Communication from United Bowhunters of CT (UBC): Comments
and suggestions from DEP. re: overviews of the hearing and what might
we do next.
DEP:
The hearing went very well. The Environment Committee
(EC) asked some good questions. Jessie Stratton, in particular, asked a
variety of legitimate questions. The legislative record now shows
that CT has a deer problem in some parts of the state and the DEP is asking
for more tools to address the issue (they did not get specific, but mentioned
hunting on "weekend days" as an option.
It may be a waiting game now until the EC decides what to
do next. What was suggested is that we get non-hunting residents to call
their legislators and the Governor's office and urge them to take action on
the deer problem. It is important that these calls come from residents
with no interest in hunting themselves. Legislators expect to get calls
from the AR's regarding anti-hunting legislation and to get calls
from hunters regarding pro-hunting legislation. If we can get our
neighbors or people who own the property where we hunt to contact their
legislators (preferably on the EC) it would have significant impact.
Make it easy for the landowner. Find out who their legislator is and give them
the contact information. Explain the issue. It is surprising how many
residents who do not hunt but support hunting (especially in Fairfield county)
do not realize that we can't hunt on Sunday. We need to reach this segment of
the public and have them contact their legislators. Calls to the Governor's
office (860-566-4840) supporting DEP's efforts to manage deer would also help.
The UBC is in the process of contacting the Governor's office separately to
seek his position and at the least, let him know we want Sunday
hunting passed.
Coalition Hearing Comments:
This hearing was a success and clearly demonstrated
there is a serious wildlife management problem in the state - not only with
deer, but also with other species. With few exceptions, the committee
recognizes this fact. What the Committee/Legislature will do about it is
uncertain - if past history is any example - little or nothing. It must also
be recognized that the impetus for this hearing was generated by the
Coalition: DEP cannot present themselves to the legislature without
invitation, and it is unclear what the Administration's priority on
deer/wildlife management is, although it is being questioned.
All DEP primary speakers (Leff, Dep Comm; May, Dir
Wildlife; Kilpatrick, Deer Biologist) gave impressive and well
prepared/documented presentations. Kilpatrick listed some management options:
1. Do nothing - which we believe was totally discounted by all except those
leaning animal rights; 2. Fencing or repellants - doesn't address the
overpopulation problem; 3. Relocation - not feasible/practicable. 4.
Immunocontraception - Experimental - no experiments resulted in population
reduction, possibility an option for the future. 5. Hunting - Principal
management tool, impacted by hunting access and opportunity.
Kilpatrick said deer CAN be managed, but the right TOOLS
are needed. He demonstrated current tools and a history of changing options:
Season length- from 0 to 73 days; Bag limit- 1 to 12+ deer; Antlerless Deer-1
to unlimited in certain areas; DEP increased Outreach - Tech assistance, info
hearings. He emphasized Tools should INCREASE access to deer and increase
hunter efficiency.
New tools: 1. More weekend days (Sunday
strongly inferred). Opening day is the biggest harvest day, followed by
weekend days. The 3 Saturdays account for 1/3 of the total season harvest and
when coupled with opening day almost half. 2. Use of Bait. Increase
hunter efficiency, focus location to optimize safety. Only in designated
zones. 3. Sharpshooting. Only permitted in unique situations w/limited
number of experienced/proficient hunters. Several other states have used. 4.
Fertility Control. Little applicability to large, free ranging
populations.
From comments made by legislators, some would prefer
not to address the issue and had concerns about incompatable activities (Rep.
Sharkey) i.e. hiking/hunting. This was answered by Leff that there is little
documented danger and DEP policy is multiple-use recreation. Public education
is the key (Rep. Megna) who also believed that Coyotes were not in populated
areas, and obviously opposed any type trapping. Rep. Chapin was concerned
about crop damage from all species. Perhaps the best and most knowledable questions
came from Rep. Widlitz who asked, If the state is supporting open space
acquisition by the towns and they do not allow hunting, who has management
responsibility. Leff answered the Towns, most state lands have multiple use
functions and management. Rep. Piscipo asked What is a sharpshooter? and
indicated, Why pay when you can get qualified hunters for free? Kilpatrick
answered Sharpshooter is an absract idea.
Some on the committee are simply looking for quick
solutions that are not there - this after at least 25 years of the same do
little/nothing attitude. Some would prefer the status quo, no multiple use
recreation/possible conflict with hikers; Sharpshooters preferable to hunters
even though they lack the requisite knowledge to even define the term. Most
other members recognize the growing problem and hopefully will push for
action. If nothing is done, the deer/other wildlife management problems will
worsen and there will be more discussion next year until some major tragedy
occurs (Turkey through a windshield resulting in death, water supplies
contaminated by beaver, a legislator or other notable dead/hospitalized in a
deer/car collision, a child threatened or injured by a coyote. All sportsmen
can confidently relate and document many DEP and sportsmen proposals that
would have solved or alleviated current problems. The fact is: few have had
the Administration's or Legislature's support or interest and proper wildlife
management has been disregarded due to probable controversy.
