Town plans to shoot deer for second year
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Commissioners in Mt. Lebanon gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for preparations for a second year of sharpshooting deer, although last season’s hunt did not prevent a dramatic increase of crashes between deer and vehicles.
The majority decision came after a phone conversation with Paul Curtis, an associate professor from Cornell University who has researched the impact of deer in communities.
Mr. Curtis detailed his experiences and a 10-year ongoing study on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, N.Y., aimed at reducing the deer population.The program at Cornell used a combination of sterilization, hunting and professional culling to reduce the deer population by 700. It also resulted in the sterilization of 95 percent of the female deer in the area.“The best we could do was to stabilize the herd,” due to an influx of new deer into the territory from neighboring properties, Mr. Curtis said. Culling alone isn’t the answer, he said.“Don’t expect to solve your urban deer problem with just shooting.”
Through archery and sharpshooting last year, Mt. Lebanon reduced its deer population by 215.
Last month, commissioners approved a second archery program to take place this year. On Tuesday, a majority of the commission approved seeking applications from the state Game Commission for another sharpshooting program. Such a program would likely take place early next year, if it wins approval. But it remains unclear how long it will take — if ever — to reach the commission’s stated goal of reducing deer/vehicle collisions by 50 percent.
“Despite our efforts, our numbers have continued to increase,” said municipal manager Keith McGill about the number of deer/ vehicle collisions, which have risen to 68 from January through August this year. During the same period last year, Mt. Lebanon recorded 22 such collisions. During all of 2015, 73 were recorded.
And the worst of it is yet to come, Mr. Curtis said, as mating season nears. “You’ve got the worst months ahead of you for deer [collisions], October and November.”
Nonlethal methods, such as landscape alterations, will do little to curb the population, he said .“The deer will just go to the next food source.”
The only hope to permanently address the deer population would be for Mt. Lebanon to continue culling herds until a meaningful reduction is achieved, a process that would likely take several years, Mr. Curtis said. Even then, there should be an annual program to continually shave herd levels or they will recover quickly. “Deer will come back with a vengeance.”
Residents questioned whether commissioners are prepared to fund and support such a long-term program.
“It’s a merry-go-round that doesn’t stop,” resident Barbara Sollenberger said.