In a last-ditch effort, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to halt the plan to eradicate mule deer from Catalina Island.
“Tomorrow, these deer could begin to be killed, and once they are gone, they are gone forever. Governor Newsom can still stop this, and I am asking him to act,” Hahn said.
The Catalina Island Conservancy, the organization that manages and protects the area, has long said the deer are an invasive species brought to the island nearly 100 years ago. The nonprofit claimed that the wildlife has created a fire hazard by feasting on the native plant life. Once the deer are eradicated, the conservancy believes that the island’s ecosystem would rebound…