By RILEY YATES
The Intelligencer

Solebury has inked a more than $250,000 contract to winnow its deer population with sharpshooters.

The no-bid contract calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to kill whitetail deer, mostly at night, through the use of “suppressed rifles with high expansive ammunition, along with the aid of stands, vehicles, artificial light, night vision equipment and forward-looking infrared.”

The goal is to reduce crop and other property damage, as well as the risk of disease from today's large deer population.

The move makes Solebury the third community in the area to pursue deer control efforts, along with Upper Makefield and Lower Makefield, both of which are studying the issue.

Township manager John Granger said local farmers suggested Solebury contact the Department of Agriculture for the project. He said there was no need to put the work out to bid, since it is a professional service.

Under the agreement, approved in May by supervisors, Solebury will pay USDA's Wildlife Services $134,625 this year and $131,047 next year for the “wildlife damage management program.”

“It's expensive, but when you look at the investment the public is making for land preservation, it's pretty cheap,” Granger said.

Wildlife Services biologists will determine safe shooting locations, obtain written permission from landowners, and locate and shoot deer up to five days a week, from Monday night through Friday morning.

The contract comes after a series of population surveys by Wildlife Services found an average of 142 deer per square mile in Solebury, compared to a recommended 24 per square mile in the forest and up to seven per square mile in urban settings.

The deer population was estimated at 4,500, half of the roughly 9,000 people who live in the township.