Where deer, and humans, play

Re “Losing Ground?” [May 17]: Habitat losses along critical migration routes and in wintering areas do indeed harm mule deer and other wildlife.

In summer, deer migrate up to the high country that is largely protected, as national parks, forest, and wilderness. In other seasons, deer and people share the lower elevation lands in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, critical portions of which are privately owned.

As more people move into deer habitat, the deer -- and their main predator, the mountain lion -- are squeezed out, and their populations drop. Conservation easements, which are voluntary land protection agreements, are a good tool for maintaining wildlife habitat.

Julie Bear

Executive director

Eastern Sierra Land Trust, Bishop