Politics & Government
Hundreds Demand Answers, Plea for Help at Public Deer Forum
It was standing room only as almost 300 residents packed a forum on deer management Thursday night in Southold.
A crowd of almost 300 filled the Southold Town Recreation Center Thursday night for a deer management forum organized to bring a multi-pronged approach to the escalating problem — demanding answers and pleading passionately for help.
One by one, they stepped up to the podium to share stories that resonated with a common theme — the havoc wreaked upon their lives by herds of deer roaming through residential neighborhoods and backyards. Stories of car accidents. Crops destroyed. Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Even death.
And a common cry was sounded: "Cull the herd."
A panel of experts was convened for the forum, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Cornell University, Eastern Long Island Hospital, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Long Island Farm Bureau, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Southold Town officials, and Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski.
Addressing the standing-room-only crowd, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell quipped, "To get people to turn out, you need the three Ds: Dog, deer, and those damned helicopters."
But Russell was the first to admit that deer were no laughing matter in Southold Town. To date, he said, there are roughly 3500 deer in town. Since the year 2000, Southold police have reported 2389 accidents due to deer, as well as 205 injuries and two fatalities.
"The numbers are staggering," Russell said. Many more deer accidents, he said, may have gone unreported.
The goal of the forum, the supervisor said, was to "take a comprehensive look at what can only be described as an epidemic and infestation of white-tailed deer."
Impacts of the burgeoning deer population, including economic, health, and environmental, were also outlined.
Joshua Stiller, a wildlife biologist with the New York State DEC, began by talking numbers; there are approximately 25,000 to 35,000 deer in Suffolk County, he said, or 35 to 50 per square mile.
"If the public is not satisfied with that number, it's too many, regardless if it's 10 or 300 per square mile," he said.
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Numbers have been increasing since the early 90s due to changes in hunting restrictions set through legislation.
The DEC, Stiller said, only has regulatory authority over damage permits and tags.
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At issue, officials all agreed, was the fact that there was only so much that can be done at the town level, with the state holding all the authority and unwilling to allow an individual municipality to address the issue at the locally.
Forty percent of the deer population need to be harvested yearly to maintain a steady decrease, Stiller said, with the current harvest "woefully insufficient."
New at the DEC level, he said, was a shift in the dates for damage permits to end on Sept. 15, rather than year round. While he said it might seem that a year-round permitting process would mean more deer eliminated, the reality is that they are often shot after the damage to crops has been done. "We wanted to see that same level of harvesting earlier in the year," he said, adding that the concept had been successful, with 200 more deer shot by Sept. 15 than last year.
In addition, he said, the DEC now allows for copies of tags to be mailed.
In addition, Russell said he has allocated $75,000 in his 2014 budget for deer eradication.
John Rasweiler of Southold's deer managment task force discussed the devastating environmental impacts deer have had on the town's forests.
"Very few people seem to speak much about our neglected stepchild, our natural environment, when talking about the deer problem," he said.
Due to deer, he said. "Our forests in Southold Town are now very sick. Forest regeneration has stopped or been severely impacted."
Highly desirable native plants have been damaged or eliminated, he added, and noxious or invasive plants are sometimes spread. Hollowed out trees are more easily felled during a hurricane, he said; extensive damage to low vegetation equals stormwater runoff and a reduction in rainwater retention.
Speaking of "Bambi lovers," Boulanger said, "None of us want to see animals suffer. The preferred solution is to manage our deer population properly."
"I am not a Bambie lover," Russell said. "I hate Bambi."
Botanist Thomas Rawinski of the United States Forest Service said aggressive harvesting needs to happen.
"Our forests are doomed unless new trees can be added into the canopy," he said, adding, "This is not Bambi's world. The real deer population can double in a year."
Jason Boulanger of Cornell University discussed all aspects of deer sterilization; one deer costs $1200 to sterilize.
Russell said many people ask why the town is not involved in a deer contraceptive program and explained it's not allowed under state law — permission is needed — and negatives include a lack of effectiveness and high cost.
Also, Russell said, what might work on Shelter Island would not work in Southold, which is much larger and covers far more territory.
Dr. Robert Walsh addressed the latest in tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme and Babesiosis. Only fifty percent of those infected, he said, have symptoms.
Another alternative to addressing the escalating problem is the 4-Poster program, embraced by Shelter Island.
Entomologist Dan Gilrein from Cornell Cooperative Extension explained that the 4-Poster device is a deer-feeding station that applies tickicide to a deer's head. The program, he said, has been very effective on Shelter Island.
Russell said to implement the 4-Poster program townide would cost over $4.5 million yearly, with each station costing $5000.
