Depredation study was misrepresented

I would like to correct Corbin Dixon’s comments (“Many factors affect local habitats,” July 31) regarding the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ depredation study.
This study is often misrepresented by hunters and those who write about hunting as illustrating a need to kill small predators, but that is not at all what it showed. The purpose of the study was only to learn what clues around depredated nests could help to accurately identify the species responsible for the depredation. The methodology did not make it possible to draw the erroneous conclusion stated by Corbin.
As the study researchers themselves wrote, “Although this study provides useful data to characterize patterns of depredation for some nest predators, we do not attempt to use our results to infer which species have the greatest negative impacts. In our study, the frequency that various species depredated nests was biased, since the same individuals depredated nests repeatedly. [emphases mine].”
Additionally, Corbin incorrectly states that we once had major predators that “kept down the smaller secondary predators.” The examples he gives are inappropriate.
The main food source of wolves and mountain lions in Virginia was the white-tailed deer, not small predators. The black bear — the only kind in Virginia — is mostly vegetarian and the bald eagle eats mostly fish and ducks. The golden eagle does feed on some of the small predators but this species is not widespread in Virginia, existing only in the western mountains.
That said, there is definitely not an overpopulation of small predators but rather a serious lack of suitable habitat for many kinds of wildlife, including bobwhite quail.
Although Corbin insinuates that we need hunters to control the populations of small predators, these animals are “hunted” enough by way of vehicles zooming along the roads and intolerant folks poisoning and drowning them (horribly inhumane) for no good reason.
We have wildlife — such as owls, bobcats and coyotes — that could limit populations of small predators for us, if only we would let them.
Marlene A. Condon
Crozet