The state’s Fish and Wildlife staff are reviewing the Catalina Island Conservancy’s permit application that includes the elimination of the Island’s mule deer population.
“CDFW is familiar with, and supportive of, the habitat restoration project on Santa Catalina Island,” wrote Jordan Traverso, deputy director of Communications, Education and Outreach, for Fish and Wildlife in a recent email.
According to the Conservancy’s website, the restoration project is a “three-prong,” approach to:
- Restore the local habitat
- Restore native and endemic plants
- Species management, including the removal of non-native plants and wildlife.
Conservancy Senior Conservation Director Lauren Dennhardt told the Islander last week that the “lethal removal” of the deer would begin in late 2024.
The Conservancy’s proposal is to have the deer shot from helicopters by White Buffalo, Inc.
The proposal, which is part of the Conservancy’s larger restoration plan for Catalina, is obviously controversial. One person posted on the Islander website that they would cancel their Conservancy membership if the deer removal goes forward. As of 9:11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 12, an online petition against the proposal has gathered 8,682 signatures. The petition was posted by the Coalition Against the Slaughter of Catalina Deer.
The Conservancy’s Private Land Management plan put the deer population at 1,800. The online petition puts the population at 1,000.
“The Catalina Island Conservancy has submitted a permit application to CDFW as part of the broader restoration effort, and the application, as well as the Conservancy’s broader interest to restore the island are under review at CDFW,” Traverso wrote.
“The Fish and Game Commission is not responsible for reviewing permits of this nature, that is CDFW’s role,” Traverso wrote.
“The goal of the project is to restore ecosystem function and preserve Catalina’s unique and rare biodiversity, including some of the rarest plant species in our state and beyond,” Traverso wrote.
“The project aims to propagate native flora and fauna which, in turn, improves climate and wildfire resiliency,” Traverso wrote.
The Islander requested the status of the permit application.
“The status is that it’s under review,” Traverso wrote.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a timeline for review,” she wrote.
