11.20.05Elusive hunt for a lasting solution
11.20.05
Elusive hunt for a lasting solution
LI areas seek to control rising number of deer, which chomp plants, carry
disease and roil residents
The following article was published in Sundays New York Newsday. The
opinions expressed within are that of Newsday and it's writers and no that
of the ADL-LI. The ADL-LI is a firm believer in sustainability and
recognizes the needs of songbirds and creatures that inhabit and feed of
forest understory. The ADL-LI proposes that the town not kill deer, and
preserve understory by curtailing development and through discontinuing
the mass mowing of Caumsett's vast meadows.
BY CYNTHIA DANIELS
STAFF WRITER
November 20, 2005
From her window, Lloyd Harbor resident Maureen Dillner watches deer
jumping through her backyard, sees them standing in her neighbor's
driveway and comes to a halt when they cross village roads.
Farther east, North Haven Village Clerk Ed Deyermond witnessed what the
deer have done to East End communities: damaged gardens, collided with
cars and carried the threat of Lyme disease.
"The numbers are just growing and growing," said Dillner, 52, whose
backyard neighbors Caumsett State Park. "It's not going to stop by
itself."
In a battle between man and deer - in full swing in many Long Island towns
and villages - many say despite measures that include culls and birth
control, the deer seem to be winning. Long Island's deer population has
increased by 1,000 percent in 20 years, growing by an estimated 11,000 to
20,000 deer here, experts from the state Department of Environmental
Conservation say.
And the fight is moving westward as deer migrate from the east to Lloyd
Harbor, Huntington and Nassau's North Shore. Experts say they serve as
hosts for deer ticks and reservoirs for the bacteria that cause other
tick-borne disease - Lyme disease cases have increased across Long Island
this past year, and nearly doubled in Nassau County, state health
officials say. As they move, deer collide with vehicles on roads and eat
forest understory - a source of food and shelter for insects and birds.
"Nobody would've guessed this 30 or 40 years ago, but deer have learned
how to become very adaptable to human habitats," said Daniel Rosenblatt,
regional wildlife manager for the state's Department of Environmental
Conservation. "Deer have become accustomed to people and they're not
afraid to ... take advantage of it."
So Long Islanders have decided to look for solutions.
In Lloyd Harbor, where the deer population doubled to 80 in one year, a
cull at a seminary and in a state park was suspended last week after
animal rights protesters surfaced. One organized group, the Animal
Liberation Front, took credit - via a Web site - for covering the home and
cars of Lloyd Harbor Mayor Leland Hairr in red paint, while workers at
village hall received intimidating phone calls.
Both the Diocese of Rockville Centre, owner of the Seminary of the
Immaculate Conception, and the state parks department asked the village
last week for more information before proceeding with the hunt, which
allows state-licensed marksmen to use high-intensity lights and
short-range shotguns to remove the deer.
"You'll see them in every yard," warned resident Gerard Muro. "In the
middle of the night as you're driving down the road, in the morning
they'll be in and out of properties feeding on anything and everything
they can get a hold of."
But village resident Charles Reina, who disagrees with the cull, wants a
moratorium on the killings.
"They've overestimated this whole thing - blown it out of proportion,"
said Reina, whose backyard borders Caumsett State Park. "It's still a
small enough problem to be handled in other ways."
Drastic as it may seem to some, Hairr said since last year's cull, which
removed 27 deer, the village has not had any reported deer-car collisions,
but two days after the cull suspension, a car collided with a deer on
Target Rock Drive. He added that the cull is not designed to exterminate
the herd but control it so the deer "don't eat the understory and wreak
ecological havoc."
Rosenblatt warns deer populations may increase by 50 percent or more in a
single year, so communities with problems should act soon.
Like the Village of North Haven, where a "deer emergency" has been in
effect since 1996 when the deer population reached 450. Through nuisance
permits that allow bow-and-arrow culls, the population has decreased to at
least 150 deer, Deyermond said.
"At least in North Haven, we seem to be winning the battle," he said.
Even though bow-and-arrow hunting season is in gear - from Oct. 1 to Dec.
31 - some governments have chosen other means.
Nearly 10 years ago, Fire Island began its own fight. Community uproar
over the growing number of deer, which were eating plants, rifling through
trash and knocking over children, spawned a birth-control research
program.
