Local resident weighs in on deer relocation

To The Eagle:

From my perspective, WDFW did not put deer on Puget Island. Deer have been on Puget Island all along and way before lots of the current residents. Some of the deer are there because they swam there.

If WDFW now wants to keep deer on the JBH Reserve (physically move them back to where they were in imminent danger because of a failing dike), they will have to stop making it a bird refuge/swamp and make it once again habitable for the deer as it was when the deer thrived. The deer thrived when there were farms and cows where the JBH Reserve is now. Is it such a hard concept for experts to grasp? Make it habitable with mowed grass and the deer will have food and stay? Also, if the deer are not being chased, bombed and harrassed by WDFW they might not feel the need to flee for their lives and to find sustenance on Puget Island.

Another plus in the whole scheme of things would be for WDFW to apprise our elected commissioners of their agenda concerning Wahkiakum County in a timely manner so all residents have a reasonable amount of time to opine on these matters. That having been said, if someone at the Wahkiakum County level should be checking a WDFW bulletin for timely news regarding items pertaining to Wahkiakum County, then perhaps that job should be assigned specifically so we as a county are not constantly playing catch up with current events.

One other observation: WDFW should refrain from killing the deer in order to save them. Now there’s a concept to wrap your head around.

Mary Gustafson, Cathlamet