FOREST ECOLOGY

Forest ecologists study the complex system of forests and all their components.  Among many other topics, this includes the study of the interaction between deer and the forest plants. 
The problem may not be the deer

Often the rationale given by Agencies for killing deer includes the assertion that the deer are in some way destroying the forest.  but the picture is often more complex, and sometimes quite different from that painted by the authorities.

ROCK CREEK PARK GOT IT WRONG
A scientific analysis by Yale University forest ecologist Dr. Oswald Schmitz shows that the data from a study relied on by the Park Service as a basis for killing the deer provide direct and strong evidence that the deer have no adverse impact on forest regeneration in the Park. Examining a well designed and executed study cited by the NPS as the major basis for their action Dr. Schmitz demonstrated that by the time woody plants reach approximately 3 to 6 feet there is no difference in the amount of woody plant cover between the plots protected from deer and those that are not. So they are not damaging forest regeneration even though the deer do eat seedlings. It is like a gardener thinning out seedlings for a vegetable garden.. It doesn’t hurt the mature crop because most of the seedlings would have to die anyway.   Dr. Schmitz’s analysis is available here .


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OPTIMUM DEER DENSITY IS COMPLEX
Although most deer management authorities act as though the fewer deer the better, and NPS seems to set the same optimum density for every forested area it manages, the picture is actually much more complex.  There can be too few deer.  The "just right" density changes from location to location.  See these references
Other causes may be the problem
EXOTIC SPECIES ARE THE REAL PROBLEM IN ROCK CREEK  PARK   Although the Park Service premised its decision to kill native deer on the need to protect the native plant species in the Park,  the Record shows that a much more serious threat to the native vegetation is the invasion of non-native “exotic” plant species – caused in large part by the ornamental landscaping that adorns many of the private houses and office buildings that surround the Park. In fact, the Administrative Record shows that the invasion of exotic plant species has been a serious problem for this Park for many years.
Appeal Brief   pp 12-14

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 Picturekudzu vines in Rock Creek Park
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