Post by ridge on May 18, 2017 19:38:28 GMT -5
OSCODA PRESS
EDITORIAL
Holly Nelson May 10, 2017
Deer baiting ban will hurt Iosco County, again
Iosco County is well on its way to receiving another kick in the pants by the state, namely the Michigan Natural Resource Commission (NRC) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which are proposing to ban deer baiting in the entire county – contrary to what we were told by a representative of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) just three weeks ago.
Why? Because ONE free-ranging white-tailed deer tested positive for bovine tuberculosis last year.
The philosophy behind baiting bans, which parts of Iosco County suffered from 1998 to 2013, is the belief that healthy deer contract bovine TB from eating food containing traces of an infected animal’s saliva, or from shallow drinking puddles, grass or soil infected with the bacteria. Limit bait piles and reduce exposure.
We don’t buy it. Deer travel and eat in groups, whether at a bait pile, under a stand of oaks, in a farm field or alongside a road. When one group leaves, another moves in.
We see this everywhere in our area. Look at the dozens, sometimes hundreds, of deer grazing together in farm fields in Wilber Township.
The only sure way to prevent a deer from coming in contact with an infected deer’s saliva is to remove ALL food sources, which, of course, would be impossible.
We do not know of anyone, outside of the DNR and MDARD, who think bans on baiting and feeding are effective. We’ve yet to see conclusive evidence that bans work.
Food plots will remain legal and, as one Wilber Township farmer commented, what’s the difference between a food plot and a bait pile.
Bovine TB is a serious issue. So let’s have a serious scientific solution. A bait ban is not it!
Another thing, the only “con” listed in this latest DNR proposal to ban baiting is the economic impact on the individuals who sell bait.
What about the rest of us? The two-week firearms deer season use to be Iosco’s Black Friday. Iosco County was a hot spot for hunters prior to the baiting bans and headlines about bovine TB. Every restaurant, bar and resort was overflowing with downstate hunters. Yes, sellers of sugar beets, corn, carrots and apples had problems keeping bait in stock, but gas stations, grocery stores and other shops were also kept mighty busy.
Another thing we saw with the ban (in addition to empty pockets), was an explosion in the deer population, which we attribute to the lack of hunters. This seems to fly in the face of the DNR management goals.
Even though the feeding ban was fully lifted for Iosco County in 2013, the hunters have been slow in returning – but each year there have been more and more.
The NRC will end the resurgence if it votes to enact Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No. 4 of 2017 at its June 8 meeting. If approved, it would take effect the next day.
Kudos to the Iosco County Board of Commissioners for its decisive and unanimous action to oppose the baiting ban.
We hope our elected officials in Lansing will work as diligently to keep Iosco off the bait ban list as have the commissioners and our late state representative. Peter Pettalia worked successfully to get us off the list a little more than three years ago – using the science of bovine TB and the economics of hunting.
EDITORIAL
Holly Nelson May 10, 2017
Deer baiting ban will hurt Iosco County, again
Iosco County is well on its way to receiving another kick in the pants by the state, namely the Michigan Natural Resource Commission (NRC) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which are proposing to ban deer baiting in the entire county – contrary to what we were told by a representative of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) just three weeks ago.
Why? Because ONE free-ranging white-tailed deer tested positive for bovine tuberculosis last year.
The philosophy behind baiting bans, which parts of Iosco County suffered from 1998 to 2013, is the belief that healthy deer contract bovine TB from eating food containing traces of an infected animal’s saliva, or from shallow drinking puddles, grass or soil infected with the bacteria. Limit bait piles and reduce exposure.
We don’t buy it. Deer travel and eat in groups, whether at a bait pile, under a stand of oaks, in a farm field or alongside a road. When one group leaves, another moves in.
We see this everywhere in our area. Look at the dozens, sometimes hundreds, of deer grazing together in farm fields in Wilber Township.
The only sure way to prevent a deer from coming in contact with an infected deer’s saliva is to remove ALL food sources, which, of course, would be impossible.
We do not know of anyone, outside of the DNR and MDARD, who think bans on baiting and feeding are effective. We’ve yet to see conclusive evidence that bans work.
Food plots will remain legal and, as one Wilber Township farmer commented, what’s the difference between a food plot and a bait pile.
Bovine TB is a serious issue. So let’s have a serious scientific solution. A bait ban is not it!
Another thing, the only “con” listed in this latest DNR proposal to ban baiting is the economic impact on the individuals who sell bait.
What about the rest of us? The two-week firearms deer season use to be Iosco’s Black Friday. Iosco County was a hot spot for hunters prior to the baiting bans and headlines about bovine TB. Every restaurant, bar and resort was overflowing with downstate hunters. Yes, sellers of sugar beets, corn, carrots and apples had problems keeping bait in stock, but gas stations, grocery stores and other shops were also kept mighty busy.
Another thing we saw with the ban (in addition to empty pockets), was an explosion in the deer population, which we attribute to the lack of hunters. This seems to fly in the face of the DNR management goals.
Even though the feeding ban was fully lifted for Iosco County in 2013, the hunters have been slow in returning – but each year there have been more and more.
The NRC will end the resurgence if it votes to enact Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No. 4 of 2017 at its June 8 meeting. If approved, it would take effect the next day.
Kudos to the Iosco County Board of Commissioners for its decisive and unanimous action to oppose the baiting ban.
We hope our elected officials in Lansing will work as diligently to keep Iosco off the bait ban list as have the commissioners and our late state representative. Peter Pettalia worked successfully to get us off the list a little more than three years ago – using the science of bovine TB and the economics of hunting.
