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Deer-culling effort back in city sights
(by Sue Reid - October 20, 2010)
Deer-culling effort back in city sights
By SUE REID
The question of resuming the city's deer-culling program this winter was up for discussion last week by Solon City Council's safety and public properties committee.
The city decided to skip the program last year due to budgetary issues, but numbers projected for this year for deer-car collisions are higher than the previous two years.
Councilman William I. Russo said he has been asked whether the city will bring the program back this year after the contract was not included in the budget for 2010.
"This is unfortunate that we are throwing away all the money we spent in years past," resident Steve Dahar said. "By next year we will be back to where we were before the culling started," he said of the said of the size of the deer herd
Mr. Russo agreed. "Before I even got on council, we were told that, once we started culling, you were almost going to be locked into that program to maintain it," he said. "Once culling is stopped, the numbers will increase.
"We're seeing it already that the numbers are escalating. We will assess the situation to determine if there is a need in the future, he said.
Assistant Police Chief Raymond Tittl provided the committee with numbers of deer-car accidents in Solon. The were 61 in 2006, 50 in 2007, 48 in 2008 and 38 in 2009, he said. Deer-car accidents projected for this year are 53, he said, and there have been 37 thus far. The last three months of the year are when the police department normally sees the highest number, but that is the rutting season for the deer, he said.
Mr. Tittl told the committee that Solon animal warden Greg Miller's numbers are higher due to the fact that he counts incidents in which deer are found dead on the side of the roadways, as opposed to police responses to reported crashes.
There were upwards of 1,200 to 1,500 deer in the Solon community when the program was initiated in 2005, according to surveys done at that time.
The committee decided it will resume discussions at its next meeting and to get a deer head count from the animal warden.
Mayor Susan A. Drucker asked the committee to be open minded about other options for culling. "We need to be more open minded about some other programs," she said.
"We're not locked into just shooting," Mr. Russo said later. "A lot of communities allow bowhunting. There are a lot of other less expensive methods of taking care of it."
The deer-culling program in Solon began in early 2005 and was one of the larger programs in the area. In its first season in 2005, 602 deer were taken; in 2006, 400 were taken; in 2007, 150; and in 2008, 175.
As part of the program, the deer are removed, and the meat is taken to hunger shelters.
When the committee rejected the program last year, it had a proposal from White Buffalo Inc. for a three-year contract, with the possibility of a two-year extension, in the amount of about $90,000 a year. The contract with White Buffalo for the services expired with the 2009 program. The final contract amount for the three years was $235,651.
"I know it's not a popular program, but if you go to areas of heavy deer-traffic accidents" residents are concerned, Mr. Russo said. "I'd like to see this stay on the agenda."
Councilman Edward Kraus said the number of deer was very high in Solon from 2000 to 2006. At the time he was a proponent of the culling due to safety reasons, he said, and it had a "major safety impact." But over the last two years, he said, he has not seen that level of deer in the community.
"I'd be hesitant to go back," Mr. Kraus said. "We have less deer in the community." He said he does not see the level of deer or level of accidents on major roads.
While he is concerned about the escalation of accidents, due to budgetary issues the city is facing, he would suggest looking at the program next year, he said.
"We had such a successful program for the last few years," Mr. Kraus said. "I don't see anything wrong with taking off a couple of years."
Councilman Richard A. Bell said he would like to see the actual numbers at the end of the year, not just projections. He also would like to see the number of crashes involving deer prior to 2006, he said.
Police Chief Wayne Godzich said, although Mr. Miller has been asked to give estimates of the deer population, the leaves have not fallen yet. "He can't get that type of count," he said. "His count will be relative to what we need to know."
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