He Shot the Elk on Saturday. It Killed Him the Next Day

[WhiskeyGrinder]

126. The whitetail, in fact, are not native to the area where I live; they didn't come in until after

colonial and settler expansion took out the north woods and made it easier for whitetail to move in. This certainly happened before I was born, but the whitetail are hard on species that have been here longer than they have -- the white pine and white cedar, changing entire tracts to spruce, which is susceptible to a devastating budworm; as well as plants such as trilium, ginseng and orchids. They've also brought parasites that have weakened the native moose herd.

Hunting enough deer so I've got meat through the winter to stretch my budget helps my family thrive, the herd thrive (less competition for resources) and the land I live on thrive (by managing the herd that passes through the land). That sounds like coexisting with nature so we all thrive, to me.

But by all means you enjoy that deer roast. It's worth it, right?

As part of the other work I do, it is, indeed.