The program lets staff from the Humane Society of the United States, parks
service and volunteers dart as many does as possible every September. It
also incorporates a dye system to distinguish darted does.
Michael Bilecki, chief of resources management for Fire Island National
Seashore, said while there are no definitive numbers, deer density has
decreased in some areas.
In the Town of Shelter Island, public hunting season is no longer enough
to control deer herds that have infiltrated people's backyards, damaging
the shrubbery and adding to the risk of tick-borne diseases. Shelter
Island leads Suffolk in Lyme disease incidents, Shelter Island Supervisor
Arthur Williams said.
This year, Williams said, the town is considering opening appropriate town
properties during hunting season.
As governments and residents seek solutions, Hairr already has submitted
information to the diocese explaining the rationale behind the cull, and
residents, including Muro, are considering purchasing higher fences to
keep their new neighbors out.
One thing's clear, Rosenblatt said. "Once you have deer, it's going to be
something you have to deal with on a regular basis. They're not just going
to go away."
Oh, deer
The deer population has risen by 1,000 percent over the past 20 years on
Long Island, a fact that has alarmed public health officials in both
counties. In addition to being hosts for ticks that cause Lyme disease and
other ailments, deer are also responsible for thousands of dollars of
damage to vehicles and homes.
182,458
Total number of claims made to State Farm, the nation's largest home
insurer, for deer-related accidents nationwide.
5,798
Of those, total claims for deer-related accidents in New York State
$2,572
Average amount of property damage in deer-related accidents paid out by
State Farm
SOURCES: WWW.DEERWORLD.ORG; WEST VIRGINIA DIVISION OF NATURAL RESOURCES;
STATE FARM INSURANCE
THE DAMAGE THEY DO
Deer can become serious pests if the population is allowed to grow
unchecked. The chief problems they pose include:
UNSETTLING THE ECOSYSTEM:
When deer gobble up oak, maple and ash seddlings, species like black birch
and beech gain edge. The loss of ground-level trees also removes habitats
for some bird species that need them for nesting.
AGRICULTURE:
Crop fields provide an easily accessible source of food for deer,
particularly during the winter months or early spring when natural food
supplies are at their lowest. Over time, this causes a severe loss of
crops.
TREES:
Deer strip bark from around the trunks of trees, lowering the value of
wood to loggers.
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS:
A number of people are killed and more injured eaach year in collisions
with deer. Millions of dollars is also caused. Most accidents occur when
deer stray onto roadways at night.
BEATING BACK THE NUISANCE
A number of natural and man-made methods exist for restricting deer
infestations. Here are some of the more popular methods:
COMMERCIAL REPELLENTS:
These chemical solutions discourage deer feeding through use of an
offensive taste or odor. No repellent is continuosuly effective. A pint of
solution costs about $25 and covers 250 square feet.
NONCOMMERCIAL REPELLENTS:
Home remedies include packaging human hair, animal waste or soap in a mesh
bag. Reliability varies. Deer recognize humans and foxes as predators; one
sniff and they're often on their way.
FENCING:
Electrified fencing can be an effective deterrent. It also can be
expensive and unsightly.
THE DEER TAKE
While not absolute, experts say deer taken during hunting season often
reflects the population at large. The 2003 harvest in Suffolk County was
an all-time high.
Year Deer taken
2002 2,148
2003 2,456*
2004 2,014
*All-time record
SOURCE: NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
THE LYME PICTURE
Deer carry the tick that transmits Lyme disease, a particularly
significant public health issue on Long Island.
New reported Lyme disease cases
Total cases
1997-2205
799 Nassau
5,377 Suffolk
1997
Nassau - 121
Suffolk - 842
1998
Nassau - 110
Suffolk - 916
1999
Nassau - 107
Suffolk - 847
2000
Nassau - 86
Suffolk - 581
2001
Nassau - 48
Suffolk - 417
2002
Nassau - 82
Suffolk - 513
2003
Nassau - 75
Suffolk - 288
2004
Nassau - 59
Suffolk - 561
2005*
Nassau - 111
Suffolk - 412
*Provisional data, through mid-November
SOURCE: NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc.