Key Deer

Slow Down For Key Deer on Big Pine Key

On May 12, I saw two Key deer die from vehicle impacts in a 40-minute timeframe on U.S.1 on Big Pine Key.

The first deer-hit happened in front of me in the oncoming lane. I was stopped to make a turn south. What came to mind first was to call for help. Who was I to call? I picked up my cell and dialed 911.

As I was on this call, I watched citizens stopping to assist the deer, which was dying in the median (a traumatic scene). I then watched these citizens pick the deer up after it quit moving and carry it to the side of the road. Within two minutes of the accident, the fire chief drove over the bridge with his emergency lights running.

I pulled into the parking lot where the vehicle involved had parked. The deer had run and jumped at lightening speed from the north side of U.S. 1 into the south-side lane and had jumped into the Volkswagen’s headlight. The driver, who was not speeding, assured me he was OK and stood there very shaken by the experience.

I then thought, why did those men move that deer so quickly, and should they have done that? What if it created further injury? I looked up and the fire department’s truck was leaving with the deer.

I completed my business and on my way back to Marathon, stopped at the light on Big Pine, two deer came across U.S. 1, looking both ways to ensure a safe trip across. I continued down U.S. 1 and again, on the side of the road, just at the start of the bridge by the church, there are several vehicles with emergency lights tending to another vehicle/deer accident. This is crazy, I thought. Why so many deer and two accidents in 40 minutes?

When I arrived home I went to the Internet site for the National Key Deer Refuge to see if there was information on how one is supposed to handle or not handle a Key deer after it’s been hit by a car, or if there were information on who to call in that situation. No luck.

I then called the refuge information number and inquired about the two deer that had been hit. The first had died at the scene, and the second had to be euthanized due to severe injuries. Also, their main concern is for public safety first. If the dying deer was creating a traffic hazard, by all means the deer needed to be moved.

It’s the fawning season right now for the deer, and the deer are out in full force, the deer refuge informed me.

Did you know there are between 100 and 130 vehicle hits/deer deaths per year? Be irritated all you want when it comes to slowing down on Big Pine Key. After witnessing the writhing and spasming of that deer in front of me and how shook and sad the driver was, I believe my future irritation just went out the car window.

Kim Peck

Marathon

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar toured the Florida Keys

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar toured the Florida Keys by air, boat and on foot on Saturday, focusing on the four national wildlife refuges and 30 federally endangered and threatened species managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The refuges are on the front line of conservation, where encroaching development, exotic species and the future challenges of sea level rise in the island ecosystem present threats to wildlife and habitats found nowhere else in the world.

“As the department responsible for managing world-class national wildlife refuges as well as the Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, we view the conservation and restoration of the unique ecosystems and wildlife of South Florida among our highest priorities,” Salazar said. “It is important for me to see these areas personally and meet with the dedicated professionals with the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service who do such an outstanding job of managing them.”

The tour was part of Salazar’s third trip to the Everglades as Interior secretary. He also spoke at the annual conference of the Everglades Coalition, the largest annual forum for Everglades’s conservation and restoration.

In his remarks, he underscored the Obama administration’s commitment to restoring the great River of Grass. In two years, for example, the administration has increased federal construction funding for Everglades Restoration by more than $660 million.

In addition, Salazar met with the Greater Everglades Partnership Initiative and announced a partner-driven effort to work with private landowners, conservation groups and federal, tribal, state and local agencies develop a new 150,000-acre national wildlife refuge and conservation area, the Everglades National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area.

As part of his tour, Salazar toured National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key. The federally endangered Key deer, a smaller cousin of the white-tailed deer, has rebounded from a population of just 50 in 1950 to more than 500 today.

In the past two years, the refuge began integrating on-the-ground research to improve the prescribed burning program. This benefits the Key deer and other wildlife and their fire-dependent habitats, while protecting lives and properties from the threat of wildfire.

Salazar also toured the EcoDiscovery Center in Key West. The center, which promotes resource conservation and stewardship across the Keys, is sponsored and operated by NOAA’s Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and South Florida Water Management district.

“Working with our many federal, state, local and non-profit partners, we continue to make great progress in conserving these unique island ecosystems, where the Caribbean meets North America,” he said.

To view photos from the Secretary’s trip, click here.

To read a copy of Secretary Salazar’s remarks at the Annual Everglades Coalition Conference click here.

Key Deer Fawning Season

THE LATE FAWNS ARE COMING!

With the winding down of the fawning season in July, quite often we feel that the fawns have had time to adjust to vehicles. However, the Lower Keys has on occasion experienced a crop of new fawns in August. Residents are being cautioned to watch out for new fawns during this time.

Residents living in Key deer habitat need to be aware that as a doe crosses a road, a fawn may be following and the fawn will not understand the threat that a vehicle can present and may run in front of the vehicle. These new fawns have not had time to experience vehicles and may dart across a road unexpectedly. Other hazards to deer and fawns in particular, include free-roaming dogs. Even if a dog does not catch a fleeing fawn, it may die from being chased into traffic or a canal. Residents are reminded that dogs on refuge lands must be on a leash. Residents seeing free-roaming dogs are encouraged to report them to animal control (305-743- 3779).