THE SURVIVAL OF THE SENECA WHITE DEER

From Accidental Ecosystem to Staged Ecology

MADELEINE MCCURDY

With their all-white fur, the aptly named Seneca White Deer strikingly contrasts with the muted, earthy background of Seneca County. This herd of deer’s existence started off unintentionally, with a United States Army depot enclosing a small number of deer with the rare genetic trait. Protected from the predatory threats, these deer were able to reproduce and form the population known as the White Seneca Deer. Although the army depot is closed now, the deer remain protected in their environment by Deer Haven Park. The creation and survival of the Seneca White Deer is an interesting story that traces the emergence of an accidental ecosystem grounded in initial enclosure and protection by the United States military and the continuation of a staged ecology through land privatization and the support of community members with sentimental ties and recognition of their beauty and rarity.

FIGURE ONE
Seneca white deer
(David Figura, 2019)

FIGURE TWO
Seneca white deer
(The Columbus Dispatch, 2015)

The land in which the Seneca White Deer population currently lives was once a United States Army depot. 10,587 acres of farmland between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake was acquired by the Department of Defense with the goal of setting up a depot.¹ Built in 1941, the Seneca Army Depot was created to store and dispose of military munitions.² Several structures were put up throughout the land, including igloos that would go on to house radioactive materials as part of the Manhattan Project, as well as fencing to enclose the depot.³ Outside of its military purposes, the Army depot served an important role within the economy of Seneca County as the county’s largest employer.⁴ After the military realized there was no need to store munitions to that extent anymore in Seneca County, the depot was placed on a list designed for military land that would be repurposed or closed in 1991. Ultimately the Seneca Army Depot was shut down in 2001.⁵ The depot’s closure not only sent away military personnel, but also resulted in many civilians, residents of Seneca County, becoming unemployed. While some land was sold to various businesses and institutions, the rest of the 7,000 acres of the land was turned over to Seneca County Industrial Development Agency and remained untouched until 2016.⁶ This land became an area of abandoned military infrastructure. 

FIGURE THREE
Military barracks
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

FIGURE FOUR
Crumbling infrastructure
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

FIGURE FIVE
Log fence I
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

Although this land was abandoned by the military, one group stayed and even prospered. The Seneca White Deer population was born out of and thrived because of the enclosure of fencing around the military base. In his book The Accidental Ecosystem, Peter Alagona coined the titular concept to describe a city built without the intention or goals to sustain wildlife, but one that ultimately did. Although the depot was not a city, this term can be applied here as the depot was built without thinking of the Seneca White Deer population but ended up ultimately facilitating the population boom and survival. Through increased security of the army depot, including high fences designed to keep things out, the initial white deer were both trapped and protected by the depot.⁷ As a result, the deer population bred within itself creating a large population of the Seneca White Deer. The deer themselves are not albino, their outer coats are white due to leucism, “a general term for the phenotype resulting from defects in pigment cell differentiation stemming from excessive inbreeding.”⁸ Additionally, the fencing and security of the depot that kept the population inside the land also kept out predators, essentially rendering the white deer fully protected. The Seneca Army Depot became an accidental ecosystem for these rare white deer. The big question that was on the mind of residents of Seneca County and those invested in the survival of the Seneca White deer was what would happen to them once the depot was turned over to the county.

FIGURE SIX
Log fence II
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

FIGURE SEVEN
View between the fence I
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

FIGURE EIGHT
View through fence II
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

Once Seneca County gained possession of 7,000 acres of former depot land, the task of determining what to do with that land fell on the Seneca County Board of Supervisors. In 2015, the board decided to take bids from those interested in buying the land. While considering 16 bids for the land, the board kept their focus on the outcome of the Seneca White Deer.⁹ Through a board resolution, we can see that the board maintained one important caveat of taking ownership of the land: “that the preservation of the White Deer and perpetuation of their habitat is a primary consideration regarding Depot land use.”¹⁰ Earl Martin of Seneca Ironworks won the board’s bid by emphasizing his focus on the white deer population while simultaneously helping the county’s economy.¹¹ He planned on reinforcing fencing that enclosed the white deer, essentially continuing the enclosure that the army developed but doing so on his private land. After taking ownership of the land for $900,000, Martin created Deer Haven Park LLC and Seneca White Deer Inc. with the goal of fixing the security of the property, revitalizing the land, and providing tours based on white deer sightings throughout the now-renamed Deer Haven Park.¹²

FIGURE NINE
Deer Haven Park sign
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

FIGURE TEN
Warning sign I
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

FIGURE ELEVEN
Warning sign II
(Madeleine McCurdy, 2025)

