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TOM VENESKY

TOM VENESKY | OUTDOORS: Newborns belong in wild, trash does not

There are some topics I wish I didn’t have to write about.

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But I do.

Every year.

Why? Because there are some choices people make, intentionally or not, that are detrimental to wildlife and the outdoors.

The decision to take home a newborn rabbit, fawn, bird or other wild animal because it appears to be abandoned can be detrimental for wildlife.

The choice to dump a pickup load of tires, household garbage or construction debris is bad news for the outdoors.

It seems like I’m stating the obvious, but to some the message has yet to get through.

I admit it is tempting to pick up and help a newborn animal that seems like it has been forgotten. You want to do something to give it a chance. But chances are that fawn or nest of rabbits hasn’t been forgotten, and the adult doe or rabbit is nearby, watching you closely.

And what is really happening is a survival technique that works if you stand back and allow it.

Many times I’ve come upon a fawn curled up in an overgrown field or the thick underbrush of a forest. While the adult doe may not be in sight, its disappearance is intentional. The doe is hiding to protect itself, while the fawn is relying on its natural defenses to avoid detection. Those defenses include a lack of scent to avoid the keen nose of a predator and a spotted coat that allows the fawn to blend in with its surroundings.

Think about it. The doe is better off protecting itself from predators because if it is killed, its newborn fawn stands little chance of surviving. And consider the odds if the doe did stand its ground and try to deter a wandering coyote or black bear from its fawn.

The choice when it comes to newborn wildlife is easy: appreciate the sighting and walk away.

When it comes to dumping, however, there shouldn’t even be a decision. It’s a no-brainer.

Dumping is nothing more than a lazy way out, and its impacts are startling.

Last spring I toured several sites targeted for cleanup projects under the COALS program (a partnership between civic and environmental groups and the state). It was disgusting.

I saw mountains of trash smothering a stream flowing through a beautiful, shady hollow. Piles of stinking garbage consumed remote hillsides. Hundreds of old tires, some even stacked in neat piles, blanketed abandoned mine areas.

While dumping occurs year round, it is most prevalent in the spring as people get work done on their houses or clean out their garages and attics.

Just like mining scarred our landscape decades ago, dumping is doing the same thing today.

Perhaps the saddest thing about illegal dumping is it’s relatively easy to get rid of the stuff the right way. Luzerne County conducts collection events every summer for tires and electronics. It’s free and they even unload the items for you.

I’m not the only one who writes about newborn wildlife and illegal dumping on an annual basis.

Each spring, the Pennsylvania Game Commission sends out a news release advising people not to pick up newborn wildlife. Around the same time, the state Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council also send out releases publicizing upcoming cleanups.

Maybe one day the message will be heard. When that happens, you’ll see a different topic in this space next spring.

Tom Venesky writes about hunting, fishing, trapping and the outdoors for The Times Leader. He can be reached at 829-7230 or tvenesky@timesleader.com.