Amberley Deer Managemet: Proposed Policy

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. 

Deer Management...

. . .is the term used by government, wildlife, and park agencies when the deer population is thinned to protect either the biological ecosystem or to reduce property damage caused by deer.  The Health, Education & Welfare committee of Council, which I chair,  is currently in the process of re-evaluating Amberley's deer management practice and going the additional step of creating an actual deer management policy, by passing an Ordinance that future Councils and staff can rely on in order to know what to do to most effectively manage the deer in our community. There is no currently existing Ordinance, which means that Council is left to invent solutions year after year.

In furtherance of the goal of establishing Village deer management policy, the HEW committee has so far had two separate meetings with experts in the field of regional wildlife and natural resources. In May, two representatives from the Cincinnati Park Board came to a meeting and discussed the deer management practice of the Cincinnati parks. The minutes of this meeting from May 7th, can be read HERE. Deer are culled in the Cincinnati parks for one reason only: to ensure the sustainability of the park ecosystem. No consideration is given to residential property concerns or incidences of deer-vehicle collision. While these are legitimate municipal concerns, they are not the concern of the Cincinnati Park Board. According to Park representatives Dave Gamstetter and Jim Godby, in their opinion, the optimal number of deer to ensure a sustainable ecosystem is 15-20 deer per square mile. When asked specifically about French Park, they estimated that the park could sustain six deer before exhibiting signs of deer defoliation or a "browse line." It is not only the flora of the park that is at issue, but since the deer will eat practically anything, food supplies for smaller woodland creatures from turtles to squirrels are affected by too many deer in one area.

This week, two wildlife experts from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources spoke to the HEW committee. They relayed the history of Ohio's deer population and how hunting practices have changed in the last two centuries reflecting the fall and rise of the deer population. Briefly, when Ohio was settled, no hunting regulations were in place and the deer population was decimated. Hunting of deer was prohibited and most deer populations were on game preserves. As the population began to increase, deer hunting resumed in the 1950s with strict regulations. By the 1980s, hunters were permitted one deer per season. Currently, Ohio has three different zones with different "bag" limits. Hamilton County allows the most deer per hunter per season with six deer permitted. Additionally, Urban deer zones permit an additional six "antlerless" deer per season.  The representatives from the ODNR stressed that for communities, it is important to find the balance between the "biological carrying capacity" (which is the primary concern of the Cincinnati Parks) and the "cultural carrying capacity" which addresses residents' concerns about their landscaping and other property damage, as well as deer-related vehicle incidences.

Both the Cincinnati Parks and the ODNR stated the deer have no natural enemy in Ohio other than coyotes that can take out very young deer. Other than hunters and the automobile, there is no other way of controlling the ever-increasing deer population. Contraceptive use on deer is also prohibited by the ODNR.  Additionally, "trap and transfer" methods are also impractical and inhumane. Statistically, deer mortality rates when deer are moved are higher than 50%. Also, there is nowhere else in Ohio or in neighboring states to take the deer. For more on the Ohio Division of Wildlife's recommendations for managing deer populations, you can read Publication 138, which also gives recommendations for plantings that may be safe from deer predation.

The next meeting of the Health, Education, and Welfare committee to address the deer issue will be on Friday, July 13th at 3:00.  Our guests will be Lynn Tetley, City Manager of Wyoming, Ohio, as well as Wyoming's Police Chief. Wyoming has been undergoing a similar investigation of their deer management policy and it will be helpful to learn what our neighbors have to say about this issue. Everyone is invited, as well as encouraged, to attend these public meetings. It is important for Council to hear from residents. You will be able to speak and to ask questions of our guests.

For a very informative article on deer management techniques please read THIS article by the State of Connecticut. Several states and studies were used for reference, including Ohio.

Have a great July 4th weekend. Be extremely careful if you plan to light fireworks as it is very, very dry this year.

Deer Today; Gone Tomorrow

I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying the view out my windows of the snow that fell early this morning. I think all the birds in Amberley have come to my feeders to enjoy the (expensive) selection of bird seed I put out for them. Which has me thinking about the abundance of wildlife we enjoy here in Amberley Village and whether it's recommended to be feeding them at all.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources: "With the exception of feeding songbirds, putting out food for wildlife can hurt more than help."  So, go ahead and feed the songbirds, and by all means, take pictures of all those cardinals, bluejays, titmouses (or is it titmice?), and woodpeckers. But when it comes to feeding the deer, the ODNR has different advice:

Kimo and Amberley deer engage in a backyard standoff

Wildlife, such as deer and geese, are accustomed to our winters here in Ohio. They are migrating species and the deer who live here in the spring and summer, may not be the same deer that are here in the winter. Deer have particular wintering spots and by feeding them you discourage them from going to those spots, that may be miles away from your backyard. The available food resources here may not be what they want or need in the winter. Furthermore, bringing wild animals so close to your house and other species makes them more vulnerable to spreading disease, and attacks from large dogs, or in our own community, collisions with automobiles. Additionally, for all of you gardeners who bemoan the deer  who eat your gardens, "Come spring time, don't expect the deer you fed all winter to find greener pastures. By then, they will have become accustomed to the free meal and think it's perfectly acceptable munching on your garden of delicate spring flowers and tender vegetables."


Why am I bringing this up? I've written about Amberley's deer culling program in previous posts. Council decided to continue with the deer culling recommendations from last year, but resolved to revisit the issue before next winter in order to have ample time to establish a comprehensive, cost-effective plan for the Village. This may involve bow-hunting, or may not, but until then, we are proceeding with sharpshooters in French Park and Amberley Green. All deer meet is processed and donated to the Free Store here in Cincinnati. If you live near French Park and Amberley Green, you will probably want to think twice about feeding the deer and establishing any kind of domestic relationship with them, because you are essentially luring them to your backyard, where they will become a target of our culling program.

So cute, but vicious!