HomeMy WebLinkAboutReport and Proposal of the Deer Remediation Advisory Committee to the Village of Cayuga Heights Mayor and Board of Trustees - June 15, 2009.PDFREPORT and PROPOSAL
of the Deer Remediation Advisory Committee to
the Village of Cayuga Heights Mayor and Board of Trustees:
June 15,2009
Charged by the Village of Cayuga Heights (VCH/the Village) Mayor and Board of Trustees, the
Deer Remediation Advisory Committee (the DRAC) submits the following report on deer
management in the VCH. This report is based on information gathered by the DRAC from
experts in the field of deer manqgement, plus feedback from open committee meetings and two
publicforums. The DRAC shared this datawith the community via its website
//vchdeercommittee.com/ and an 8-page information sheet delivered to residents in early March
2009, a copy of which is attached to this report for reference. Residents referced their concerns
to the DRAC via a dedicated email address at CayusaHeightsDRAC@gmail.com"
Proposal:
Acknowledging the need to reduce the number of deer in the Village, the DRAC proposes
that the Village of Cayuga Heights Mayor and Board of Trustees implement a Phased
Options Approach (POA) to deer management. The DRAC recommends that the Village
begin the POA with Phase I: the surgical sterilization of 60 does within a two-year period;
followed by Phase II: the culling of the remainder of the herd within the year subsequent to
completion of the sterilization program; followed by Phase III: ongoing maintenance of the
herd size through furfher sterilization and culling, as necessary.
It is expected that the sterilization and culling phases will, once implemented, result in a
reduced and stable deer herd in approximately 3 years" Research supports this, noting that
while male deer roam, females and their young stay within a smaller home territory. It is
the growth and reproductive capacity of these young that necessitates the program of
ongoing maintenance. And while there are very few male deer in our area, veterinarians
are unwilling to castrate male deer due to the difficulty of anesthettzing them adequately
before surgery. We would also like to point out that the VCH is surrounded by a number
of communities with similar concerns and hope our efforts can be coordinated in the very
near future.
Thefollowing specffic recommendations of the DRAC (further detailed under the next heading of
this report) urge the VCH to accomplish the following:
1. hire a part-time Deer Management Director (DMD).
2. adoptthe goal of the cultural carrying capacity of 30 deer/square mile, which would result in
a total deer population in the Village of Cayuga Heights of approximately 60 deer for the
Village's approximately 1.85 square miles.
3. establish guidelines for confirming that the POA is reaching its goal of managing the VCH
deer herd to reduce ecological and other landscape damage, traffic accidents (deer-vehicle
collisions), incidents of Lyme Disease, and other unwanted deer-human interactions.
4' implement the POA as soon as the VCH has determined that it has political and community
support.
5. recognize that any approach to deer management must be implemented without fail for at
least five and possiblyl0 years, without which the program will fail.
Further Details:
1. The DRAC recommends that the VCH begin working toward implementation of the
hiring aparttime DMD to carry out the following:
POA by
' apply for grant monies with the understanding that the VCH's deer population problem is part
ofa larger concern;
' identifii owners who wiil make their properties available for culling and,lor sterilization
trapping sites;
' work with the VCH treasurer and attorney to bid out and write contracts for all contractors
hired;
' work with Cornell University personnel, especially Paul Curtis, regarding capture and
sterilization procedures as well as staff and facilities;
' work with contractors to coordinate and implement timing, safety concerns, impact guidelines,
etc;
' work with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Cornell University
personnel to file required permits and other paperwork;. and coordinate with surrounding communities.
2-5. The VCH Board must make a long-term commitment to the POA. Ii will take a minimum
of 3 years to see the results of sterilization of the VCH deer population, but the maintenance
phase (periodic culling andlor sterilization) must be ongoing. The Board also may wish to
consider the use of additional methods to reduce deer-human conflict, such as roadway
reflectors, education about ticks, and a re-examination of the VCH Fencing Ordinan "i ltrtbelow regarding Lyme Disease andfencing).
4. A survey, for which private funding has been offered, could be conducted to gauge public
sentiment about deer, deer impacts and support for the POA. it could also be used as a tool to
begin the process of identiffing property owners who would allow their properties to be used for
trapping for sterilization andlor culling.
