As you may have read in our December letter, a white-tailed deer survey of Harvard was conducted in 2017 by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. This survey indicated that our town has a high deer population, which can negatively impact forest health and regeneration.
As a point of reference, the Quabbin Reservoir was created in 1938 to provide eastern Massachusetts with a dependable source of drinking water. The quality and volume of water from this 80,000-acre reservation has been maintained over the decades through forest management, harvesting trees according to a plan toward the maintenance of structural and species diversity. In the 1980s, managers were faced with such severe browsing by white-tailed deer that the natural regeneration of trees was threatened. Someone walking through the forest at this time would have seen a flat, mown understory because every plant higher than a certain level had been nibbled away. The decision to allow hunting in this landscape has led to a healthier, more resilient landscape.
The forests in Harvard may not be subject to the same demands as the Quabbin Reservoir, but our local ecosystem is challenged by the same stressors. The New England landscape naturally regenerates with a predictable mix of tree species after disturbance, but it can take many years to recover from intense deer browsing, which is complicated by the pressure of invasive species and climate change. Active scientific evaluation and land management is an appropriate response to these conditions.
As directed by our mandate from the Conservation Commission, the Deer Management Subcommittee has continued to meet regularly, and we have received good input from residents. Our subcommittee is evaluating hunting programs in neighboring communities and examining conservation lands in town. We would like to again encourage you to share your ideas and opinions on this subject as we develop our proposal for the Select Board.
Ben Urquhart on behalf of
Harvard Deer Management Subcommittee
Robert Douglas, Chair
Paul Willard, Conservation Commission representative
Tom Cotton, Harvard Conservation Trust representative
Jason Cole
