Friends of Morrow Mountain State Park

During the winter of 2013-14, you may have read or heard about the trapping and removal of deer from Morrow Mountain State Park. Following is the "why" and "how" of that project and also what lies ahead.

Why? A couple of years ago, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) learned that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) was interested in boosting the population of white-tailed deer on their 57,000 acre tract known as The Qualla Boundary, in western North Carolina. As a result, the NCWRC decided to partner with ECBI to locate a healthy, native, and known pathogen free source of deer. The primary concern of the NCWRC was and is the potential for introducing diseases or parasites not endemic in North Carolina. The greatest threat is the always-fatal neurological disease called Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). NCWRC has been diligent about trying to prevent the introduction of CWD into the state since the disease first emerged east of the Mississippi River into Wisconsin in 2002. In the past 12 years it has spread into Minnesota, Illinois, New York, West Virginia, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania and is found in most western states and a few Canadian provinces. We do not want to experience the consequences of Chronic Wasting Disease in North Carolina.

How? During January and February 2014, employees of the NC Division of Parks & Recreation worked with the NCWRC, EBCI, National Park Service and the NC Department of Agriculture to trap 38 deer from Morrow Mountain State Park. Each deer was trapped by shooting it with a dart filled with an immobilizing drug. They were then blindfolded and quickly transported to a central processing area in the park. Each deer was weighed and the age was determined by tooth replacement and wear. Blood was drawn for further analysis and external parasites were collected. Heart rates and respiration rates were monitored as all other testing was being done. Finally, each deer was placed in an individual transportation crate and the drug which reverses the immobilizing drug was administered. Transport crates were loaded onto trucks and they were taken to the Qualla Boundary where the deer were released into a temporary holding pen. Weeks later, they were released into the wild.

What comes next? The plan is to trap approximately 50 deer per year for three years and then evaluate the project. Time will tell how successful the translocation will be in building a larger herd of deer on the Qualla Boundary. Studies were done on the deer herd health at Morrow Mountain State Park before the project, and these studies will be continued during and after deer removal to monitor any impacts on the park herd. A future installment of this space will provide more information about the results of the deer health studies. My expectation is that there will be no significant change in the state park herd size or health as a result of this relatively small removal. Questions regarding this project may be directed to me at ken.knight@ncwildlife.org