PCA Funds Gallatin Deer Exclosure

*The Gallatin CAC and friends in front of the completed deer exclosure, which fades discreetly into the background*

“To see the future of the forest, look down at the ground.” —Eli Arnow

Eli Arnow, chairman of the Gallatin CAC, opened a 2023 Earth Day event at the Gallatin Conservation area by inviting participants to look at the woods with a new perspective. Sure enough, attendees quickly noted that the Gallatin woods, like most forests in the Northeast, display no regeneration of young trees. The forest understory, once a flowering carpet of trilliums and other spring ephemerals, is nearly eradicated. The culprit: Decades of overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), whose excessive populations are threatening every aspect of native biodiversity and the very future of the forest.

As a native species themselves, deer are adapted to consume native plants, including herbaceous plants like trilliums and woody plants like oaks and viburnums. While the forest’s mature trees drop plenty of seed every year, the resulting seedlings are prevented from growing up by hungry deer that repeatedly nip off the growing tips until the plant eventually dies. Meanwhile, overbrowsing on flowering understory plants destroys plant populations and habitat for insects, salamanders, birds, and other members of the forest web of life.

The Earth Day event, led by the Gallatin CAC and supported by an Ecological Restoration Grant, focused on constructing a low-cost, innovatively designed deer exclosure to protect a portion of the woods from continued overbrowsing. After a first push to remove invasive shrubs and identify native plants within the area to be enclosed, the fence was quickly installed using simple hand tools.

*Installing the high-tension wire prior to hanging the fence netting*

Members of the CAC noted that the eight-foot plastic mesh fence they used, mounted directly to existing trees, is far less costly and produces less disturbance than wire fences mounted to posts. The plastic fence (which has a 20-year minimum life) is also far easier to maintain and repair. While other deer fence designs that use trees as supports drive hooks directly into trees, the Gallatin fence uses an innovative block-and-screw system to safely and easily accommodate tree growth, preserving both the life of the fence and the health of the tree.

Preparing and installing the fence

Within the fenced area, the Earth Day crew identified a few struggling trilliums, as well as blue cohosh, Canada lily, trout lily, and spring beauty. It’s expected that those native plants will have a chance to recover and spread in the absence of deer pressure. Seeds from overstory trees will also be able to grow unmolested within the fence, and the CAC will later be installing additional native understory plants sourced with the help of the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program. One exclosure may not save the forest, but protecting biodiversity at the local level, building skills, and spreading awareness are all critical steps toward larger change.