Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Oh, Deer

Matt Alice:

On the streets that go through the canyons of Mira Mesa and Sorrento Mesa, you'll see yellow caution signs advising of deer. There used to be several herds there before Mira Mesa was built. Are there still really any deer left in these areas between 805 and 15? And thanks to the person(s) who each Christmas place red balloon noses on the deer signs.

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Curious Ken, Cardiff by the Sea

Mira Mesa by the Concrete is devoid of mule deer, natch. But Barry Martin of the San Diego Tracking Team has some kinda' good news. SDTT is a group of trained volunteers that do local wildlife surveys (mammals, mainly) to follow population trends. According to Barry, we're not exactly San Deerego, but our few remaining niches of open space do support some healthy herds. The closest group to Curious Ken's ground zero lives in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, 75 to 100 individuals, Barry offers. But since there's nothing a deer needs that it can buy at a mall, they generally stick to the canyons themselves. The signs you see have been there since the earliest days of mesa development. (Barry was cagey about the hard numbers, perhaps because of his claim that SDTT population data have been massaged beyond recognition in Environmental Impact Reports.)

Deer follow historical migration patterns around their territories, related to seasonal food and water availability. Just because we build a four-lane, 50-mph road across those paths doesn't mean they'll immediately change decades (centuries?) of habit. The Mira Mesa deer signs went up when the first roads went in to try to reduce the inevitable road kill, though Barry says the worst deer slaughter he can recall happened when Scripps Ranch was built. The SDTT advocates wildlife tunnels in new developments to protect traditional migration corridors and connect pockets of green space too small to support many animals.

So on the up-side, what species are booming in San Diego? Skunks, possums, and raccoons-- living large around succulent landscaping, sheltering redwood decks, and the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord in the average suburban garbage can. The web site is being rebuilt, but if you want to contact the tracking team, try www.sdtt.org.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again

Matt Alice:

On the streets that go through the canyons of Mira Mesa and Sorrento Mesa, you'll see yellow caution signs advising of deer. There used to be several herds there before Mira Mesa was built. Are there still really any deer left in these areas between 805 and 15? And thanks to the person(s) who each Christmas place red balloon noses on the deer signs.

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Curious Ken, Cardiff by the Sea

Mira Mesa by the Concrete is devoid of mule deer, natch. But Barry Martin of the San Diego Tracking Team has some kinda' good news. SDTT is a group of trained volunteers that do local wildlife surveys (mammals, mainly) to follow population trends. According to Barry, we're not exactly San Deerego, but our few remaining niches of open space do support some healthy herds. The closest group to Curious Ken's ground zero lives in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, 75 to 100 individuals, Barry offers. But since there's nothing a deer needs that it can buy at a mall, they generally stick to the canyons themselves. The signs you see have been there since the earliest days of mesa development. (Barry was cagey about the hard numbers, perhaps because of his claim that SDTT population data have been massaged beyond recognition in Environmental Impact Reports.)

Deer follow historical migration patterns around their territories, related to seasonal food and water availability. Just because we build a four-lane, 50-mph road across those paths doesn't mean they'll immediately change decades (centuries?) of habit. The Mira Mesa deer signs went up when the first roads went in to try to reduce the inevitable road kill, though Barry says the worst deer slaughter he can recall happened when Scripps Ranch was built. The SDTT advocates wildlife tunnels in new developments to protect traditional migration corridors and connect pockets of green space too small to support many animals.

So on the up-side, what species are booming in San Diego? Skunks, possums, and raccoons-- living large around succulent landscaping, sheltering redwood decks, and the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord in the average suburban garbage can. The web site is being rebuilt, but if you want to contact the tracking team, try www.sdtt.org.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Next Article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader