The Health
Education & Welfare Committee has been meeting since May to discuss the
issue of deer management in Amberley Village. Historically, this is an issue
that comes before Council on an annual basis, with Council being the
governmental body tasked with determining how many deer are too many and how to
balance the concerns of our residents who like to see deer with our residents
who are frustrated by the damage the deer cause to their property.
Additionally, Council has had to determine the limit of deer our parks can
handle without causing irreversible damage to undergrowth and other wildlife.
The Health
Education & Welfare committee began its investigation into the issue by
meeting first with experts from the Cincinnati Park Board and the Ohio Division
of Natural Resources. From these two entities, we learned that the number of
deer in Ohio has exploded in the last thirty years from an estimated 17,000 in
1970 to over 750,000 white tail deer today.
With no natural enemies in Ohio, the ODNR relies on hunters to keep the
number of deer in check with approximately 250,000 deer harvested by hunters
annually. Another 25,000-30,000 are involved in deer vehicle accidents.
The
Committee also met with the city manager and chief of police of Wyoming, Ohio,
as well as sought input from our own Amberley Police. Several residents
attended most meetings and also provided valuable input.
The goal of
the committee was to develop a policy that will maintain a deer population at a
level that is acceptable from a safety and nuisance perspective as well as to
ensure a healthy deer herd and continued sustainability of other wildlife and
plants in Amberley Village.
Two documents were presented at the October Council meeting. First is a historical summary of the rising deer population in Ohio, as well as information collected from the informational meetings related to deer management. This document will be prominently published on our Village
website and includes citations to the Minutes of each meeting which will be
linked to the main document. Additionally, it was the desire of the committee
to educate our residents about different varieties and species of plants that
are often known to be unpalatable to deer – although, as we learned deer will
eat anything, with the exception of honeysuckle – one of our most invasive
plants – when they are hungry enough – so a plant chart is included in the
document. Finally, going forward,
Amberley Village will continue to keep records of deer vehicle accidents and
property damage with the aid of an online form that our residents can access
for self-reporting.
The second
document is a Resolution to Establish a Deer Management Program. In years past, Amberley had no
codified deer management program in place. Each year the HEW committee met and
determined, by Resolution, how many deer would be culled in that year. This
method is fraught with the potential for mismanagement, as Council members can
feel pressure from residents to cull more or fewer deer by virtue of the issue
being left to elected officials. The deer management policy put forward in this
Resolution takes the politics out of the job of deer management. Deer
management is a health and safety issue, and as such, it should be relegated to
our Amberley Police department.
Going
forward, the police will be permitted to cull up to 50 deer per year without additional
approval by Council. If evidence suggests that more than 50 deer should be
culled, then approval by Council will be required.
Furthermore,
a more accurate method of counting the deer will be used than has in the past.
Thermal imaging technology will be used to count the deer every third year,
beginning in 2013. Because this is more expensive than a helicopter count, the
Village Manager will try to pursue an agreement with the City of Cincinnati
which owns French Park. Deer culling
will continue to be done by trained sharpshooters. We are aware that other
communities are implementing bow-hunting programs, but our police feel strongly
that the potential for accidental injury is too high of a risk.
Finally, our
residents should know that the committee takes the issue of deer culling very
seriously. We realize that it is a sensitive issue and that there are residents
who feed the deer and enjoy having them in their yard. We will continue to monitor
the program and provisions are included in the policy to allow for resident
input and future evaluation of the deer management policy.
This Resolution will be brought before Council for a vote at the next regularly scheduled council meeting on November 12, at 6:30 PM. Residents are invited to attend the meeting and express their opinions on deer management in Amberley Village at that time.
The Center sponsors programs for children and adults and also hosts an Artist in Residence. I don't know what took me so long to go inside this neighborhood gem, but I hope that Amberley residents don't wait for another invitation other than this one to stop by for a visit.
