HomeMy WebLinkAboutStein & LeVeck - Deer.PDFOverwhelm inrg scientific evide
is not going to lower the risk
repeated this talking point at
fears particuliarly amongst the
wasting 30 months attempting
Inerable residents of Kendal. Rather than
on our community, imagine if
Tompkins County Health depa nt and instituted an education program
ing tick bites. By doing that, you would
focused on preventing and ide
have helped everyone in the co munity, harmed no one, and become arole model for other municipal
ce shows that killing deer in Cayuga Heights
Lyme disease, yet you have over and over
eetings and in the media, stoking irrational
o impose a violent and divisive killing plan
ru had instead followed the guidance of the
ies.
In fact, during the 30 months t
have also failed, against all rea
t you have pushed this killing program, you
, to implement simple changes to thefencing ordinance that would sily and permanently address the concernsof frustrated gardeners without ing the taxpayers anything at all.
while serious ilnjuries from deer collisions are virtually unheard of in thehistory of cayuga_Heights, the nftential for accidents is a concern to many,
:::,.5':.1:::j:::lyes attentio.fr. noadside reftector technotogies are beinsused all over the worJd and studfes show them to be very effective.
:.j::lTg_.:.h",r:1ffic e.ngineef of owego, Ny, the ,,strieter Lite,,sysremreduced deer-vehicle collisions dy nearly 1,oo%in the areas it was installed.Local citizens have also frequentiy suggested at meetings that speed limitsbe lowered, sp,eecr bumps be instailed, and that speed rimits be morestrictly enforced. yet during the rast 30 months, instead of imprementingthese practical and non-controvf rsiaf ideas that would enhance the safetyof everyone and harm nobody, vf u have focused your time and attentionon figuring out how to convince {hir .o**unity that backyard massslaughter of defenseless wildlife i, r.,ecessary.
::y ,Tl.^::::,1"]olq1t atternatilves from the very start, ctaiming that theywould take too rong. Now that vgu have wasted 30 months andaccomplished nothing, isn't it time to rethink your strategy?
J.^.,1 S*ein
2l tvIr
Yor"t have presenteti not one shred olscientific evidence to support your claims that
deetr, and not human activities, are t{re greatest threat to the environment in this
connmunity' Yet how we can we take your purported concern for the environment
seriously when Foll- Requests have sl]rown that during the entire 30 month period
you've wasted on tlris ill-advised t<illiri8 plan, you haven't stopped or even required
modification of a sirngle development project in order to protect even one of the
hurrdreds of species you list as being Ihreatened by deer. In fact, it appears you have not
even bothered to assess the presenc$ of these species in even one location scheduled
for development' And worse yet, you rescinded your public commitment to perform a
headworks analysis on the 3 million gallons of natural gas drilling waste water this
vill;rge processed into Cayuga Lake, nrfost likely because you already know that the
carcinogenic heavy metals in that indirstrial waste passed right through your residential
se\to'age treatment plant and into our lake, the source of drinking water for thousands.
The question hangs in the air, why do you persist in pursuing this killing program to the
poittt that your credibility is all but dNstroyed? Do one or more of you have an irrational
need to take life, or to impose your r,r/itt to the point of trauma on others? Do one or
more of you someh,ow have a personf l financial stake in carrying out this killing
program? ls this issue connected wit| fracking? ls the deer issue a political wedge that
you use to maintain control of the boprd, and thereby, the abilityto control the
dunrping of frack water into the lake, especially now that the village has signed an
agreement to accept waste water fror;n undeveloped commercially-zoned land in
Lan:;ing? This sort o1t speculation is th{ inevitable result of a governmental process that
is ril'e with conflict of interest and lac(ing in transparency. Because you have moved so
much of the processi behind closed dlors, because you refuse to answer the most basic
questions, because you refuse to listen, even to national-level scientific experts, you
have lost our trust. Please reconsider fthe path you have taken. There is still time to
cho:;e a better one.
James LaVeck
Itha,ca resident