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Home My WebLink AboutReport and Proposal of the Deer Remediation Advisory Committtee 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 rrustees: June 15,2009 Charged by the Village qf Cayuga Heights (VCHhhe Vitlag;e) Mayor ancl Boarcl of'Trustees, the Deer Remediation Adtisory Cornntittee (the DRAC:) subrnit.s thefollov,ing report on cleer management in the VCI{. T'his report i.s ba,sed on information gathered by the DRAC.from experls in the./ield of c{eer mclnagemen| ptus./bedback.fi,om open contlnittee meetings anfl two publicJbrums. The DRAC shared this data with the comrnunity via it.y website //vchdeercommittee.com/ and an B-page infnrmation sheet delivered to resident,s in early March 2009, a copy of'which is ctttached to this report.for reference. ResirJents re/brred their concerns to the DRAC vict a dedicated email addre,ss at CqtttgaHeightsDRAC@,gmiil.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 ,""o-mends 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 remaincler of the herd within the year subsequent to completion of the sterilization program; followecl by Phase III: ongoing rnaintenance of the herd size through further sterilization and cuiling, as necessary. If is expected that the sterilization and culling phases will, once implemented, result in a reduced and stable deer herd in approximatety 3 years. Research iupports this, noting that while male deer !'oam, females and their young stay within a smaller'home territory. it i* 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 anea^, veterinarians are unwilling to castrate male deer due to the difficulty of anesthetizing them adequately before surgelT. We would also like to point out that the VCH is surrounded by a numtrer of communities with similar concerns and hope our efforts can be coordinated in the very near futurc. Specific Recom mendations : The following spec(ic recomrnendations of the DRAC (urther c{etailed rmder the next heading of this report) urge the VCI( to accompli.sh the.foilowing; l hire a part-time Deer Management Director (DMD). 2. adopt the 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 appioxirnately 60 <leer for the Village's approxirnately I .85 sqllare rniles. 3. establish guidelines fbr confirrning that the POA is reaching its goal of rnanaging the VCH deer herd to reduce ecological and other landscape damage, trafllc accidents (deer-vehicle collisions), incidents of Lyme Disease, and other unwanted deer-liuman 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 possibly I 0 years, withoLrt which the program will fail. Further Details: 1' 'fhe DRAC recommends that the VCH begin working toward irnplementation of the pOA byhiring a part time DMD to carry out the following: ' apply for grant monies with the understancling that the VCI-I's deer populatiorr problern is partofa larger concern; ' identify owners who will rrrake their properties available for culling and/or sterilization trapping sites; ' work with the VCI.-l treasurer and attorney to bid out and write contracts for all contractors hired; ' work with Cornell LJniversity personnel, especially Par-rl Curtis, regarding capture apd sterilization procedures as well as staff and facilities; ' work with contractors to coordinate and implernent timing, safety concerns, impact guidelines, etc; ' work with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Cornell University personnel to file recluired permits and other paperwork;. and coordinate with surrounding communities. 2-5. The VCH Board must mal<e a long-term cornrnitrnent to the POA. It will take a minimum of 3 years to see the results of sterilization of the VCH deer population, but the maintenance phase (periodic culling and/or sterilization) rnust be ongoing. The Board also may wish to considerthe use of additional methods to recluce deer-human conflict, such as roui*oy refleotors, education about ticks, an<J a re*examination of the VCH F'encing Ordirran ce (see below regarding Lltme Disease ancl./bncing). 4. A survey, 1'or which private fr-rnding has been off'ered, coulcl be conducted to gauge public sentiment about deer, deer impacts and suppol't for the POA. It could also be Lrsed as a toolto begin the process of identifying property owners who would allow their properties to be used fbrtrapping for sterilization and/or culling. 