Venison From Fire Island Culling Donated To LI Food Bank

MASTIC BEACH, NY — Over 100 deer were culled from Fire Island National Seashore this season resulting in a donation of about 4,400 pounds of venison to Island Harvest Food Bank.

As part of the agency's deer management operations, which are now completed for the 2022 season, over 113 deer were culled, including 50 that were removed from the William Floyd Estate in Mastic Beach, as well as 63 from other seashore lands.

The venison was harvested as part of an integrated deer management strategy which was approved in 2016 with a goal "to protect and restore natural habitats and historic landscapes at the seashore," officials said. Biologists will continue to monitor the habitat and ecosystem's recovery in response to a reduced deer population, which will help shape future deer management practices, according to officials.

Island Harvest is a hunger relief organization that provides supplemental food support through its network of 450 food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency feeding programs across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Lindsey Kurnath, acting superintendent of Fire Island National Seashore, said it's the fourth year in a row that officials "are proud to be donating to Island Harvest Food Bank."

"The seashore is grateful local communities can benefit from our deer management program,” Kurnath added.