Public input sought for DEER managment
 

Now that they have all but wiped out the deer on public land they want our input, what a joke!!
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Release #070-05


PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT FOR URBAN/SUBURBAN
DEER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

HARRISBURG - Got ideas on how to reduce deer collisions and garden-raiding by whitetails in Pennsylvania's urban and suburban neighborhoods? If you do, the Pennsylvania Game Commission would appreciate hearing from you before Sept. 16.

As part of the Game Commission's effort to develop an urban/suburban deer management strategy, it is gathering input from all sources with their thoughts about resolving human-deer conflicts in urban/suburban areas, as well as suggestions on how to address the unique challenge of urban/suburban deer management. The deadline for comments is Sept. 16.

Information can be found on the Game Commission's webpage at www.pgc.state.pa.us by following the Urban Deer Management link. Or you can send an email to [email protected]. U.S. Mail submissions should be sent to: Pennsylvania Game Commission, ATTN: Draft Urban Deer Management Strategy, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797.

What is the agency looking for? Jeannine Tardiff, the Game Commission deer biologist heading up the project, said individuals should consider providing responses to the following questions: What are your primary concerns about urban/suburban deer? What methods would you support to manage urban/suburban deer problems? What actions do you believe would encourage landowners and community leaders to allow increased hunting access to small woodlots and other areas harboring deer in urban/suburban areas? What actions are needed to encourage hunters to focus efforts in urban/suburban areas where increased harvest is needed?

"Please take the time to get involved if you believe you have something for us to consider," Tardiff said. "Every time another Pennsylvanian makes a contribution to this undertaking, we'd like to believe the product improves."

Although white-tailed deer provide many Pennsylvanians countless hours of recreational opportunities and enjoyment, are important to the state's economy, and officially recognized as the Commonwealth's "state animal," they can wear out their welcome quickly when they begin stripping vegetation in backyards and becoming frequent obstacles on city streets.

"The excessive whitetail populations in some Pennsylvania urban and suburban settings are living proof that you can have too much of a good thing," Tardiff emphasized.

The Game Commission's strain to keep deer populations in check in urban and suburban areas of the state is epic and spans decades. Since the 1960s, the agency has worked with generous deer seasons and bag limits - even safety zone reductions - to reduce deer populations inhabiting urban/suburban sprawl surrounding Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Although thousands of deer have been removed with these aggressive steps over the years, there are still too many deer in many communities. And now, the same deer overpopulation problems are beginning to plague the state's smaller cities.

The agency efforts have focused on reducing deer numbers in these areas to what could be called a "cultural carrying capacity." Cultural carrying capacity is not what the habitat can support but what the community can tolerate in terms of damage to backyard gardens, shrubs and landscaping, deer-vehicular collisions, and exposure to Lyme disease.

Hunter access historically has hindered the Game Commission's efforts to reduce deer numbers in suburbia. Other factors include sporting arms limitations; safety zone restrictions; unappealing environment in which to hunt; distorted perceptions about hunters; and the inconveniences associated with hunting in areas with large numbers of people, homes and automobiles.

"It's no secret why the Game Commission has had great difficulty managing urban/suburban deer populations," noted Tardiff. "A deer population inaccessible to hunters can quickly exceed the tolerance level of those in the community. The safety issues can become serious, and property damage severe.

"Hunting has been the state's deer management tool of choice for more than 100 years, because it is the most economical and efficient way to manage deer. But we understand it's not a perfect fit for every community with deer problems. In those instances, something more is needed; different management tools, increased community cooperation, maybe even nontraditional management approaches. The key is finding a way to balance the herd within the community it inhabits. That's where the developing urban/suburban deer management strategy fits in."

The Game Commission's five-year Deer Management Plan - implemented in 2003 - identifies the reduction of human-deer conflicts as one of its three goals. Those conflicts are most common in urban/suburban settings, places many Pennsylvanians rarely consider whitetail country. But the deer are there, often in excessive numbers, causing property damage and genuine safety concerns.

"The Game Commission is challenged to minimize the negative impacts of urban/suburban deer, yet retain the positive benefits they provide many metropolitan residents," Tardiff said. "Our goal in developing this management strategy is not to eliminate whitetails in urban/suburban areas. Rather, we are developing options that any community with deer overpopulation can refer to for relief.

"But communities must recognize that there are no quick fixes, or one-time solutions to reducing human-deer conflicts in urban/suburban settings. Deer must be managed aggressively in these situations. If they aren't, years of progress can disappear over a relatively short period of time. Every community needs a deer management plan that is supported by residents and actively pursued. It's like maintaining a roadway or automobile. It's an ongoing process."

The Game Commission is an independent state agency, and has managed the state's wildlife populations for all Pennsylvanians for more than 100 years. It is funded primarily through the sale of hunting and furtaker licenses, a federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, and the sale of timber and minerals on State Game Lands.

RE: Public input sought for DEER managment
 

The input they want now has nothing to do with the public land. They want input because it's about the Urban/Suburban deer. There aren't too many places to hunt in those areas and you usually have to know someone. The deer population is out of control here and yuppies/city folk are complaining because the deerare getting hit by cars or eating their flower beds. Honestly they are in a pickle. Unless the people with a bunch of private land are going to open it up to some archery hunters there isn't much the PGC/hunters/anyone can do about it.

RE: Public input sought for DEER managment
 

I agree. Open the small private woodlots to archery only hunting seasons. The problem is that the people who own these lots of land are usually city people who make enough money to live in the suburbs and don't let enyone hunt their land. I say if you aren't going to do anything to help fix the problem then don't come crying to me when you have a deer permenantly embeded in your beamer.

RE: Public input sought for DEER managment
 

Look there is alot of small burb private lots to hunt.They are around 200.00 a deer kill.the yuppies need gas money.

RE: Public input sought for DEER managment
 

I will use my 200.00 to go up north, might not be too many deer but I can walk all day and not see another hunter, Iwould give up deer hunting if I had to hunt like that. I see you like YUPPIES to cardeer, I hope the deer take over their lush yards!! [:@]