The info hearing was also beneficial to other hunters and
trappers. Several questions on trapping were asked or positions stated. The
substance of the hearing, whether pertaining to turkey, beaver, bears,
coyotes, etc, was that use of the best and proper tools must be used, access
by hunters/trappers promoted, and increased management is essential or
the situation will become more critical. The question then becomes: Will
the Environment committee listen and adopt DEP professional advice and
input from experts in the field (hunters/trappers)? Or will we see another
year of no action or diversion of effort to some emotional non-solution
or one detrimental to management (Ban the Trap, Municipal control of Hunting)?
Your input to the Committee members is needed!
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State's growing deer
population needs solution, state officials say
Hartford Connecticut should step up measures to
control the white-tailed deer population that's growing along the southeastern
shoreline, state environmental officials warned Wednesday.
With state deer populations higher than at any time in
recorded history, the Department of Environmental Protection is seeking
legislation that would allow its commissioner to use certain techniques, such
as baiting deer, to manage the herds.
At a meeting Wednesday with the legislature's Environment
Committee, a DEP wildlife official also suggested the General Assembly
consider increasing the number of weekend hunting days and allow the hiring of
sharpshooters to thin the population. Dale W. May, director of the wildlife
division, said many of the state's statutes are more than 50 years old and
have not kept up with technology or the growing number of deer.
“We don't have a functioning balance of nature in
Connecticut anymore,” May said. “The bottom line is, we need to manage. We
don't have any choice.”
But animal rights advocates claim the department's
“management” of deer is actually causing the population problem.
Julie Lewin, of Animal Advocacy Connecticut, said the DEP
should let nature take its course. As the state allows hunters to kill deer in
the fall, it reduces competition for food in winter and essentially encourages
the remaining females to breed. Female deer are less likely to give birth if
they have no body fat, Lewin said.
“If they stop hunting, there would be far fewer
births,” Lewin said. “Nature will find its own balance according to the
food supply.”
In 1896, there were only a dozen deer in Connecticut, May
said. The number grew to 3,000 in 1936; to 19,000 in 1974 and to 76,000 in
2000. Calling the deer “abundant adaptable wildlife,” May said the
prolific animals are taking advantage of suburban habitats and building to
unnatural population levels.
And it is not only deer. May said state populations of
Canada geese and beaver are higher than at any other time in recorded history,
and both species have the potential to increase their numbers substantially.
He said black bears have returned to the state and that the DEP anticipates a
dramatic increase in their number over the next five years. Moose are not far
behind, and coyotes are continuing to expand into suburban neighborhoods as
well.
“This is a recipe for conflict and it will get
worse if not addressed proactively,” May said.
Much of Wednesday's presentation concentrated on the
effects of the growing white-tailed deer population, which has become a
problem for many homeowners in southeastern shoreline towns. A DEP map
indicates all of the New London County towns along the shore are home to an
ever-increasing number of deer, while in towns farther north, such as Norwich,
the population appears to be steady.
The deer population also is growing in much of the
southwestern portion of Connecticut, especially the Greenwich, Shelton and
Milford areas.
An overabundance of deer can be blamed for serious
ecological damage, as well as human health problems and damage to property,
said Howard Kilpatrick, the DEP's program supervisor for deer, turkey and
waterfowl. Kilpatrick showed lawmakers a photograph of a fenced enclosure at
the Bluff Point Coastal Reserve in Groton, where deer once numbered about 200
per square mile. After five years, the area was filled with lush vegetation.
But outside the enclosure, where deer had the opportunity to munch, the
vegetation was only short, clipped grass.
Patty Pendergast, vice president of the Connecticut
Ornithological Association, said she sees the negative impact that deer are
having on the state's songbird population. With more and more deer grazing in
the ever-shrinking deep woods, habitats for the ground-nesting birds are
declining, she said. “I have real concern about losing the checks and
balances,” Pendergast said.
Kilpatrick cited a study of Mumford Cove in Groton where
the community of about 110 houses has experienced a large incidence of Lyme
disease. In the mid-to-late 1980s, about two to three residents reported
getting the disease. That number grew to four to five in the mid-1990s. In
1998, 20 residents said they had been found to have the debilitating
tick-borne illness.
“This correlates closely to the increase in deer
population in the area,” Kilpatrick said. “Deer are the preferred host of
the adult tick.”
Meanwhile, humans also are coming in contact with deer
via the roadways. Last year, 3,000 deer roadkills were reported to the DEP's
wildlife division, likely one third or half the actual number, he said. That
means an estimated 20 deer are struck and killed by cars in Connecticut each
day. A DEP map from 1999 indicated there were 40 to 50 roadkills in Montville,
and about two to three roadkills per square mile in North Stonington.
Hunting appears to be the most effective form of
population control, said Kilpatrick, who holds out hope that contraception
eventually could be the solution. There are two test sites for female deer
contraception in Connecticut, and the state's Agricultural Experiment Station
also is examining a form of male contraception. But Kilpatrick said the
vaccines currently approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration are
not effective. Those that do work do not have the FDA go-ahead, he said.
