Judge Rejects Legal Challenges To Catalina’s Deer Eradication Plan (Updating)
Did a judicial ruling finally pave the way for the Catalina Conservancy’s plan to use hunters for the purpose of eradication of Catalina Island’s deer population? KTLA TV in Los Angeles has some details:
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed all claims this week challenging the Catalina Island Conservancy’s state-approved plan to eliminate the island’s entire mule deer population, roughly 2,000 nonnative animals.
“Catalina Island is the last of the Channel Islands to take this important step, and the Conservancy is committed to giving Catalina’s native landscape the chance to recover,” Conservancy Director of Communications Pepe Barton stated in a news release Monday. “That recovery matters not just for the native plants and rare wildlife, but also for the people and livelihoods that depend on this unique place.”
The ruling dismissed the case in its entirety, according to the Conservancy, and found that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife acted within its authority in approving the restoration plan.
From Catalina Conservancy’s press release:
With habitat restoration at the center of Protect Catalina, goals include healthier oak woodlands, saving rare Catalina ironwood groves and expanded native habitat for the elusive Catalina Island shrew and threatened Catalina Island fox. Native vegetation increasingly helps stabilize soil, improves water infiltration and better competes with invasive annual grasses that can increase wildfire risk and frequency.
The court dismissed the groups’ claims under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including arguments over the state’s environmental notice and California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) authority to approve the project. The court found that CDFW acted within its authority in approving the restoration plan.
Monday’s decision follows two earlier rulings in the case, including the Sept. 3 denial of a request to halt the preliminary phase of invasive mule deer removal on Catalina.
The impacts of invasive mule deer on Catalina’s native ecosystem are well documented. The Conservancy evaluated alternative approaches, but none proved feasible at the scale of Catalina’s landscape.
Safari Club International weighed in on the decision;
