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Names: ____________________________________ Date: _______________________

Deer Dilemma
Modified from Project Wild

Crystal Lake Park is a 850-acre multiple use park in Suburbanville, USA. The park has several soccer
fields, a baseball complex, and a small lake used for fishing and canoeing. There is a nice picnic area
adjacent to the lake. Nature trails exist around the lake, and the upper end of the lake is composed of a
small wetland renowned for its excellent bird watching. Several nature trails exist in the forested portion
of the park, but about 70% of the park is seldom, if ever, entered by park visitors.

The park is bordered on the southern and eastern sides by subdivisions. To the west lies the last
remaining farm in this portion of the country. The Wolfpack River bounds the northern portion of the
area.



Residents of the neighboring subdivisions, along with Charlie Fields, who owns the farm, have
petitioned the local Board of Commissioners to do something about the ever-increasing deer population in
the park. Mr. Fields currently allows hunting on his property but complains that the deer can escape into
the park when the hunting starts. He also claims that very few deer are taken each season by hunters on
his farm. He has received nuisance animal permits in the past that allow him to shoot the deer at night
when they are eating his crops. Mr. Fields does not like this option but feels he must shoot the deer to
protect his farm.

The residents of the local subdivisions have tried everything from fencing to repellants to feeding the deer
to keep them away from their flowers and out of the roads. Many feel that legal control is needed,
although others have moral objections to this idea. Park visitors do not want the deer harmed because
they enjoy seeing the herds of deer grazing on the soccer fields in the evening.

The Board of Commissioners has called a public meeting to listen to the concerns of their constituents and
ultimately make a decision concerning this issue. State laws do not prohibit hunting in this park, so a
decision must be made at the local level.
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Community Members Attending the Meeting

Charlie Fields

Mr. Fields is the local farmer. His family has farmed this land for three generations, and he plans to pass
the farm along to his children. He grows mostly grain crops on his farm. For the past 5 years, he has
experienced considerable loss from deer eating his crops. Mr. Fields leases the hunting rights on his farm
to a local group of hunters. The hunters have told Mr. Fields that they see very few deer during the
hunting season because they all appear to move into the park. Mr. Fields is frustrated and would like the
county to open the park to hunting in order to reduce the density of deer.

Dorothy Right

Mrs. Right is a local attorney who lives in one of the adjacent subdivisions. Mrs. Right enjoys hiking in
the park during the evening hours with her two children. She is very concerned bout the idea of hunting
occurring adjacent to their subdivision and doesnt want any harm to come to her children. Mrs. Right
does not oppose the legal removal of deer from the park; she just wants to be sure things are done safely.

Michael Green

Mr. Green is a resident of the local subdivision and an avid gardener. His roses were once award-winning
and the envy of his friends and neighbors. Now his roses are food for the local deer herd. He is very
upset and has tried several forms of repellants and fences to no avail. Mr. Green hates the deer and sees
no value in their presence. He is supportive of removing all deer from the park.

Bob Stats

Dr. Stats teaches environmental biology at the local university, where he also does research on wildlife
populations and factors that affect population changes. He is familiar with different aspects that can
affect the population growth of animals. This includes birth rates, predation, starvation, emigration,
immigration, and carrying capacity. He is aware of the exponential growth experienced by the deer
population during recent years and consequences of that type of growth, including dieback.

Betty Bumper

Ms. Bumper lives at the end of a country road in an area that is quickly becoming developed with new
housing. Her work schedule demands that she be on the road at sunrise and at dusk when the deer appear
to be the most active. Therefore, she has hit several deer, and her auto insurance has increased
dramatically. She is supportive of whatever means necessary to diminish the deer population.

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Community Members Attending the Meeting

Virginia Odon

Ms. Odon is a freelance writer for a nature magazine and has a lot of background with local animals and
plants. She understands many aspects of the biology of the deer, including their mating habits, the
number of offspring they have, how they attract each other, their preferred food source, and their most
common predators. She is attending the meeting because she wants to help the council make an informed
opinion on what to do with the deer.


Don Dearlove

Mr. Dearlove is a vegetarian and a member of an animal rights organization that believes that the hunting
of animals for any reason is cruel and unnecessary. He enjoys seeing the deer in the area, but is
concerned about the potential for accidents and the health of the deer herd if they become overpopulated.
He feels that alternative, non-lethal control methods should be used.

Lynn Ranger

Ms. Ranger is a park naturalist who can testify about the reduction in plant diversity in the park due to the
overgrazing of the deer herd. She has documented evidence about some plants that are now endangered
or threatened due to the deer, and feels that some action must be taken to protect the plant life.

John Dodds

Mr. Dodds son contracted Lyme disease last year, and he blames the deer. In researching his sons
disease, he found out that the ticks that spread lyme disease depend on white-tailed deer for successful
reproduction. He is in favor of any means necessary in reducing the deer population.

Brad Arms

Mr. Arms is one of the people who hunt on Charlie Fields land. He believes that the best way to manage
the deer herd is to allow regulated hunting in the park. He also sees this as an opportunity to provide
hunter education to the community. He is willing to pay for the opportunity to hunt in the park and
donate a portion of the meat he harvests to the local food shelter.


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Preparing for the Meeting

1. Prepare an opening statement that introduces yourself, explains your background, why you are at
the meeting, and why it is important to you that the deer population be controlled.

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2. Based on your characters background, state your position on how the deer should be controlled.
Include more than one method that you would find acceptable. List the benefits of the control
methods you have in mind.

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3. For each of the other people attending the meeting, predict what their response will be to your
control ideas. Will they support your ideas or argue against them? Try to anticipate the arguments
they will make, so you are better prepared for the meeting.

Individual Support you or Against you? Likely Arguments










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4. Prepare a response to any arguments that the individuals at the meeting may bring up against your
idea. For example, Don Dearlove will oppose any lethal control methods.

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5. Write a closing statement. This will be one last opportunity to state your opinion on how the deer
should be controlled, and any reasoning you have behind choosing this method. Remember, you
are trying to persuade the commissioners to adopt your ideas.

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Conclusion

1. After watching this discussion, if you were a completely impartial commissioner, how would
you vote? What method of deer control would you favor, and why?

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