When it comes to the deer crisis in Southold, Town Supervisor Scott Russell believes it’s critical to compile as much data as possible.
To that end, Russell unveiled a survey, “Living with Deer In NJ”, which was issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Division.
The survey asks questions including how many members of a household have had Lyme disease or other tick-borne illnesses, how many have been involved in car accidents involving deer and where those accidents took place, the cost of deer damage to landscaping and gardens, whether or not members of the household feed deer, whether residents hunt deer, if they believe deer are a problem, attitudes regarding deer, and who participants believe are responsible for reducing damage and accidents caused by deer.
“We need empirical date,” Russell said, adding that the survey might need to be modified to include agricultural lands.
Councilwoman Louisa Evans asked how the town could ensure that those taking the survey were actual residents of Southold Town and not from other areas, “skewing” the survey results.
Russell said the mailing could be sent to property address of Southold residents, based on information from the assessor’s office; labels could be printed, he said.
Councilwoman Jill Doherty pointed out the first questions on the survey involved what county and municipality an individual lived in.
Russell said some out of towners have been misrepresenting themselves during the controversial deer cull discussions. “One hunter stood up recently and said he was from Orient but actually only hunts in Orient,” Russell said.
Councilman Bob Ghosio suggested the surveys be numbered, just as tax bills are numbered.
“This is such a hot button with such a huge, organized group protesting that they could stuff ballot boxes.”
Russell said he wasn’t all too sure how large the group of animal advocates speaking out against the cull actually is. “They had a protest outside of Town Hall on Saturday with all of six people there. To be candid, I don’t think the numbers are there, as they represent.”
Saturday’s protest, which was organized by Bill Crain, president of the East Hampton Group for Wildlife, was attended by Bridgehampton resident Wendy Chamberlain of the Wildlife Preservation Coalition. The protest was canceled, she said on Saturday, attributing the turnout to the good weather.
On Thursday, Judge Joseph C. Teresi of the New York State Supreme Court in Albany granted a temporary restraining order to petitioners — including Chamberlin — that effectively stopped the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing any further deer damage permits, which were necessary to allow sharpshooters to cull deer on private properties.
The court’s decision did not affect the deer damage permits that have already been issued by the state.
Last week, DEC spokesperson Aphrodite Montalvo said the DEC could not comment on pending litigation but said the agency so far had granted 12 deer damage permits for the East End deer cull, with six pending. While she would not divulge specific locations, Montalvo said the sites were located in Riverhead, Southold, and Southampton towns; those permits granted will be allowed to proceed.
The deer cull has been steeped in controversy; a plan to boycott Riverhead and North Fork farms and wineries participating in the cull is ongoing.
The deer cull has incited fiere opposition in recent weeks as both deer advocates and local hunters came before the Southold Town board at their most recent meeting and begged them to reconsider contributing $25,000 to the program, organized by the Long Island Farm Bureau and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services division.
A previous lawsuit commenced by Chamberlin to halt the cull was dismissed in court, which denied the plaintiff’s request for a temporary restraining order.
The lawsuit will be heading back to court on March 28 in Albany, when the judge will hear the argument on the request for the preliminary injunction.
The DEC and the LIFB have until March 21 to put their position in writing.
Southold Town Attorney Martin Finnegan reminded that Southold was not a party to the action, and that the town’s only resolution had been to allocate $25,000 to the LIFB for the cull.
At a state of the town address last week Russell said the town has long had a deer management program, with the top priority always focused on hunting. The state hunting regulations, he said, need to be relaxed, something that can only be done on the state level.
And, he said, the need to address the deer situation in Southold remains critical.
“This board is committed to resolving what is a top priority and the largest crisis Southold faces — the overabundance of white-tailed deer,” Russell said. “We recognize that hunting is a critical component to any future effort. This is a public health, economic and environmental crisis, and action needs to be taken now.”
Russell said the survey should include questions about whether landowners would be willing to waive the setback requirement, and to invite hunters onto their property.
“This is a good idea. We’ve already said we’ve had the experts here. This gives us another way to gather information, to help in the future,” Doherty said.
Councilman Bill Ruland agreed. “I think we should develop our own customized survey, tailored to the challenges we have in our town.”
The board agreed to seek input of the deer management committee.
