Wilton selectmen back deer hunt UPDATE

Animal rights activists protest Wilton’s first controlled deer hunt
 
(11/25/03) WILTON - The Town of Wilton’s first controlled deer hunt began Tuesday morning, but not without protest. About a half dozen animal right's activists protested on Old Huckleberry Road at the hunter access point.

The decision to allow the deer hunt was made Monday night by the Wilton Board of Selectmen as a way to control the overwhelming deer population. Wilton officials reached an agreement with officials from Norwalk's second taxing district, who own the land around the Rock Lake and City Lake reservoirs where the hunt will take place.

To insure safety, the town placed many restrictions on who can hunt. Environmental Affairs Director Patricia Sesto says it is an invitational, non-recreational based hunt specifically to control the deer herd within Wilton.

The decision to allow the hunt is based on a two-and-a-half-year study that shows the town has about 60 more deer per square mile than is ecologically safe. Many neighbors support the decision, saying there are too many deer in their yards and on area roads. But one protester, with the Friends of Animals Group, says town leaders ignored their concerns.

http://www.news12.com/CT/topstories/article?id=95513

 

Wilton selectmen back deer hunt

By LEE HIGGINS. Special to The Hour (Norwalk Hour 11/09/03)

 

WILTON - The Board of Selectmen recently voted to endorse a controlled deer hunt beginning Nov. 19 on 700 acres of Norwalk’s Second Taxing District Water Authority land in Wilton.  Second Selectman Maria Napier opposed on the 3-1 Vote and Selectman Marilyn Gould was absent.

 

“We did our fall priorities and one of them was to have a controlled hunt," said Pat Sesto, a member of the town's Deer Management Committee and director of environmental affairs, "It is a joint venture between the Second Taxing District and Wilton."

 

The acreage chosen for the hunt by the Deer Management Committee surrounds City Lake and Rock Lake in south- west Wilton. Pending approval of a recreation permit from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the hunt would coincide with the opening of the firearms season on Nov. 19.

 

The plans call for using rifles and muzzleloaders to hunt deer until the conclusion of the firearms season on Dec. 9. Then bowhunting would begin and run until Jan. 31, 2004.

 

"The advantage to the Second Taxing District is it is private land," said Sesto. She also said much of the area is fenced off and no trespassing rules there are strictly enforced.

 

Up to 10 hunters may hunt at a given time at locations in the interior of the parcel, Sesto said. The Deer Management Committee will ensure hunters are licensed and they will be required to hunt from tree stands, Sesto said.

 

"They also must adhere to an additional set of rules that the Second Taxing District and I have set up," said Sesto.

 

Those rules include permitting deer hunting only and requiring hunters to check in with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection staff or town staff when entering and exiting the property.

 

The plans call for hunters to hunt for two days, take a week off, and hunt for another two days until the respective hunting seasons end.

 

Sesto and at least one other Deer Management Committee member will staff a check station where hunters may turn in tagged antlerless deer for replacement tags. Hunters are permitted to seek unlimited rep1acement tags for antlerless deer in Zone 11 where the 100 acres falls.

 

Butchers will also be on hand. "We will have butchers on board ready to receive the venison," said Sesto. "Our participants will have their first choice of the meat they'd like to take. I do suspect that the soup kitchens will benefit from this project."

 

Sesto said the hunters are on board "because they understand the broader range of issues that we as a community are trying to address."

 

The Deer Management Committee has solicited the help of the police department to patrol the area during the hunting periods. Wilton Police will be provided with the location or each hunter and vehicle identifications for each hunter's vehicle.

 

Second Selectman Maria Napier opposed on Monday's vote. "I'm really impressed with the whole safety aspect of this," she said. But Napier pointed to survey statistics that indicated the majority of the town does not support controlled hunting on town land. "I feel like someone has to support the 68 percent of the population that does not want hunting on town land," she said, I Napier was reminded the hunt will take place on private property, but stuck by her opinion.

 

"First Selectman Paul Hannah supported the measure, "It's a tough issue," said Hannah, " I will vote in favor of this. Lyme Disease has been such a problem. I also am mindful that the deer do eat the shrubs."