5. Under the POA, the sterilization of approximately 60 does would be completed first, allowing
for the capture of less wary does which is more efficient in time and cost. These are the does and
families who would continue to live in our community and whose observation and maintenance
would be ongoing. Paul Curtis' experience both in the VCH and at Cornell indicates that this
first phase would take approximately two years at an average cost of approximately $ 1000/doe.
once 60 does are sterilized, the DMD would oversee the hiring of professional sharpshooters orbow hunters to shoot unsterilized deer at bait sites. It is estimated that approximately g-t 0 siteswill be required for culling' The DMD will work wittr vcn police crriefBovce and DEC officerDavid Riehlman todevelop and oversee the- culling protocol and hiring of professionalsharpshooters/bow hunters. It is anticipatea tnaiitr"i;i;i"l;ilililfl.";.?ainder of the herdwill occur within a two-three week period within thr;;", after sf,rilization tras been completed.The cost estimate for a bait and shoot method is approximately $400/deer.
It is estimated that an ateaof 18 acres will beaecessary for each culling site. permission will beneeded from landowners to allow hunting within soo; Lrtn.ir businesJe, una no-rs to assemblethe required area' For safety reasons' the DEC .."or.rm"nds against publicizing culling sites andtimes' lest the information ut"tt oi.*ptive protest";t];;h" culling sites. However, somevillagers would like the information to secure their own safety. frr. viH goard may wish to
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law making it illegal, ""Jp*irr,able by nr,", to i't"rfere in any portion
Given the length of time that will be requiredfor the poA to significantly reduce the number ofdeer in the vcH, the DMc rerommend, thaithe vcH Mayor and Board of Trusteesimmediately address concerns regarding Lyme Disease and randscape damage:
I - Education concerning the Transmission of Lyme Disease
Two species of ticks are responsible for transmitting Lyme Disease and conditions such asehrlichiosis' Their larvae and nymphs pick up the iuni"riuwhen they feed on any smal rodentswhose blood has already oeen inrect.d, una #n;r.;;;6;;d cover is long grasses and shrubs.Adult ticks move on to feed on a variety of larger murn-ut, including humans, and deer whichare their preferred hosts' studies show that aillocal deer would have to be removed to affect thenumber of locally transmitted cases of Lyme Disease, none of which would affect the ticksfrequently picked up by travelers. But studies also show that the number of ticks in a local areaare generally linearly correlated with the.number of deer present. Recommended mitigation ofdeer-bome diseases includes fencing, reducing tick habitalts (especially where properties arebounded by heavy vegetation), ana it . possible treatment of'white-foot.a *i.J. Educating the
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2 - Amendment of VCH Fence Ordinance
currently' property owlers are allowed to erect a fence of up to 4, high at the boundary line oftheir properties' or erect a higher fence the same distance from the property boundary as requiredfor a building, that is,25' nom ttre front boundu.y rin" orih" prop.ny and 15, from the side orrear of a property" The DRAC recommends the fence ordinance be examined. one scenario forchange is that property owners be allowed to erect fences on the boundaries oitnet property upto 8' high' provided that the portion above 4' is g}Yoopen und does not act as a solid visual
barrier. Permits for this higher fencing will be required in all cases to ensure the design is
acceptable. For example, 8' high chain link fencing, solid fencing or walls would not be
approved.
Alternatives:
Doing nothing
If no management of the deer population is implemented, research indicates that the deer
population will continue to increase in number and density. Given the current degree of
complaints about the deer population, it is expected that doing nothing will lead to increasing
deer population numbers and increasing concerns with deer-human interaction in the VCH.
Culling only
While this is the most cost-effective method of reducing the size of the herd, it is also the most
controversial. Maintenance of the herd would be required at a higher level, because the deer that
have not been killed will continue to breed. Culling would be ongoing, would disrupt Village
harmony, and would keep the controversy alive.
Sterilization only
This option is slower and more expensive than culling alone or even the combined approach of
sterilization and culling recommended by the DRAC. It would take approximately 3-5 years to
stabilize herd growth if target numbers of deer are sterilized annually, and herd reductions would
not be evident for approximately 5-6 years.
Respectfully submitted by members of the Deer Remediation Advisory Committee:
Kate Supron, Resident & Chair
Tom Boyce, VCH Chief of Police;
J ohn Hermanson, Resident
Mike Mangione, Resident
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