Contraception will manage non-native deer at Point Reyes/Vedanta Society
The joint program of the National Park Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture for managing non-native deer at Point Reyes National Seashore is now 100% contraception-based. Many in the local and environmental communities had hoped that this could be a viable approach.
The Vedanta Society of Northern California has demonstrated community leadership by working with the agencies and allowing Park Service veterinarians to conduct experimental contraception of non-native deer at the Society's Olema retreat. The successful outcome depended on the Society's cooperation in the largest such experimental contraception program in the U.S. It is likely that the lessons learned here can be applied in other areas where non-lethal methods of population control are desired.
The Vedanta property is adjacent to Point Reyes, and so the effort to manage the non-native deer in the park depends on the continuation of the contraception program at Vedanta. This program costs the Vedanta Society time and money, and there is some concern about its continuation.
WhatYouCanDo
Write to:
Dr. Estol Carte, Chair of the Board of Directors
Vedanta Society of Northern California,
2323 Vallejo St.
San Francisco, CA 94123-4711.
Tell the Vedanta Board that you appreciate its continuing willingness to work with the Park Service on non-lethal methods to manage non-native deer at the Society's Olema property.