Starving Deer Causing Damage To Orchards

Starving deer are causing extensive damage to fruit orchards in the Palisades canyon area near Wenatchee.

Deer have destroyed 500 fruit trees owned by Sue Monesmith, and are so hungry they don’t flee when people are around.

“I’ll be sitting at the dinner table and they come and look right in the window,” Monesmith said. “Everywhere we’ve cleared snow, they’ve just sort of moved in.”

Hundreds of deer are causing extensive damage throughout the narrow canyon as the hard winter drives them out of their normal forage.

On Tuesday, the state Department of Wildlife trucked in 32 tons of feed to help the deer make it through the winter. Jeff Tayer, regional director for the agency, said feed stations would be set up in several locations.

“We’re in the midst of one of the worst winters of modern history,” Tayer said. “We potentially could lose a lot of wildlife, not just deer.”

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