Most landowners around the Upper Ovens Valley be they farmers, rural life stylers or residents on the edges of town are being impacted by deer as the deer population grows and spreads.
Peter Jacobs, President of Upper Ovens Valley Landcare says “Feral deer are going to be with us in these north-east Victoria valleys for the foreseeable future as large populations of feral deer now occupy the extensive forested public land. This leads to deer impacting on adjoining private land. We therefore need to learn and plan for how to reduce their impact on our lives, whether it’s the economic impact on farmers and plantation owners, threats to our unique natural environment or safety from vehicle collisions”.
“The Upper Ovens Valley Landcare Group is concerned about the impact of deer and has been running a living with deer program” says Peter.
“The next event will be a field day on 26 November where we will visit a number of mixed properties in the Buckland Valley to discuss deer issues that landowners have and what some of the solutions might be. We will have a series of expert speakers attending that will discuss property planning and the use of tools such as fencing, commercial harvesting, professional pest controllers, hunter assistance and deterrents. Landowners will talk about their experiences, the impact of deer and what works and what hasn’t in reducing that impact. We will also have public land managers to discuss co-operative cross tenure programs. We are developing a kit for landowners that will be the final product of the program.” says Peter. “TAFCO and NECMA have provided generous support”.
We encourage anyone interested in reducing the impact of deer to attend. Numbers are limited so go to the link below to book your place and get the details.
Details of the Field Day are:
Date: Saturday 26 November 2022
Time : 10.00 am to 3.00pm
Place: Buckland Valley, near Porepunkah.