5' Llnder the POA, the sterilization of approxirnately 60 does would be completed first, allowilgfor the capture o{'less wary does which is ,r'ro.. efficient in tirne and cost. These are the does andfamilies who would continue to live in our community and whose observation and maintenance wor-rld be ongoing. Paul Curtis' experience both in the VCH and at Cornell indicates that thisfirst phase would take approximately two years at an average cost of approxirnately $ I 000/doe. Once 60 does are sterilized, the DMD wor-rld oversee the hiring of prof-essional sharpshooters or bow hunters to shoot r-rnsterilized cleer at bait sites. It is estinraied tiiat approximatety S-t0 siteswill be required lor culling. The DMD will worl< with VCH Police Chi;iBoyce and DEC officer David Riehhnan to develop and oversee the culling protocol and hiring of prnfessional sharpshooters/bow hunters. It is anticipated thatthe initial cLrlling of tlre rerrrainderol'the herdwill occur within a two-three week period within the year after sterilization has been cornpleted.Tlie cost estimate for a bait ancl shoot rnethod is appr<ixirrrately $400/deer. It is estimated that an area of l8 acres will be necessary for each cLrlling site. permissiol will beneeded from landowners to allow lrunting within 500' of their businesses ancl liomes to assemblethe required area. For safety reasons, the DEC recommends against publicizing culling sites andtimes, lest the information alert disruptive protestors to the culiing siies. Howi.r, ,,r*"Villagers woLrld like the inforrnation to secure their own safbty. 'fhe VCH Board may wish toconsider enacting a local law making it illegal, ancl punishable by fine, to interfere in any portionof a culling operation. Recommendations for Interim Action: Given the length oJ'titye that utill be required.for the POA to signi/icanrllt reduce the ntmber oJ'deer in the VCI{, the DIIAC recommends that the VCH Mayor and Boaict o.f Tru.rtees immediately address concerns regording Lyme [.)isease and landscape dantctge: I - Education concerning the Transmission of Lyme Disease Two species of ticks are responsible fbr transmitting Lyrne Disease and conditions such asehrlichiosi'c. Their larvae and nymphs picl< up the ba"ieria when they feecl on a1y srnall rodents whose blood has already been infected, and whose preferrecl cover is long g.urr", and shrubs.Adult ticks move on to feed on a variety of larger mammals including hLrin"ans, and deer wliich are their preferred l'rosts' Studies show that all local deer would have to be removed to affect thenumber of locally transmitted cases of [,yme Disease, none of which would affect the ticksfrequently picked up by travelers. But studies also show that the number of ticks in a local area are generally linearly correlated with the number of deer present. Recommended mitigation ofdeer-borne diseases includes fencing, reducing tick habitats (especially where propefties arebounded by heavy vegetation), ancl the possible treatment of white-footed mice. Eclucating thepLtblic includes practicing "dr-re diligence" in clothing for outdoor wear and learning to check forticl<s alter being outdoors. 2 - Amendrnent of VCH Fence C)rdinance Currently, propefty owners are allowecl to erect a fence of up to 4' high at the bourrdary lirre oftheir properties, or erect a higher fence the same distance fiorn the property boundary as requireclfor a br-rildirrg, that is,25' from the fi'ont boundary line of the property and 1 5, fi.om the side orrear of a property. The DRAC recommends the fence ordinance be examined. One scenario fbrthTq: is that property owners be allowed to erect fences on the boundaries of their property upto 8' high, provided that the portion above 4' is 90%o open and does not act as a solid visual Alternatives: Doing nothing If no management of the deer population is implemented, research indicates that the deerpopulation will continue to increase in numbeiand density. Given the ourrent degree ofcomplaints about the deer population, it is expected that doing nothing will lead tl increasingdeer population numbers and increasing concerns with deer-human interaction in the VCH. Culling only while this is the most cost-effective method of reducing tl"re size of the herd, it is also the mostcontroversial' Maintenance of the herd would be requir:ed at a higher level, because the deer thathave not been killed will continue to breed. Culling would be ongoing, would disrupt villageharmony, and would keep the controversy alive. Sterilization only This option is slower and more expensive than oulling alone or even the cornbined approach ofsterilization and culling recommended by the DRAC. It woLrld tal<e approxirnately 3-5 years tostabilize herd growth if target numbers of deer are sterilize<j annually, and herd reductions wouldnot be evident fbr approximately 5-6 years. barrier' Pennits for this higher fencing will be recluired in all cases to ensure the design isacceptable' For example, 8' high chain link fencing, solid fencing or walls would not beapproved. 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 Elizabeth Mount, Resident --oo N|/l v! ,/F ooo<: NN -"oo NN '-"oo NU) 41n --.oo NLN r,,voo :i Ntn A; NN lt {a n:- NN d N 1/\ N N 4 An^,qqqq d56 X ololj r)?r)<4v>vl cq 888! oonX olol-i {t\ <J\ A 44 Vt 4 ,qqc\ 888 H o.'ol .i 0 1J\ {/}V}CV}Vr4 , YYY!q 888 X ololj 1/\ <tr 0 0 {J\ g ,--Y4 EEE! 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