State Rep. Diana Urban, R-North Stonington, a member of
the Environment Committee, said she would like to see greater emphasis on
finding an effective contraceptive for the bucks.
“I'm really interested in it,” she said. “It
sounds like a win-win. It doesn't sound that expensive.”
Current law allows hunters to bag at least 12 deer,
including five mandatory antlerless or female deer, each season. Hunters are
allowed to kill additional antlerless deer if they want.
Hunting is allowed on only three Saturdays each season,
which accounts for 30 percent of the harvest. If more weekend days are added,
the DEP hopes it will result in more dead deer.
Some legislators Wednesday said they worry that more
hunting in the state forests could prove deadly to the hikers walking the same
trails. A couple of years ago, the General Assembly passed a new law banning
hunting on Sundays. Many constituents complained they did not feel safe
walking in state forestland while people were hunting.
But David Leff, deputy DEP commissioner, said hunters are
well trained and accidents are rare.
“There's also plenty of apprehension when someone
crosses the street,” Leff said. “Hunting, I think, passes muster as a safe
activity.”
Town Plans
2-Year Deer Tally
By MARTIN CASSIDY
Greenwich Time
January 23, 2001
GREENWICH - The Conservation Commission is making plans
to begin a two-year, wide-ranging study of the deer population in Greenwich.
The study would include not only a population survey but
extensive research and statistical analysis of deer in town, Conservation
Director Denise Savageau said.
Plans for the study are being made with the Wildlife
Conservation Research Center at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, with
assistance from the Wildlife Division of the Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection Savageau said.
On Friday, Savageau met with DEP wildlife biologist
Howard Kilpatrick and Dr. James Barclay, an associate professor at the UConn
Center, to discuss the study, she said.
A meeting of Conservation Commission members is planned
for early next week.
The commission appointed a three-member Wildlife Issues
Committee to research problems associated with the local deer population. The
study's results will help the commission establish a management policy
tailored to the habits of deer within the town.
"It's really hard to even consider management
without having an idea of what we're dealing with," Savageau said.
An estimate of the study's costs has not yet been made
because the project is still in the planning stage. However, Savageau said,
the commission plans to use some of its budget to begin the study and has
approached neighborhood groups, such as the Round Hill and North Greenwich
associations, for financial assistance.
One option for the study being discussed is attaching
radio collars to deer to monitor where they move and how the local deer
population is concentrated, Barclay said. Researchers also will examine the
deer for how many ticks they are carrying and signs of ill health.
"We're going to be very open to all the
options," Barclay said. "It's turning into a very exciting
project."
The DEP is developing a grid for the aerial deer count,
Barclay said. The plan will divide the town into areas in which to conduct the
count.
Kilpatrick could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The aerial deer count will be conducted by an observer
aboard an airplane or helicopter, Barclay said. Subsequent counts could be
conducted using infrared video cameras with heat sensing film, a method
Barclay said was more accurate.
"We would want to compare the results of the
two," Barclay said. "From that, we can extrapolate the deer
population of the town."
Researchers also may conduct a survey of residents'
attitudes regarding Lyme disease and the animals, Barclay said. The study
would yield information that could be applied to other towns in Fairfield
County, he said.
"It's a very exciting project, and we'll be trying
some new things," Barclay said. "Greenwich is an urbanizing setting
and could yield information useful for other towns."
For the second winter in a row, the state Department of
Environmental Protection loosened hunting regulations this year to allow
bowhunters to kill as many female deer as they could to help control the
population. In addition, the bowhunting season on private lands was extended
in Zone 11, which includes Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford, and
Westport.
The Round Hill Association, a neighborhood group
representing about 1,000 homeowners in backcountry Greenwich, are behind the
study, association vice president Scott Ledbetter said.
"Its a combination of safety, health and
environmental issues," he said. "People don't have picnics on their
lawns anymore because of Lyme disease."
Association members are concerned about the threat of
Lyme disease, as well as increasing deer-related car accidents and damage to
forests and plants by browsing deer, he said.
All current prescribed deer management methods have
drawbacks, Ledbetter said. Deer fencing to prevent browsing is expensive and
unattractive, and hiring bowhunters to cull the population is often
impractical on smaller pieces of land.
"We hope the town funds it like any other public
safety issue," Ledbetter said. "It's a controversial subject and a
statewide issue."
Dep Ends Bluff Point Hunt With 63 Deer Killed
01/19/01
GROTON Conn. (AP) - The state has reached its goal of
killing 63 deer at the Bluff Point Coastal Reserve, the Department of
Environmental Protection said Friday.
The hunt, which began Jan. 8, leaves the reserve with
about 25 deer. DEP biologists said the food sources and fragile ecosystem of
the area can better handle a smaller herd.
The reserve and adjacent Bluff Point State Park will
reopen to the public Saturday.
Scientists will study the deer carcasses to assess the
health and reproductive rates of the herd. The meat will be donated to food
banks.
AP-ES-01-19-01 1301EST
