Essex County Conducts Annual Deer Cull

Essex County officials announced that marksmen removed 70 deer from Essex County South Mountain Reservation and Essex County Hilltop Reservation during the 2015 Essex County Deer Management Program.

According to county officials, over 1,700 deer, including 640 “unborn deer” have been culled since 2008 as part of the program.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo stated in a release that the county’s deer management program will “accelerate the re-growth of our forests” and “reduce traffic accidents involving deer.”

“The over-abundance of deer affects all of our communities, and our program provides a comprehensive approach to address the problem,” DiVincenzo stated. “We have been very successful in reducing the deer population in our reservations to a manageable level, which has enabled us to transition our program from aggressively removing deer and scaling it back to where our goal is to maintain the population. While we have made tremendous progress, it is important to continue this maintenance mode to preserve the forest habitat and maintain our reservations as viable resources for recreation and open space.”

Over a period of seven days in January and February, the county removed 70 deer and 33 unborn deer from South Mountain Reservation, reported officials. Culls were held for four days in Hilltop Reservation and the old Essex County Hospital Center site in February. The program was not held in Eagle Rock Reservation.

According to a release, the county removed:

· 360 deer (213 deer and 147 unborn deer) in 2008

· 138 deer (83 deer and 55 unborn deer) in 2009

· 252 deer (160 deer and 92 unborn deer) in 2010

· 339 deer (187 deer and 152 unborn deer) in 2011

· 274 deer (175 deer and 99 unborn deer) in 2012

· 152 deer (104 deer and 48 unborn deer) in 2013

· 155 deer (108 deer and 47 unborn deer) in 2014

To maximize safety, South Mountain Reservation, Hilltop Reservation, the Old Hospital Center Site and all parking areas and roads inside the two reservations were closed to the public on the days the program was held in that specific reservation, a release stated.

Part of Fairview Avenue in Cedar Grove and Verona was closed to traffic, but all other county roadways remained open. Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, Essex County Codey Arena, the Essex County Park-N-Ride facility and McLoone’s Boathouse Restaurant in West Orange also remained open.

The Essex County Sheriff’s Office coordinated safety patrols with local police departments, stated county officials.

Qualified volunteer marksmen were selected to participate in the program, according to county officials. The volunteers were licensed by the State of New Jersey and demonstrated their marksmanship ability and completed an orientation program with the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office. When in the reservations, the agents stationed themselves in trees at least 20 feet above the ground and only took shots at a downward angle.

According to a release, all deer removed from the reservations were transported to a check station where county officials inspected the animals and collected information about their age, reproductive status, gender and weight, as well as the number of shots fired. They were then transported by the County to a NJ Department of Health approved butcher for processing. Venison was donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside, which distributed the meat to the less fortunate and homeless. In 2015, 1,668 pounds of venison were donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, which provided about 6,675 meals. Since 2008, a total of 32,649 pounds of venison have been donated to the FoodBank, which equates to about 130,600 meals. Volunteer marksmen who completed at least four (4) half-day shifts of volunteer service received 40 pounds of venison.

In addition to culling the deer herd, an aggressive replanting program to accelerate the regrowth of the forests is underway in South Mountain Reservation and Eagle Rock Reservation, stated a release. Forty-seven enclosures (42 in South Mountain and 5 in Eagle Rock) have been installed where native vegetative species have been planted so their seeds can be reintroduced into the area as the plants mature. The eight-foot high fences are designed to prevent deer and other large animals from foraging on the newly planted areas, but allow smaller animals, such as rodents and birds, to enter and exit. The fences will remain in place for about 25 years. The planting project was funded with grants from the NJ Green Acres program received by the South Mountain Conservancy and the Eagle Rock Conservancy and grants from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund.

County officials stated that replanting native plant species is necessary to restore the forest understory that was being destroyed by the over-browsing of deer. According to a release, the loss of this vegetation has prevented new trees from growing, created erosion problems, allowed invasive plant species to flourish and caused the number of native animal species that rely on the plants for food or protection to decline.

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