Tara Martin

Growing up on Salt Spring Island, Tara Martin, associate professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia, saw plenty of the wildflowers, Garry oak meadows and understory plants that used to thrive on the southern Gulf Islands only a few decades ago. Over the last 50 years, however, the population of native black-tailed deer has exploded across the islands, eating their way through natural plant vegetation and tree saplings. Martin, who has studied the impact of deer populations on the Gulf Islands for 20 years, says younger generations have no concept of how lush and diverse the islands were, and what was lost. …After looking at a range of options, Martin has concluded that hunting is the most effective and least-costly solution to keeping deer populations down. …Learning to be comfortable with predators on islands is also important, she says, adding that even allowing one or two would help.