What "Nature-based" things do you like/not like about Long Island? (New York: quality of life, law)

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Johninwestbury

Awwww...

Ride'm Mickey!

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by lialleycat

In areas where the deer populations are reduced, the tick population was also reduced. Not eliminated, but reduced. Of course if NYS would allow it on a larger scale, the 4-poster device has been effective in significantly reducing tick populations (since it kills the ticks on the deer), but since the lure is food based and feeding deer in NY is illegal, no 4-posters for the larger area. They are conducting experiments with the devise on Fire Island. So far, I've heard positive effects from them.

So instead of feeding deer a few kernels of corn to attract them to rub against the pesticide rollers, NY would rather it's citizens be debilitated by Lyme Disease and the other diseases that ticks carry.

I would really appreciate a link to the data you've posted re: decreased tick population when the deer are culled. Knowing that we still have other vectors - rats, mice, opossum, raccoons, fox, cats, dogs, etc., I am curious to learn just how significant the deer's presence is to maintaining a larger deer tick population.

Also, I would enjoy reading about the 4-poster experiments out on FI. My ex hunted FI in the late 1980's (won the special lottery that year) and the deer he culled was disease ridden, mangy, etc. The biologist noted that the stomach contents were pine needles -- a starvation diet for deer -- and that many of the deer brought in were in the same dire position.

As for feeding, for years NYS fed the deer at Heckscher park. Would anyone know whether they are still doing that? It would seem reasonable to introduce thee 4-poster trial there if in fact they are still being fed by NYS.

[CleanCutHippie]

3 of our 4 seasons are too cold IMO to really enjoy them and the really cold stretch lasts longer then a few weeks, more like 3-4 months. In the summer weather though LI has some nice parks and presrves. I enjoy the peace and tranquility of the North Shore parks.

It is ashame that so many once native wildlife are extinct or endangered on LI. The last thing this Island needs is more pesticides. I was pissed off at the forced exposure to the west nile spray last year. We not only hurt ourselves but all wildlife with this pathetic attempt to control something that we can't.

[CleanCutHippie]

Originally Posted by thebobs

Regarding the water, last week I was using it and I noticed a clorox smell coming from the tap. We don't use clorox and it is public water, so I'm not sure if it really was clorox in the water or something else that just happen to smell like it. It has gone away but thank goodness we don't drink it.

Long Island has some of the worst tap water in the country and we dont even have flouride in our water!

[lialleycat]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

I would really appreciate a link to the data you've posted re: decreased tick population when the deer are culled. Knowing that we still have other vectors - rats, mice, opossum, raccoons, fox, cats, dogs, etc., I am curious to learn just how significant the deer's presence is to maintaining a larger deer tick population.

There have been several studies done in CT, showing that a reduction in deer population has a reduction in the tick population. Deer are the primary host for the adult deer tick and are key to the reproductive success of the tick.

Showed a 74% reduction in deer populations reduced the tick population by 92% - Stafford K.C. 2004. Tick management handbook: an integrated guide for homeowners, pest control operators, and public health officials for the prevention of tick-associated disease. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Showed reducing deer populations to 10 deer per square mile (from 77) reduced incidents of Lyme disease by 90% - DEP Wildlife Division: Managing Urban Deer in Connecticut 2nd edition June 2007

Rand, P.W., et al. 2004. Abundance of Ixodes scapularis (acari:Ixodidae) after complete removal of deer from an isolated offshore island, endemic for Lyme disease. Journal of Medical Entomology 41:779-784

All of these are where overpopulations caused stress on the population, resulting in weaker deer more susepible to diseases which they could then pass on to the ticks. LI has an overpopulation problem cause by a reduction of habitat and lack of natural predators.

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Also, I would enjoy reading about the 4-poster experiments out on FI. My ex hunted FI in the late 1980's (won the special lottery that year) and the deer he culled was disease ridden, mangy, etc. The biologist noted that the stomach contents were pine needles -- a starvation diet for deer -- and that many of the deer brought in were in the same dire position.

I don't have published results that I can share on this ongoing study in FI. However here's a link to a study in Massachusetts:
http://www.capecodextension.org/pdfs...Population.pdf

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

As for feeding, for years NYS fed the deer at Heckscher park. Would anyone know whether they are still doing that? It would seem reasonable to introduce thee 4-poster trial there if in fact they are still being fed by NYS.

I don't believe so as there is now a law in NY (below) that prohibit feeding deer. This law came into being because of Chronic Wasting Disease, a highly transmissible neurological disease of deer and elk that produces small lesions in brains of infected animals. It is characterized by loss of body condition, behavioral abnormalities and death. It's similar to the mad cow disease and transmitted when animals are in close contact. Feeding locations cause deer to congregrate thereby increasing transmission potential.

