Solebury Township Wildlife Management Program
Overview
After months of discussion, research, planning and public meetings, the township, working with state and federal agencies, has begun a Wildlife Management Program to address the severe damage to private property and preserved land caused by extreme deer overpopulation.
From September 2005, members of the Board of Supervisors, township advisory committees and concerned property owners and citizens carefully weighed options and consulted with experts to develop the final program, which was adopted at the May 1, 2007 public meeting.
The first part of the program, bringing the exceptionally large size of the herd down to a number that can be practically maintained by sportsmen, is under the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which began its initial phase in early June.
The second part of the program, engaging landowners and area sportsmen in the long-term management of the herd, will be supervised by a full-time biologist. The greater the involvement from Solebury property owners, the more successful the program will be at meeting its measured goal – a sustainable and balanced environment for land, crops and wildlife.
You can read the agreement between the Township and USDA, as approved by the Board of Supervisors at its May 1, 2007 public meeting.
Impact of Overpopulation
This extreme overpopulation causes severe damage to Solebury's farms, preserved land, private property and the health of the community:
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Over $150,000 annual crop damage; 50 bushels/acre below long-term average corn yields
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Reduction in variety of crops; little soybean grown, if any
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Increase in deer related vehicular accidents, averaging 243 per year
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Increase in deer related human illness
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Increased damage to homeowner vegetation
Goals of the Program
The Wildlife Management Program will work closely with federal and state wildlife officials, a professional biologist and staff to:
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Reduce damage to the environment and to protect the public health of Township residents through a coordinated, multi-agency effort to increase hunting activities and reduce the size of the deer herd.
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Increase yield of corn crop from 100 bushels/acre to 140 bushels/acre
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Reduce deer-related auto accidents by half
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Establish forest regeneration within ten (10) years
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Plant soybeans with a goal of 35 bushels/acre
Scope of the Problem
Beginning in October, 2006, a biologist and technicians from the USDA conducted four deer surveys using night vision, infrared, and spotlights. The size of the herds, locations, behavior, and other relevant observations were recorded.
The results proved that Solebury had experienced an exponential overpopulation of deer in the township. The herd averaged 142 head per square mile; biologists recommend no more than seven head per square mile in a suburban area and fewer than 24 in dense forest.
Such a high density is unhealthful for wildlife and far beyond the ability of sportsmen to control, according to the USDA, that recommended that the township pursue a long-term management strategy that would bring the herd to a size more easily managed through traditional means, such as hunting.
Suburban Density and Statutory Hunting Restrictions
The majority of Solebury Township, including preserved property, farms and woodlands, falls within safety zones that restrict hunting. Under Pennsylvania regulations, recreational firearm hunters may not shoot at, take, chase or disturb wildlife within 150 yards of any occupied residence, camp, industrial or commercial building, farm house or farm building without the permission of the occupants (Pennsylvania Game Commission 2006b). The safety zone for firearms around the average home is approximately 16 acres.
As the map to the right clearly illustrates (click for full resolution PDF), it would prove logistically impossible to implement a herd control program using recreational hunters.
Additional Hurdles
While the hazards posed by deer overpopulation are well known throughout the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, they are seen as a uniquely local problem to agencies charged with supervising wildlife across the overwhelmingly rural expanse of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Township officials have met frequently with representatives of the Pennsylvania Game Commission over the past several years, but efforts to bring this statewide agency's focus to our region's particular wildlife problems have not borne fruit. None of the options available through the state – ranging from special sport hunting programs to animal contraception – could produce a measurable impact on the Township's overpopulated herd.
The First Phase
The first phase of the Wildlife Management Program is currently underway. The USDA has entered into a two-year contract with the Township to reduce the deer herd to a manageable size and to expand recreational hunting opportunities.
The USDA staff members who are engaged in reducing the overpopulation are highly skilled individuals who are permitted to hunt off season when recreational hunting is not permitted. The meat is immediately removed, refrigerated, prepared and distributed to food banks throughout the region, in strict accordance with state law.
Long Term Management
All involved – the Game Commission, USDA, and the Board of Supervisors – are committed to a sustainable wildlife population. This will require public awareness, education and cooperation between homeowners and hunters, and continued monitoring of the herd and its behavior. A full-time biologist will oversee the program, ensuring that its measurable goals and objectives are met.
The involvement of sport and recreational hunters is a critical part of any long-term strategy for Solebury's wildlife management. But in order to achieve the program's goals, both hunters and landowners will need a greater understanding of the unique regional characteristics of the township.
Hunters have long thought of Solebury as “Trophy Buck” country – home to animals prized for their size and development – and are often reluctant to take any other type of deer, contrary to the Township's wildlife management needs. The program will ensure that hunters attracted to our countryside for the sport are also actively helping meet the Township's need to control population.
The program will also educate landowners and encourage their participation in allowing hunting on their property and to become part of the state's Red Tag program. The Red Tag program – formally known as the Agricultural Deer Control Program – is a Pennsylvania Game Commission initiative allowing landowners to permit limited hunting of antlerless deer outside of the regular hunting season. The application process is not simple, and the Township's Wildlife Management Program will work closely with landowners to help them understand and meet the state's requirements.
Through diligent management and community cooperation, the Wildlife Management Program aims to preserve the delicate balance of people, wildlife, farms and open space that is the landscape of Solebury Township.
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