HomeMy WebLinkAboutBaugher, S DEIS.pdf Village C C7.: `:eights
DEC 1 2010
I I I Blackstone Avenue
Ithaca,New York 14850
December 16, 2010
Cayuga Heights Trustees
836 Hanshaw Rd.
Ithaca,NY 14850.
Dear Mayor and Trustees of Cayuga Heights,
I am writing this letter regarding the Draft EIS on the deer-killing plan. As a
professor from Cornell University who has to apply science and accepted scientific
procedures in my analysis I am deeply concerned that the Draft EIS lacks scientific rigor
and it seriously raises the question of the validity of any of its conclusions.
The DEIS bases its belief on what the community thinks regarding"the deer
problem"on a survey done in the 1990s(no specific date is given and nor who did the
survey)and the survey was only of property owners. The survey is minimally at least 10
years and perhaps 15 or more years out of data and it also excludes all of the renters in
Cayuga Heights who would be impacted by a deer killing plan socially,psychologically,
and economically (in terms of the increase in taxes being passed along to them in
increases in their rent).
The deer count was not a systematic deer count accepted in scientific studies (no
scientific study is provided)but it appears to be a personal estimate of the deer population
by Dr. Curtis of Cornell University instead of a scientific study. Since the proposal of
numbers of deer to kill is not based on hardcore scientific data in a scientific study it does
raise the question of how valid is the proposal of numbers of deer to kill.
The DEIS study discusses the problems of lyme disease in Maine and then
suggests that this is a serious problem for the citizens of Cayuga Heights. However, no
data is given on how many residents of Cayuga Heights have contacted lyme disease in
Cayuga Heights and there is no study of lyme disease in Cayuga Heights to scientifically
demonstrate that there is growing problem over the last few years or even if there is a
problem at all. There is simply a veiled threat that if the deer-killing program does not
go forward lyme disease will become a serious health issue for the residents. This is not
science,this is simply opinion based on emotion not facts. An EIS should deal in facts.
The study provides minimal discussion of the other alternatives to the deer-killing
program. There are scientific studies of alternatives to deer-killing that have been
discussed in public hearings but those studies are NOT included DEIS. There are studies
showing that deer-killing has not worked in other communities that have been discussed
in public hearings but those studies are NOT included DEIS. No discussion of the
effectiveness of fencing is presented in the EIS although it has been discussed at length in
public hearings.
This draft EIS is seriously flawed and the Board of Trustees needs to address
these flaws before reaching informed conclusions. There are numerous adverse impacts
to a deer-killing plan and the Trustees of Cayuga Heights should not move forward to
taking such a step based on a seriously flawed document.
Sincerely,
1L4
Sherene Baugher,Ph. D.
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