Watchung Boro to Re-Evaluate Deer Management

Amid a resident concern that was expressed at its Thursday night meeting, the Watchung Borough Council vowed to re-examine how it handles deer management in the borough.

Local resident Lynda Goldschein expressed concerns that the borough is paying good money to Warren Blue Ridge Sportsmen Club for minimal deer removal results. Borough Administrator Thomas Atkins acknowledged that just 22 deer were removed from the borough during the last hunt.

“I think there’s a real problem with this system. We spent five or six years and I think that money is all going down the drain if we do not keep culling the herd,” Goldschein said. “Twenty-two is a drop in the bucket, and they did not use sites that would have been available.”

Councilman Thomas Franklin acknowledged that there are some holes in the current deer management system the borough employs, and stated that he is open to exploring the possibility of professionally contracting a company to handle the task.

“There are a couple of difficulties with this program. One is that I respect Blue Ridge, but they’re sportsmen. Their availability is not what the professionals’ is. They don’t have the time; many of them have jobs and so on,” Franklin said. “Second, the state no longer grants community-based deer management programs anymore. Now, we have to work within the regular deer season.”

“We budgeted the money it would take to go back to the professionals again, and my personal opinion is that we’re probably going to have to go back to do that,” Franklin continued.

Other council members, like Councilman Stephen Black, were not so sure that going back to a professional deer management service would be the most cost-effective method of handling the problem.

“I’m not sure if I’m favor of going with professionals again because of the expense and because of the economic constraints we’re all under,” Black said. “I feel that would be superfluous right now.”

However, Black did acknowledge the need for a program overhaul on some level.

“The program needs to be redone, to say the least,” said Black.