Community Example: Town of Dewitt, New York

Key facts

Formed a town Deer Task Force in 2015 (disbanded in 2016)
Refocused the discussion on most-impacted neighborhoods
Adopted and began implementing a deer management plan in 2017
Venison is donated to Hunters for the Hungry

Community Size: Medium city (10,000 to 50,000 people)

Region: Northeast

Plan established in 2017

The Town of DeWitt engaged in a 3-year process of gathering information and working in partnership with town residents, regional experts, and the greater community. In October, 2017 the DeWitt Town Board formally adopted a Deer Management Plan, and subsequently received a Nuisance Permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permitting the town to conduct a managed hunt of antlerless deer. The first managed hunt was conducted between January and March of 2017.

In some areas, the Town of DeWitt has approximately 85 deer per square mile, roughly ten times the number generally considered acceptable from an ecological and societal perspective. The intention of the deer reduction is to stabilize the deer population in DeWitt, reduce the incidence of Lyme disease and deer-vehicle collisions and limit damage to landscape plants and other vegetation.

The deer reduction program is occurring on both private and public lands. As a safety precaution, night-time park closures—from dusk to dawn—are enforced during the hunt. [Source: Town of DeWitt Press Release, January 2017].

Location

Phase 1. Problem Definition

The Town of DeWitt noticed a slight uptick in deer complaints in 2014 and began keeping track of the complaints. When they mapped the addresses, they noticed that the complaints were generally concentrated to specific areas within the Town.The Town was interested in learning more about these issues and organized an information sharing opportunity with neighboring municipalities and governing agencies in 2015.The complexity and challenges ahead were highlighted at the meeting. [Source: White-tailed deer management, Town of Dewitt].

Phase 2. Decision-making

Learning from communities like Cayuga Heights, NY the Town recognized the necessity for community involvement. As a result, in 2016, the Town organized a Deer Task Force comprised of community members concerned about the deer issue. A broad array of stakeholders gathered, including animal rights advocates, hunters, farmers, parents of young children, gardeners, etc. The Deer Task Force met regularly over the course of 10 months. Wildlife management experts presented to the group on deer population size; impacts to the environment and people; management options; benefits and costs; experiences; and challenges and opportunities. Around this same time, SUNY-ESF received funding through Assembly person Hunter’s office to determine current deer densities and model potential future populations under a variety of management scenarios.

There was a general sense of frustration among members of the Task Force, regardless of their stance on deer and deer management. This group was unable to make any recommendations after meeting for almost a year. Subsequently they were disbanded in late 2016.

On Saturday, April 29, 2016 the Town hosted a public forum at the Jamesville Dewitt Middle School in an attempt to share information with the residents most impacted by deer.The forum was an information sharing opportunity among residents and with the Town in an attempt to convey problems and realistic solutions. Representatives of lethal and non-lethal management were present.This forum was not heavily attended, but we received criticisms from attendees that advertisement was poor. [Source: White-tailed deer management, Town of Dewitt]

Phase 3. Implementation

Early in 2017 some of the community members from the Deer Task Force aligned and began a grassroots effort. They sought guidance from Cornell Cooperative Extension and began going door-to-door garnering neighborhood support for their initiative. To date, they have collected over 500 residential signatures in support of a neighborhood cull and have begun conversations with private land owners to host a cull location. They have also drafted a management plan that was later adopted by the Town of DeWitt. This group calls themselves the DeWitt Neighborhood Deer Committee (DNDC).

The DNDC requested support for their efforts form the DeWitt Town Board on June 26, 2017. They coordinated several neighborhood planning meetings and hosted a public meeting at the Jamesville DeWitt Middle School on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. The DNDC again presented to the DeWitt Town Board on Monday, September 25th formally requesting the Town to adopt the management plan and implement proposed strategies this winter. The comments from the September 19th meeting were recorded and will be presented—along with the petition—to the DeWitt Town Board on Monday, October 23rd

Phase 4. Evaluation and Adaptation Phase

The DeWitt, NY program is new enough that the evaluation and adaptation phase are not yet underway. Check back for details!