mankind.
Our suggestion includes extending the hunting season and increasing the number of deer each hunter can eliminate indefinitely. An assessment of the deer population at the end of each season will determine whether the policy will be continued.


http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/sfrmp/foresthealth.htm

 

 

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  From:   Deer Assassins - hunter - BGHS                                                        Ask

                                                                                          11/19/2008            7:52:00 AM

     How many deer would people be able to kill if they increase the number?

  From:   Buck Masters - hunter - BGHS                                                          Ask

                                                                                          11/19/2008            8:30:00 AM

     how can you blame everything on the deer other species eat just as much?

  From:   Girl With Big Guns - hunter – BGHS                                                 Statement

                                                                                          11/21/2008             8:31:00 AM

     The overpopulation of deer is really affecting our future. I agree that longer hunting

      seasons should be demanded in order to reverse these negative effects.

  From:   Deer Assassins - hunter - BGHS                                                        Statement

                                                                                          11/25/2008            8:25:00 AM

     I agree That hunting season needs to be extended.

 

 

 

 

 

Wile E. Coyote North Harford H.S

                                                                                                                              11/5/2008

                                                                                                                           12:28:00 PM

The balance of the ecosystem is imperative because it is the basis of life. All things eventually lead back to the forest; it is important to manage and maintain proper biodiversity and homeostasis in the ecosystem.  Many species rely on the ecosystem for basic necessity of life. 
The over population of deer has devastated our forest because they are browsing and consuming the undergrowth. Therefore, forest regeneration is at an all time low; the habitat is being destroyed and the carrying capacity is decreasing. The ecosystem is the corner stone of the world, and the over population of deer is depleting it.
Reintroducing wolves would eventually bring balance to the forest ecosystem.  Also, this would increase the biodiversity of the forest, and more biodiversity is a good thing.
The reintroduction of the wolves into the forest would allow natural “keystone” predators to manage the deer population.  This would allow the natural food chain to occur with no further human involvement.
According to an article posted on Science Daily, the reintroduction of wolves has been monitored and recorded. “While it is too early to confirm the wide spread recovery of various plants, the reintroduction of wolves appears to have put a stop to major declines in the survival of these plants.” Researchers have concluded that the introduction of wolves has been beneficial in the long run.
The good points about reintroducing the wolves to their natural environment would be that there will be an increase in self reliance. With this reintroduction, there would be no need for human intervention because the forest would be self sufficient.
There are potential negative aspects to this situation. An example of this would be the cost of having to buy and ship wolves. Also, whenever a carnivorous animal is introduced there is a small chance that humans or livestock could be injured.

 

 

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Moderator Comment: I notice that, despite your name, you don't mention the growing population of coyotes in the East as a possible solution.  How do you respond to the Moderator's Coyote Challenge on the eForum's home page?

  From:   Farmers of Mt. Vista - farmer - MVGS                                       Statement

                                                                                          11/13/2008            9:22:00 AM

     We agree with your idea for the natural predators.  We think this will be an accurate

      and effective solution for the deer overpopulation, and that it will restore the

     natural balance of these animals.  We also understand that these predators may cost

      money, but we believe it will be worth it.  Farmers will have less crops destroyed

     each year, and make more money.  Insurance companies will save money by not

     paying for the car accidents deer cause.  So, even though increasing predators may

     cost money, it will pay itself back by the savings that less deer will bring.Thank you

     for your ideas!

  From:   Deer Assassins - hunter - BGHS                                                        Statement

                                                                                          11/19/2008            8:04:00 AM

     There will still be car accidents even in the deer population in smaller

  From:   Buck Masters - hunter - BGHS                                                          Ask

                                                                                          11/19/2008            8:35:00 AM

     I do not agree with bringing in wolves. eventually they start to kill off other species

     and then they will kill off coyotes. do you really want that?

  From:   Geico - Insurance Company - NHHS                                                  Ask

                                                                                          11/21/2008            8:36:00 AM

     Reintroducing wolves will decrease the deer population drastically. This will make it

     next to impossible for hunters to kill any deer themselves. What happens when the

     wolf population is drastically multiplying causing damage to livestock and all other

     species?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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