The rocket net is set, dusk is approaching, and ODFW Wildlife Technician Nick Leonetti begins the toughest part of his job: sitting motionless inside his pick-up truck.
Leonetti, along with other employees and volunteers, quietly waits and watches as a small group of Columbian White-tailed deer move in front of the rocket net that has been baited with food. Once the animals are in range, he detonates the rockets and the group races to the net and the deer trapped beneath it.
With flailing hooves and antlers, safety of both crew and deer is secured by binding the feet of each deer and blindfolding them. Working one or two to a deer, the crew takes blood samples and administers antibiotics. Each deer is ear-tagged and fitted with a radio telemetry collar to track its movements. The deer are then put in wooden transport boxes, taken to another part of Douglas County and released.
Leonetti leads the Umpqua Wildlife District’s Columbian White-tailed Deer Trap and Transplant Program which is funded by license dollars and donations from Oregon Hunters Association chapters, Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Safari Club International and the W.T. Yoshimoto foundation. The project cost is approximately $30,000.
“The program reintroduces the white-tails to their historic range while addressing deer damage complaints in Douglas County,” said Leonetti. “Right now, we have 115 active collars and 300 deer have been trapped and transplanted since 2004.”
The Douglas County population of Columbian White-tailed deer were federally listed as an endangered species in 1967 and removed in 2003 when their population reached 5,000 and habitat was secured at the BLM’s North Bank Habitat Management Area near Roseburg.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission approved limited controlled hunts beginning in 2005 in Douglas County, giving hunters a chance to bag a white-tail. Next year, ODFW expects to offer more than 150 tags, with increasing opportunities to come as white-tails re-establish their historic range. |
