California officials have given the green light to a contentious plan aimed at managing the invasive mule deer population on Catalina Island, as announced by an environmental nonprofit. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife approved the Catalina Island Conservancy’s restoration management permit on January 26.
This initiative will utilize ground teams equipped with sniper rifles to carry out the operation, following pushback against earlier proposals to employ helicopter snipers. Detractors labeled the aerial approach as a “violent and ugly” method reminiscent of a “massacre with a hail of bullets.” As a response to community concerns about aerial deer photography raised since October 2023, the conservation group revised the plan to involve trained professionals using rifles, ensuring strict safety protocols are followed during the controlled removals over several years.
Part of a broader long-term project known as “Operation Protect Catalina Island,” the goal is to harvest deer for meat to support the California Condor Recovery Program, thereby providing a natural food source for this endangered species. Although the exact number of deer to be removed remains uncertain, estimates range from 500 to 1,800.
The mule deer, which were introduced to the island in the 1930s, lack natural predators. This has led to drastic fluctuations in their population, putting considerable pressure on local vegetation. Reports indicate that they have contributed to soil erosion, water loss, heightened wildfire risks, and endangered native species.
Scott Morrison, director of conservation and science at the California Nature Conservancy, emphasized that all other options for managing the deer have been exhausted. He stated, “Catalina Island can either have a functioning, biodiverse, resilient ecosystem or it can have deer. You can’t have both.”
The initiative will also feature the reintroduction of native plant species that resist fire, which is part of efforts to mitigate the ever-growing risk of wildfires on the island. However, the timeline for implementing the deer culling has not yet been made clear.
