Using professional hunters to shoot and kill all the deer on Catalina Island opposed by Supervisor Hahn

A plan to shoot and kill every single mule deer living on Catalina Island submitted by the island’s private conservancy for state approval as a method to re-balance island animal and plant life, has drawn opposition from L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn and Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.

Hahn, whose Third District includes the unincorporated portion of Catalina Island outside the city of Avalon, wants to stop the plan from moving forward, calling it “a drastic and inhumane approach.”

Almost two years ago, the Catalina Island Conservancy proposed using aerial marksmen in helicopters to shoot the deer. That part of the plan was dropped after a slew of negative publicity and after receiving 90,000 signatures in opposition on petitions, as well as opposition from the Board of Supervisors.

Instead, the CIC’s revised plan would use professional hunters who would roam the island with rifles on the ground. The plan calls for eradication of the island’s entire deer population — estimated at 2,040 — within five years.

The plan still would use helicopters as eyes in the sky for scoping out deer and for dropping aerial nets to enclose, entangle and immobilize the animals and thereby making it easier for them to be shot and killed. Also, the plan calls for using dogs that would sniff out mule deer hiding under trees or in steep terrain, according to details found in the CIC’s restoration plan.

“Once a deer is detected (by the dogs), the deer would walk into the open and the specialists would be able to shoot the deer safely,” explained Pepe Barton, director of communications for the CIC on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

The conservancy is awaiting approval of its application to eradicate the deer from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, as part of an overall habitat restoration and fire-management plan. That permit is “still under review and has not yet been approved,” said Cort Klopping, spokesperson for the CDFW on Wednesday.

The CIC’s plan says the mule deer eat native plants and sprouts, damaging the ecology of the island and paving the way for more invasive grasses which burn more easily in a fire. So, the plan says eliminating all the deer would lessen the risk of an out-of-control wildfire. The last wildfire on the island occurred in 2007.

In her letter to the CDFW, Hahn said the exact opposite is true. In summarizing an accompanying letter from Marrone, the county’s fire chief, Hahn wrote if all the deer were gone, that would raise the risk of a severe fire. “Without deer grazing, fuel loads would grow significantly, making wildfires more likely and more dangerous,” Hahn wrote in a recent statement.

Marrone wrote mule deer eat native plant stubs that are often replaced by invasive grasses, which follows the CIC plan principles. Yet, the chief said the fire intensity from the new grasses is not as strong as from the native plants.

However, without at least some deer eating vegetation from hillsides, it would “elevate wildfire risk to developed areas, particularly in Avalon and other locations where heavy fuels are present within 200 feet of structures,” he wrote. The island is listed as a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone,” by CalFire, the highest risk category.

Instead of total elimination, Marrone advocated thinning the mule deer population, but leaving some to eat away at fire fuels and serve as a natural fire protection.

“Conversely, maintaining a smaller, reduced mule deer population can provide a measurable reduction in understory vegetation and seedling establishment, moderating fuel continuity and, under certain conditions, improving firefighting effectiveness depending on weather, fuels, and topography,” wrote Chief Marrone.

The CIC maintains that the mule deer’s eating habits increase fire risk and their restoration management plan, which includes removing invasive plants that are more fire-prone and planting more native plants, is the best approach.

“I am not aware of any research saying deer are a mitigation for fire risk,” Barton said.

He also said the CIC works with the Los Angeles County Fire Department on creating defensible space between brush and structures. Last year, the conservancy reduced the amount of brush on 700 acres, Barton said.

The CIC’s “Catalina Island Restoration Project” rejects other ways for managing the deer, which roam throughout 48,000 acres.

The plan says sterilization is too difficult to do in such a large area. “Delivering and re-administering contraceptives to more than 2,000 deer across 48,000 rugged acres is logistically impossible,” the plan concluded.

Maintaining a small herd is also not possible, since the numbers would grow from rapid breeding, Barton said in an emailed response. The deer were imported to the island about 100 years ago for sport hunting. They’ve become island tourist attractions, like the Catalina Island bison and the island foxes, said Hahn.

Relocating them also would not work because most of the deer would not survive the journey, the plan stated. This was tried on Angel Island  in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1980s, where 85% of the deer died within the first year after relocation, the plan stated.

“Mule deer have been part of Catalina’s landscape for nearly a century, and they are deeply valued by the people who live on and visit the island,” Hahn said in a prepared statement. “I continue to hear from long-time residents who cherish these animals and want a more balanced, humane solution.”

In her letter, she urged the CDFW to work with the CIC and pursue alternatives to shooting all the deer, without increasing the fire risk, thereby finding a more humane option. She agrees with Marrone that keeping a smaller deer population would be a good solution to reducing wildfire risk and maintaining a balanced environment.

“I am asking the state to listen to our fire experts and choose a smarter, safer approach for Catalina Island,” Hahn wrote.