Public to Weigh in on Whether More Fencing Equals Less Damage from Deer

Only a day after Southold Town's fledging deer management program opened to hunters yesterday, Southold Town Board members will hear public input tonight on a proposed law that would allow deer fencing up to eight feet high on side and back portions of commercial and residential properties.

Currently, owners of agricultural parcels are the only residents allowed to use deer fencing in the effort to protect their land from an ever-growing herd.

Jeff Standish, the Town's deputy director of public works and manager of the deer control hunting program, said that he has mixed feelings about the proposed law but said more fencing will ultimately make hunting easier because it will limit where the deer can roam.

"I'm fifty-fifty on the law, because for one I don't want to look at fenced in yards, personally," he said. "And if one person has fencing, they might push the deer to properties that don't have it. But on the other hand, more fencing will help funnel the deer into places where they can be hunted, so it's really not a bad thing to do."

Standish added that fencing will help places like Nassau Point in particular, where there are very few areas where hunting is allowed.

The public hearing will take place tonight after the Board's 7:30pm meeting at Town Hall in Southold.