Deer Herd Blocks Path of Planes at Airstrip

A glut of hungry deer are making landings and takeoffs difficult at a rural northern Sonoma County airstrip.

A herd of eight deer seem content to nibble grass along the edge of the runway at the Sea Ranch airstrip, often blocking the path of moving planes.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said pilot Steve Kaplan. “The deer just stand there and watch you roll by, or they prance across the runway, oblivious that something is coming toward them.”

To avoid damage to the plane and injury to the animals, some pilots have begun to taxi back and forth along the runway to shoo away the brazen deer.

The state Department of Fish and Game plans to send biologists to the airstrip in the next few weeks to see if the runway can be made safer, according to David Casady, a biologist at the department.