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Deer-park proposal may or may not solve problem
Deer-park proposal may or may not solve problem
By SUE REID
Solon City Council's safety and public properties committee was scheduled to hear a presentation last night (April 6) on deer parks, a non-lethal approach to controlling deer that involves creating an area for them to feed.
A relatively new idea, a deer park would encompass an area of about 110 feet long by 210 feet wide that would be seeded with a proprietary blend that would attract deer, Chuck Naegle, president and chief executive officer of Urban Deer Solutions, of Hinkley, explained.
"Deer parks are a way to control deer through their stomachs," he said.
A sportsman, Mr. Naegle has presented a similar plan to the City of Broadview Heights, where voters overturned permitted hunting in the community through a ballot issue and soon will vote on a referendum to incorporate the parks into their city.
"We've created an oasis for animals to come and feed," Mr. Naegle said. "Through our man-made taking of their habitat, we've left them nothing but our yards and gardens to feed at."
Mr. Naegle said the idea behind the parks is to create a food source to attract deer. The parks, which would be a "human-free zone," would be bordered by wildflowers, he said. There would also be a bee colony there not only to pollinate the deer park but any of the flower and vegetable gardens of the residents within a three-mile radius.
Every deer park would have a full colony of approximately 40,000 to 50,000 honey bees, Mr. Naegle said. That will help combat colony collapse disorder, he said, referring to the drastic rise in the number of disappearances of western honey bee colonies in North America in late 2006.
"The crop that we're providing is a proprietary seed blend, developed by the White Tail Institute of North America," he said. "This forage basically blossoms and the bees pollinate these flowers to help the food thrive which in turn help the deer.
"Once deer find a food source, they won't move much," he said. As a result, this would limit deer-car accidents, he said.
"The deer parks would be strategically placed in areas of the city with a lot of deer-vehicle accidents," Mr. Naegle said.
"We're trying to create an alternative," Mr. Naegle said of this method. "Many of the anti-hunting folks who live in the city (of Broadview Heights) and in Solon have been singing the praises."
Mr. Naegle has created the parks on his own farm property in Hinkley and in areas in West Virginia and Southern Ohio.
Mr. Naegle's presentation followed one last month by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Scott Peters, wildlife management supervisor with the ODNR, said last week that, while non-lethal measures need to be an important component when dealing with human-deer interaction, he does not see a long-term benefit of the deer parks.
"It could make the problem worse," Mr. Peters said. "Even if you're trying to do this away from the roadway, people will live around there. What I envision happening is you will increase deer damage on a local size." The deer parks are just not big enough, he said, and are more "lot size."
"Basically you can affect the reproductive output," Mr. Peters said. "It could potentially increase the number of deer.
"Solon's reason to manage herd is to decrease the number of deer-vehicle accidents," Mr. Peters said. "I struggle with the idea of deer parks being the answer to deter it."
Solon Public Works Director James S. Stanek said the presentation before the safety committee was part of the city's intent to look at all the options.
"We're not close-minded on this issue," Mr. Stanek said.
Councilman William I. Russo, who chairs the safety committee, said, before Wednesday's presentation, "a multifaceted approach to deer management has to contain both lethal and non-lethal methods.
"This is an option we're going to listen to," Mr. Russo said of the deer parks, "and we'll see if it's something that makes sense for us.
"The problem is that you have people on both sides that think their way is the only way," Mr. Russo said. "Whether it's all lethal or all non- lethal, that's not the answer to the problem.
"The only way to approach it is by incorporating both," Mr. Russo said.
"We're going to have a program this year," Mr. Stanek noted. "We will not do nothing."
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