To the Editor:
Ken Moore's article on the impact of growing deer herds on our local forests (“A Time to Hunt?” - Connection, February 18-24, 2015) was a good overview of the issues facing our community and a description of some of the ways in which residents can help ensure that our local forests remain for the next generation. The article mentioned the survey by the Great Falls Citizens Association; residents interested in the whole survey, including the incidence of of Lyme Disease in our community, can find it at www.gfca.org. I'd also highly recommend a video that we showed, in part, at the January GFCA town hall meeting. It's called Lords of Nature and it graphically shows how Yellowstone National Park's ecology was adversely affected when growing deer and elk populations overgrazed it, as well as the steps the National Park Service took to re-establish a balance. That video is also freely available on the GFCA website.
Bill Canis
Vice President, GFCA