By Hayleigh Gowans
Staff Writer
The DeWitt Town Board has unanimously adopted a white-tailed deer management plan, which includes the use of USDA sharpshooters, and hunts could start sometime this winter.
For the past six months, the DeWitt Neighborhood Deer Committee (DNDC) has been working with environmental officials and employees of the town to create a deer management plan to reduce the number of deer within the town, which town officials say is about 100 deer per square mile. The document outlines the need for deer management, methods for tick management and both lethal and non-lethal deer management techniques the group has researched.
Ultimately, the document states that a managed bait-and-cull technique, similar to one the village of Fayetteville has implemented, will work to thin out the white-tailed deer population in the village. The hunts will occur in suitable public and private property with permission by owners. They must be approved by the New York Department of Conservation and would be carried out by USDA sharpshooters in the winter months.
On Monday, Oct. 23, nearly 100 people packed into the town board meeting to attend a public hearing on the subject. Supervisor Ed Michalenko said the board wanted to take on the issue of deer management due to an increased number of complaints related to white-tailed deer. Some of the issues white deer bring about, said Michalenko, are vehicular damage, impacts on natural vegetation, landscaping damage and an increased tick population which has lead to a strong presence of Lyme Disease.
Several residents spoke on the issue, both in support of and questioning the plan to bait-and-cull deer.
“We have a problem and the problem is immediate. We need to do something,” said resident Walt Bogden. “I am afraid to let my dog into the backyard … The problem is getting worse, I used to think seeing deer was a beautiful sight, but I don’t anymore.”
“Despite the harm deer are doing, I think we should explore non-lethal methods,” said Marla Lender, a veterinarian.
Michalenko said that although the plan being reviewed now includes a bait-and-cull method, the DNDC will continue to monitor the problem and will look to alternative solutions and also education the community on how to avoid ticks and damage from deer.
After the public hearing, the town board voted unanimously to adopt the deer management program.
While there were differing opinions on the issue, most in attendance agreed something had to be done to control the impacts of deer on the community. The town will now look to apply for a Deer Damage Permit to the DEC and the hunts will need approval from the town board before they are carried out.
Michalenko said the earliest hunts could occur would be this winter, and that the DEC only allows these hunts during those months.
The adopted deer management plan can be found online at townofdewitt.com.
