The California Department of Fish and Wildlife approved the Catalina Island Conservancy’s permit on Jan. 26 to remove invasive mule deer using trained, ground-based sharpshooters after plans for helicopter shooting were dropped following public backlash. The program, Operation Protect Catalina Island, will phase lethal removals over several years under strict safety protocols and provide harvested deer meat to the California Condor Recovery Program. Officials estimate the island’s deer population at roughly 500–1,800 animals and say heavy browsing has damaged native vegetation and raised wildfire risk; the plan also includes replanting native, fire-resistant species.
California Approves Ground-Based Sharpshooter Plan To Remove Invasive Deer From Catalina Island
California approves controversial sharpshooter plan to eradicate invasive deer on Catalina Island
California officials have approved a contested environmental restoration permit allowing the Catalina Island Conservancy to remove invasive mule deer from Santa Catalina Island using trained, ground-based sharpshooters, the Conservancy announced. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife signed the restoration management permit on Jan. 26.
A mule deer runs across a road behind the Descanso Beach Club in Avalon, Catalina Island on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023.(Getty Images)
The plan originally included helicopter-mounted shooters, but after sustained public outcry that labeled the idea "violent and ugly," aerial removal was removed. The Conservancy said the revised approach relies on ground-based teams of trained specialists operating under strict safety protocols.
An aerial view shows Catalina Island’s harbor and rugged hills off the Southern California coast.
Operation Protect Catalina Island
The multi-decade initiative, called Operation Protect Catalina Island, calls for phased, controlled removal of deer over several years. Animals removed during control operations would be harvested and provided as meat for the California Condor Recovery Program, supplying a natural food source for the endangered birds.
Protesters with the Coalition Against the Slaughter of Catalina Deer hold signs as island visitors arrive on the Catalina Express boat in Avalon, Catalina Island, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023.
Population estimates on the island vary seasonally and annually, with numbers ranging from about 500 to 1,800 deer. Introduced in the early 1930s, these nonnative mule deer have no natural predators on Catalina and can go through extreme "boom and bust" cycles, the Conservancy said.
The Conservancy and partner organizations say decades of heavy browsing have stripped native vegetation, accelerated soil erosion and water loss, reduced habitat and food for native species, and increased the island's wildfire risk.
"The evidence of the severity of the threat the deer pose is overwhelming, and all other alternatives have been exhausted. Catalina Island can have either a functional, biodiverse and resilient ecosystem or it can have deer. It cannot have both." — Scott Morrison, Director of Conservation and Science, The Nature Conservancy in California
The restoration plan also includes re-establishing native, fire-resistant plant communities to lower wildfire risk and rebuild ecosystem resilience. Officials have said operations will be limited to trained ground teams and have not announced a start date.
The Conservancy emphasizes that lethal removal will be carried out only by trained professionals in controlled conditions and that the program will proceed over multiple years as part of a broader habitat restoration effort.
Help us improve.