Section 11-0919 in Part 189 of Title 6 of the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York prohibits feeding of deer by the public in NY even by homeowners on their own property. Feeding deer within 300 feet of a road is an additional violation. Local towns and villages may also have restrictions and penalties.

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by dman72

I too wish we had swimmable Lakes. Lake Ronkonkoma is a crime, the way it was treated and allowed to degrade. The entire shoreline looks like a glass recycling bin. I can't believe people actually swim there.

I like the woods. The natural topography of the North Shore in Head of the Harbor and Nissequogue is magical to me. The South Shore Ocean beaches, especially out in East Hampton, are great.

Agreed regarding Nissequogue area, as well as pockets of Old Field, Poquot, etc. I ride there often and it is moments from my home (moments away, but a big $$$ difference ). Really beautiful, although when tired on my bike I begin to curse the topography...

[geo123]

The clorox smell is from small amounts of liquid chlorine which is used to disinfect the water as a safeguard against disease. This has been done with public water system since the early 1900s. We no longer have outbreaks of waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid due largely to the practice of chlorination. It is the most cost effective way to maintain a disease free water system that there is. If you don't like the taste or the smell of chlorine in your water, then you can either use a brita filter to get rid of it, or refrigerate it for about an hour, which will eliminate the taste and smell of the chlorine. But without that chlorine in your water, you risk getting the same horrific deseases that have plagued mankind for thousands of years, until the early part of the last century. If you prefer to drink bottld water, that's fine as long as you don't share the bottle with anyone !

[thebobs]

Originally Posted by geo123

The clorox smell is from small amounts of liquid chlorine which is used to disinfect the water as a safeguard against disease. This has been done with public water system since the early 1900s. We no longer have outbreaks of waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid due largely to the practice of chlorination. It is the most cost effective way to maintain a disease free water system that there is. If you don't like the taste or the smell of chlorine in your water, then you can either use a brita filter to get rid of it, or refrigerate it for about an hour, which will eliminate the taste and smell of the chlorine. But without that chlorine in your water, you risk getting the same horrific deseases that have plagued mankind for thousands of years, until the early part of the last century. If you prefer to drink bottld water, that's fine as long as you don't share the bottle with anyone !

I already drink bottled water. I grew up drinking tap water but when I moved to my current location, I was having stomach problems from the tap water. I can still drink it at my parents, so something else is in the water that affects me. I know they do put chlorine in the water and every now and then I can smell it, but this past time it was a more clorox type of smell that I had not encountered before.

[geo123]

Originally Posted by CleanCutHippie

Long Island has some of the worst tap water in the country and we dont even have flouride in our water!

Hippie - what criteria do you use to make that ridiculous statement? If you've ever had the tap water in florida or california, I think even you would agree that the water tastes a lot better coming out of the tap up here. Most water systems that have a surface water source have to use all kinds of chemicals and additives to make the water potable that it kills the taste. Long Islanders don't have to deal with that at all. And if you like flouride, go to your pharmacist and get a presecription for some flouride pills, and leave the water supply alone. To say that the water is no good, and then be annoyed that there isn't an additional chemical added to it, is a condtradiction. No need to spend public money to medicate the water to your personal preference. Public water in the U.S is about the safest, most extensively tested thing you can put in your body. It may not taste as good as you'd like, but it isn't unsafe !!

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by thebobs

Regarding the water, last week I was using it and I noticed a clorox smell coming from the tap. We don't use clorox and it is public water, so I'm not sure if it really was clorox in the water or something else that just happen to smell like it.

The chlorine smell is from the sanitizer that is used in public water supplies. It's one of the few things that can be counted on to kill mold and bacteria. It's always in public water in some concentration or other but certain conditions can require more to be added.

Ironically, if the water has a chlorine smell but no chlorine taste, it's likely that the water supply actually needs MORE chlorine... not that it has necessarily been supplied with too much of it.

Also, during the summer months the chlorine in water supplies dissipates faster and most public water suppliers' systems tend to chlorinate more to make up for the demand to keep the bacterial and other organic-matter levels in the water supply down.

If you're very concerned about what's in the water that you drink and cook with, you can buy any of the Doulton filters which have silver-impregnated ceramic cartridges that not only remove chlorine and iron but all other contaminants down to a microscopic level, including bacteria. They're a step beyond the typical Britta or Pur pour-through or faucet-mounted filters.