On top of being an accidental ecosystem, the land also became a staged ecology with the creation of Deer Haven Park. Zuhri James defines “staged ecologies” as staging nature for the outward purpose of seeming like something good is being accomplished while the inward purpose is some economic gain. “Attesting to a particular form of ecomanagerialism, then, the staging of aesthetically unkempt ecologies is merely a way of refashioning the neoliberal growth machine under a new duplicitous environmentalist guise. Indeed, urban nature here is ‘a distinctively capitalist nature—one made and remade as a commodity form within the specific logics of capitalist production.’”¹³ Deer Haven Park embodies James’ theory of staged ecology, as the outward appearance of the park is to continue the protection that the army depot once provided while also educating and allowing the public to view the famous Seneca White Deer while, at the same time, the inward purpose of the park is gaining capital through tour costs and stimulating the local economy through creating a tourist site that will draw people to Seneca County.¹⁴

In addition to Martin’s buying of the land and creation of Deer Haven Park, the staged ecology of the white deer’s environment was enabled by residents of Seneca County and Seneca White Deer supporters. By “supporters,” I mean people who, through advocating for the deer’s continued enclosure and protection from various threats, have the intention of sustaining the white deer population. Social media sites, like Facebook, provide a great insight into the public’s view of the white deer and their environment throughout times of uncertainty regarding the outcome of the land and deer:

“Every time we drove to Watkins Glen as a kid, which was quite often, my father would always tell us to look for the deer. I never saw one and later assumed he was just keeping us occupied and that they didn’t really exist. One day, I was driving that route with my niece [name removed], and in keeping with my father’s spirit told her to look for the white deer. We saw one, and that was my very first sighting and I will never forget it.”¹⁵

This comment was left on a Facebook post by the account named Save the White Deer, Birds, and Wildlife at Seneca Army Depot NY in March of 2016. This story of this supporter’s first encounter with the white deer relies on a sentimental memory, adding an important layer of personal connection between an individual and the white deer. This can be indicative of the surrounding communities’ relationship with the white deer, with each person having a personal connection and sentimental memory regarding the deer. 

Another comment left by the same account in June of 2017 stated, “The white deer are so beautiful and special. If you have seen them you know that they MUST BE SAVED.”¹⁶ This supporter evokes the rareness and beauty of the white deer as reason for saving them while also calling on others who have spotted the deer to acknowledge the fact that they should be protected. Through comments like these, the community’s mentality during times of uncertainty can be seen as one of wanting to support and continue to protect the white deer. This mentality encouraged the Board of Supervisors to put the Seneca White Deer at the forefront when considering what to do with the land as well as helped Earl Martin be selected for taking ownership of the land. All of this, including the supporters, enabled the ultimate outcome of creating a staged ecology on top of the accidental ecosystem of the land that the Seneca White Deer currently live. 

The Seneca White Deer’s story is an important one of human-animal relations. This is a story that shows the coexistence and survival of an animal, exuding beauty and rarity, within human infrastructure and society. This is also a story that shines a light on the positive impact that community advocacy and support can have on a whole population. Understanding the survival of the Seneca White Deer is paramount in understanding our connection and responsibility to animals. 

NOTES

1. John Pike,“Seneca Army Depot Activity (SEDA).” Globalsecurity.org. 2025. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/seneca.htm.
2. “Seneca Army Depot.” 2024. Army.mil. 2024. https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Environmental-Remediation/BRAC/Seneca-Army-Depot/.
3. Pike,“Seneca Army Depot Activity (SEDA).”
4. Ibid.
5. Carl Aldinger, “Part 3: How the Seneca Army Depot Went from National News to a Forgotten Property.” WETM – MyTwinTiers.com. May 29, 2023. https://www.mytwintiers.com/seneca-county/part-3-how-the-seneca-army-depot-went-from-national-news-to-a-forgotten-property/.
6. Deer Haven Park, “The Seneca Army Depot ⋆ Deer Haven Park.” 2023. Deer Haven Park. May 31, 2023. https://deerhavenpark.org/senecaarmydepot/.
7. Carl Mrozek, “Nature up Close: White Deer – CBS News.” Www.cbsnews.com. January 11, 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nature-up-close-white-deer-carl-mrozek/.
8. Ibid.
9. “Seneca Iron Works Named Winning Bid for Army Depot.” 2016. WHAM. June 16, 2016. https://13wham.com/news/local/winning-bidder-for-seneca-army-depot-to-be-announced.
10. Seneca County Board of Supervisors, “The Seneca County Industrial Development Agency should Conger with the Seneca County Board of Supervisors Regarding the Transfer of Ownership of the Remaining Depot Property(s)” (Resolution No. 16-16, Seneca County Board of Supervisors archive, 2016).
11. Matt Markey, “Rare White Deer Have a More Promising Future.” The Blade. July 16, 2017. https://www.toledoblade.com/MattMarkey/2017/07/16/Matt-Markey-Rare-white-deer-have-a-more-promising-future/stories/20170715213.
12. Ibid.
13. Zuhri James, “Staged Ecologies: Aesthetics, Nature and Infrastructure in the Late‐modern Metropolis.” Transactions – Institute of British Geographers (1965), 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.70004.
14. Markey, “Rare White Deer Have a More Promising Future.”
15. “Save the White Deer, Birds, and Wildlife at Seneca Army Depot NY”, Facebook, March, 2016.
16. “Save the White Deer, Birds, and Wildlife at Seneca Army Depot NY”, Facebook, June, 2017.