April 20, 2018
If you look at our website Resources tab there is a map of Lake Shastina and there are a lot of areas colored green such as the two golf courses and Zen Mountain. The smaller green ones are future mini-parks, pieces owned by the homeowner association, and some connecting walkways.
The color signals something other than grass however. The story I heard was that when the Lake Shastina development was first proposed, consideration had to be given to the fact that the area was within the winter range of a deer herd that lived around Miller Mountain, just east of us and south of Goosenest, a few miles west of Grass Lake.
We call it mitigating now and I was surprised to learn it was a functioning concept in the 1970’s. More interesting because the Lake Shastina development was all ranch land where deer from all over are free to mix with the cattle during winter weather forage months.
But there it is and here they still are. All over our yards here in Lake Shastina. So accustomed to us are they that some would eat out of your had were you foolish enough to try that. It is not just illegal to feed them it is hugely dangerous. Wild as they are, by definition they are unpredictable and will flash a sharp hoof at you with absolutely no forewarning whatsoever. I have also seen people put out salt blocks for them to lick which is bad too because it lures the animals into our personal space and leading them to get even more used to us.
It is magnitudes worse with fawns who, while their moms are off browsing, can sometimes be found curled up resting. It’s almost the mother-bear-with-cubs story when the doe sees a human trying to befriend her baby. Just don’t do it.
Our 25 mph speed limit here has something to do with all the wildlife that lives here and a local police officer once told me that an average of one deer each day collides with a car, resulting usually in the animal’s death and costly damage to the vehicle.
Bruce