Deer Overpopulation on the North Fork, What should be done?

The attached document contains many facts relevant to the 2014 deer cull on the North Fork of Long Island. Since this document is from the Town of Southold (TOS) / Long Island Farm Bureau (LIFB) / United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services (USDA APHIS-WS), this "WorkPlan" is a good authority to use to discredit some of the false claims being spread by Supervisor Russell and his allies.

The “Work Plan” describes the proposed cull of deer in Eastern Suffolk County. The resolutions to support a deer cull and to contribute up to $25,000 by Southold Town Board were adopted in connection with a cull of deer only on agricultural lands in the Town of Southold.

The areas on which hunting is permitted and the areas on which the cull is planed do not include any residential areas. Rather than target deer involved in conflicts with humans the cull is aimed only at deer involved in conflicts with farmers. 

Also included in the attached downloadable PDF is a copy of The MEMORANDUM from Southold Planning Department that Southold Town Board relied on to exempt the planned cull from any environmental review. Since when is a municipal cull funded by taxpayers an agricultural farm management practice that is consistent with generally accepted principles of farming? The failure to produce an Environmental Impact Statement is one thing. The failure to even fill our a Short Form Environmental Assessment Form is another. According the the NYS DEC "A properly completed EAF describes the proposed action, its location, its purpose and its potential impacts on the environment." None of that was done in connection with the Southold Town Deer Cull.The Town of Southold is responding to an alleged deer invasion by an environmental intervention without any environmental review.

There are a few essential facts missing from this "WorkPlan". There is no mention of other organizations and options available to conduct deer culls. White Buffalo, Inc. for example. There is no mention of deer exclosures which offer immediate benefits, support planning future actions and have little potential for rebound.

While deer management in Southold Town has unique aspects and solutions that worked or did not work in other places may perform differently here there are lessons to be learned. For example, eleven management alternatives are described in the report Comprehensive Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in Montgomery County, Maryland - Goals, Objectives, Implementation

The problem with Southold is that the planned cull can be expected to aggravate the problems associated with deer overpopulation and other options to reduce the potential damages and size of the herds are being dismissed without reason. If enough people contact Russell I believe he will change his mind and the rest of the Town Board will follow.

References

http://www.whitebuffaloinc.org/

http://www.scatacook.org/Downloads/DeerExclosures/Deer-Exclosure-Report.pdf

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/PPSD/Natural_Resources_Stewardship/Living_with_wildlife/deer/document...