HomeMy WebLinkAboutTemple, C DEIS.pdf 12/15/10
Board of Trustees
Village of Cayuga Heights, NY
Re: Comments on Deer Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Dear Trustees,
My name is Charlene Temple, and I live on Renwick Drive in Ithaca. I am writing today as
a concerned citizen who has resided in this community for over forty years, and in my
professional capacity as a psychotherapist, to offer my assessment of the Cayuga
Heights Deer Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
My comments below are informed by my academic training (Syracuse University, MSW
1987) and my clinical experience, as well as by observations I've made at numerous
public meetings on the Cayuga Heights deer issue. During my 23 year career, I have
worked in hospitals, hospices, Ithaca's Family and Children's Service Clinic, and in private
practice. I also have special training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. In all these
medical and counseling contexts, I have acquired extensive experience treating people
who have been traumatized in various ways, from chronic and severe physical abuse,
sexual abuse, violence, and experience with traumatic events such as rape, military
service, divorce, etc. Whether someone is age three, thirteen, thirty-five, or seventy
five years old,the symptoms are often almost identical.
In my professional opinion, psychological trauma will be a likely occurrence for a
number of people in this community if the deer killing plan put forth in the DEIS is
implemented. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety
and Depressed Mood, or Anxiety or Dysthymia are some of the conditions that may be
caused or worsened as a direct result of the carrying out of a mass deer killing program
in Cayuga Heights neighborhoods. Some of those likely to be affected are those who
enjoy the individual deer that habitually visit their yards,those who have watched does
raise their fawns, or observed the relationships between herd mates over time, and
those who have developed a sense of personal connection with one or more of these
animals. Such individuals will almost certainly experience deep sadness, possibly even
devastation, when the deer they have come to appreciate are systematically killed.
Another vulnerable population are individuals who have a strong emotional
identification with animals, or even a philosophical commitment to respect animals, of
whom there are many in our local community. Families who have cultivated in their
children a love of nature and wildlife are also at risk. Should such individuals have the
misfortune of seeing/hearing deer being killed by shooting, or witnessing deer
scrambling with terror and panic under a heavy net, or seeing/hearing deer being
slaughtered by persons using a bolt gun, the trauma experienced could be deep-seated.
If people are driving, and witness a wounded, bleeding deer fleeing into the road or
collapsing on the ground in view of the roadway, the gruesome image could be indelible
and highly disturbing. For those with pre-existing trauma, the knowledge alone that a
mass killing of animals is being performed could act as a trigger.
In all of these scenarios, which are so disturbingly graphic, what could the effects of
such trauma look like from a clinical perspective? Potential symptoms could be:
recurring and intrusive distressing recollections and dreams; acting or feeling as if the
trauma were being relived; psychological reactivity to an external cue that resembles an
aspect of the traumatic event; avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma;
difficulty falling or staying asleep; hyper-vigilance; social withdrawal; work inhibition, etc.
These clinical symptoms are described in detail in the DSM-IV,the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders written by members of the American Psychiatric
Association. Such possible negative impacts on the mental health of individuals and the
community are extremely significant, and in my opinion, quite likely to affect not just
residents of Cayuga Heights, but residents in the wider Ithaca community. Yet, based on
the contents of the DEIS, the trustees of Cayuga Heights appear to have failed to
consider these impacts. They also appear to have failed to have adequately considered
alternative approaches to reducing deer-human impact that have a far lower potential
to cause harm.
In addition to my concerns as a professional, I also want to take this opportunity to
express, as a concerned citizen, my unqualified moral opposition to the plan to kill deer
in the Village of Cayuga Heights. I am opposed to shooting the deer, and also the latest
plan: the use of"net and bolt" killing. I have attended many meetings and done my own
research as well. There are reasonable solutions, such as modernizing the Village's
outdated and inflexible fencing ordinance that can directly help gardeners protect their
plants from deer. This solution will not cause any trauma to anyone, and will preserve
the peaceful character of our community. On the other hand,the killing "solution" will
most definitely cause trauma to individuals and bring shame on our community as a
whole.
I hope that the trustees of Cayuga Heights would not knowingly introduce trauma into
our community when there is a choice not to. The deer killing program will exact too
high a price. It is imperative that we continue exploring non-lethal alternatives and work
together to find a better solution.
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Sincerely,
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Charlene Temple, MSW, LCSW