Killing of Catalina Island deer will go forward despite last-minute appeals

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Set us as preferred The killing of mule deer on Catalina Island will go forward after a judge tentatively denied a request from hunting groups and concerned citizens to pause the controversial plan pending the outcome of a legal challenge.The Catalina Island Conservancy was authorized to start killing deer Tuesday under a permit issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and said it would proceed while awaiting a final ruling.The conservancy, which manages 88% of the island, announced last year that it would use contracted hunters to shoot the invasive deer over four to five years as part of an ecosystem restoration plan.Roughly 200 deer will be killed from September through October as part of an initial phase to test methods and see whether any other tools or equipment are needed when crews expand the process next year, said Pepe Barton, director of communications for the Catalina Island Conservancy.About 22 deer were brought to the channel island for sport hunting in the late 1920s, and their numbers soon ballooned to roughly 2,000, Barton said.

The deer eat fire-resilient chaparral and other native plants, making way for invasive annual grasses, which ignite more easily, increase erosion and leave less water to soak into aquifers, he said.The deer also reduce habitat and food sources for native birds and mammals, like the endemic Catalina Island fox, he said.“Extinction should not be an option for the plants and animals only found on Catalina in order to save an invasive species that is well-established in all of California and the West,” Barton said.“We know, based on all the specific scientific studies and research that has occurred on Catalina, that we can’t do full island restoration work until the invasive herbivores are removed,” he added.A legal challenge to the eradication plan was filed in ...