One suggestion that received a wide round of applause was that of Allen Gosser, acting supervisor for Long Island, United States Department of Agriculture, who discussed the USDA's sharpshooter program.
The program would cost $500,000 to implement, he said.
"The USDA sharp shooter program might not solve the problem but it could be the key ingredient," Russell said, adding that he would ask the town board to commit some of the $75,000 to the program, which the USDA is working on with the Long Island Farm Bureau.
Joe Gergela, executive director of the LIFB, said he has received grant funding and is hoping to convince each of the five East End town boards to contribute $25,000 to the program, in addition to the $200,000 the LIFB has already contributed.
"To cull the herd we need a buy-in from towns and villages," he said. The funding would be used to hire the USDA, town by town, village by village.
Nuisance permits, which allow farmers without deer fencing to harvest deer on their property, are not enough, Gergela said.
"We have too many deer," he said. "We have to do something."
The sharp shooter program would focus on does and baby deer, he said.
"Certainly, there are going to be objections. But at the end of the day, we have millions of dollars in economic damage, health issues, damage to our natural habitats. It's a serious problem without a a popular or easy solution," Gergela said.
Gergela also discussed the political stalemate that is exacerbating the problem — Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, of Levittown, he said, refuses to budge on the statutory changes, allowing them to move forward through the Assembly so that the deer population can be managed locally.
Russell explained that the town has asked the state to ease restrictions so hunts would be more beneficial.
"The problem is, at the state level, deer are treated as wildlife but now, we are in a phase where it's pest control. We need more local control. Each town is unique. Our culling program could be far more robust if we could get legislation passed."
The legislation discussed was written by New York State Senator Ken LaValle, and sailed through the Senate. Sweeney, Russell said, is the chair of the assembly's environmental committee and doesn't think towns should have regulatory control over hunting.
Hunters also spoke at the forum, and said the 200 foot setback and allowing for use of crossbows would really make a marked difference.
Despite accolades from many about Southold's proactive stance, Russell said. "We are not doing a great job. When I can drive down Bayview and not see 30 deer every 50 feet, then we are doing a great job."
Krupski said deer are the same kind of problem as snow plowing and road paving; he said a bounty system would be beneficial to hunters and encourage harvesting.
Scores of residents aired their frustration.
Benja Schwartz suggested a natural oil of lemon eucalyptus pesticide.
Sue Switzer discussed the North Fork Deer Management Alliance, a group of local citizens who hope "to raise public awareness of the scope of the deer problem and to work with public officials to develop effective strategies to return the deer population to a level compatible with the health and safety of the human population and with the environmental and economic integrity of the region."
Letters on the new group's website chronicle a community ravaged by the deer problem: A 17-year old who can no longer participate in physical activities. A woman who had Lyme disease while battling breast cancer. Colorful gardens ruined. Grandchildren who can no longer play outside, for fear of ticks. Others who've had car accidents. Who want to sell their home and leave Southold for good.
The "heartfelt" letters, said NFDMA member Don Stewart, will be sent to the state assembly, "So they hear about the human suffering we are experiencing at a local level."
Not only health, but real estate values, health insurance, and car insurance will be impacted, said Marie Domenici. "No one will want to come to Lyme-ville," she said.
Gloria Groocock of Cutchogue said she spent years bush camping in Kenya with no ill affects, only to be home for three days, get bitten by tick, and develop Lyme disease.
The public demanded the state government hear their cries.
"They need to get out of our way and let us do the job of cleaning up our environment," said Gil Schwartz.
Southold Town Trustee Bob Ghosio agreed. "We have elected officials charged with protecting the welfare of citizens living in another district, holding us up from being able to do something since we need state permission. He [Sweeney] doesnt' live here. We do. People here are suffering. I'm disgusted. We have a constituency here that needs help."
Added another resident, "We need to cull the herd. Period."
One resident said his homeowners' association pays privately for the USDA's help with sharp shooting and said if other organizatons did the same, numbers could be greatly reduced.
Former Town Supervisor Tom Wickham expressed concerns that the town could manage a nuisance permit system; liability issues would arise, he said. "There are management issues and expertise the town does not possess."
Wickham, a farmer, said he does not want people on his property who are not professional shooters, working with special equipment.
"People talk about the danger of Lyme. What is going to happen when someone gets shot? There are a lot of people out here, not just farms and woods. And people go out at night."
He said one thing that he would like to see on a local level was the 500 foot setback rule, which needed to be relaxed.
Russell said that is what the town is advocating for, to relax the setback.
"This is not a new issue," said Dan Durrett of Greenport. "Bambi has become the 'Jaws' of Southold."
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