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Wednesday, September 21, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Draw the line against deer
By Kym pokorny
Oregon State University Extension Service
CORVALLIS — A gar-
den is like a box of bonbons
to deer, and homeowners fill
it with the candy they love
most.
“Deer are looking for the
highest quality food and our
yards often offer the best
smorgasbord,” said Dana
Sanchez, a wildlife specialist
for Oregon State University
Extension Service. “When
taking loving care of our
plants — watering well and
and fertilizing — we’re pro-
ducing a really superior plant
compared to what’s in the
natural environment. They are
more tender and have more
nutrition and water content.”
In the wild, deer and native
plants evolved together, so
plants developed defenses
like waxy leaves or prickles
that make them more adapted
to surviving grazing. Even
when they do get nibbled,
natives are more likely to sur-
vive than the succulent plants
in our gardens.
“We’re often select-
ing plants from other parts
of the world that didn’t get
to learn through evolution
about the herbivores in our
ecosystem,” Sanchez said.
“They’re ‘naïve.’ Even roses
that have prickles don’t have
them around the beautiful
blossoms, which the deer just
snap off. They easily take
what they want.”
Choosing native plants
– or other plants less attrac-
tive to their palate – helps
deter deer. Get ideas from
an Extension publication of
deer-resistant plants. The list
was developed for Central
Oregon.
Out West Realty
— Serving all of Central Oregon —
Deer explore our yards for
more than just plants. They’re
delighted with supplemental
food provided deliberately by
humans who believe they’re
being kind; a practice Sanchez
strongly discourages. Feeding
deer gives them more motiva-
tion to wander into suburban,
sometimes even urban, yards.
The feeling of safety once
they arrive makes them want
to stay. The large carnivores
that prey on them aren’t
around and humans aren’t
hunting them. Deer even
become desensitized to dogs
unless there’s a close con-
frontation, which usually ends
poorly for the dog, Sanchez
said.
“Places where humans live
are a great place for deer to
hang out, which makes it dif-
ficult to keep them away,” she
added.
But it’s an effort impor-
tant to make. As more deer
congregate, there’s potential
for parasites and disease to
spread among themselves
and possibly to humans. For
instance, in some Midwest
and East Coast states deer
carrying the ticks that pass
on Lyme disease pose a sig-
nificant health issue. Plus, the
large carnivores they’re trying
to escape may follow them
into neighborhoods, setting
up a dangerous situation.
“We don’t want large
plant eaters or the meat eat-
ers that prey on them hang-
ing around,” Sanchez said.
“Keeping wildlife in the wild
is best for humans and the
animals.”
But thwarting the high-
jumping animals takes quite
an effort. Eventually, many
homeowners plagued by deer
resort to fences, whether an
enclosure around a prized
rosebush or an 8- to 10-foot
barrier around the entire
yard. However, deer fencing,
made of a robust mesh mate-
rial, is an expensive initial
investment. Another option
is a single strand of electrical
wire extended from a regular
fence.
Some people use motion-
controlled scarecrow sprin-
klers, which blast water when
activated.
“That’s more of a shock-
and-awe deterrent,” Sanchez
said. “It protects a limited
area, though. Deer are notori-
ous for figuring out the spray
pattern and getting around it.
They’re helpful for a corner
of the yard or a bed up against
the house.”
Deer repellents can be
effective but need to be
applied frequently during
rainy periods or when plants
have been watered with an
overhead sprinkler. Even
summer sunshine or extreme
heat can degrade the products.
It’s also a good idea to vary
the types of repellents you
use because deer become sen-
sitized to the same one used
repeatedly. And remember,
don’t spray them on anything
you might eat: The odor and
taste is just as unpleasant for
us as it is for the deer.
No matter what you do,
don’t be surprised if you dis-
cover munched plants in the
garden.
“Deer are determined and
persistent when it comes
to filling their tummies,”
Sanchez said.
ENROLLMENT: Lower
numbers mean less
state funding
Continued from page 1
but it’s hard to know right
now what the effect will be.”
He said it’s too soon to
predict whether staff reduc-
tions will have to be made.
The Sisters district’s enroll-
ment level will continue to
fluctuate, even throughout the
school year, he added.
Scholl noted during the
school board meeting that
11 students were coming
to classes from their fami-
lies’ campsites in the woods.
That’s because of a lack of
local housing, he said.
The children are still
camping, Scholl said last
week. It wasn’t revealed how
many families are involved or
what grades the students are
attending.
“I don’t know the 11,”
Scholl said, “but those are
our homeless numbers. It
is a housing issue. If we
had affordable housing we
wouldn’t be seeing what we
are seeing. In talking to local
realtors, there’s just a short-
age of inventory.”
Scholl believes some fami-
lies who move and take chil-
dren to another school district
do so because of housing
problems here. He noted the
Sisters City Council recently
approved $300,000 for
affordable housing in Sisters.
“I am optimistic,” Scholl
said. “The City has put money
forward, and it’s just some-
thing that will take time.”
The superintendent said
he and his wife ran into the
housing problem themselves
when trying to move here a
year ago for Scholl’s first year
with the district. He called it a
“competitive” market with six
other potential buyers vying
for the house he eventually
purchased.
potentially (the
revenue loss) could be
a couple hundred
thousand dollars or more.
— Curt Scholl
On another topic, Scholl
said he expects the vol-
unteer members of the
Bond Facilities Oversight
Committee to be announced
during the October 5 school
board meeting. Five Sisters
residents will be chosen to
monitor how money from the
Sisters School Bond is spent,
with terms possibly lasting up
to three years, Scholl said.
He anticipates the school
board will name an architect
for bond construction projects
during the November meeting.
“Then we’ll get moving
forward,” Scholl said.
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