Sharpshooting for deer starts in Mt. Lebanon

Deer are expected to be targeted this week in Mt. Lebanon at the start of the municipality’s annual winter cull. A special permit approved by the Pennsylvania Game Commission permits the firearm phase of the deer reduction program to operate from Feb. 1 through March 31.

In a letter dated Jan. 28, Ian McMeans, assistant municipal manager, officially notified the Mt. Lebanon school board that wildlife management firm White Buffalo was contracted to cull up to 55 whitletails. The cull technicians may shoot from approved elevated positions on private properties from 4 to 11 p.m. seven days per week. They will work from 6 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Fridays on the following public properties: McNeilly Park, Robb Hollow Park, the adjacent public works lands, the municipal golf course and Connor Road conservation district.

“No culling will take place on safe walking routes,” Mr. McMeans said in his letter to school Superintendent Timothy J. Steinhauer.

The program’s 2019-20 controlled archery hunt ended with the closing of the archery deer season Jan. 25. The conclusion of the sharpshooting phase in March will mark five years since the deer-reduction plan was launched with the goal of lowering deer-vehicle collisions by 50% in five years.

Mt. Lebanon’s official website, MtLebanon.org, reported that from 2015-19, 195 deer were removed by archers and 271 were taken through sharpshooting for a total of 466 deer. There were 73 deer-vehicle collisions in 2015 and 122 in 2016. The website reported 86 collisions with deer in 2017 and 61 in 2018. From 2015-19, the program cost Mt. Lebanon taxpayers $269,578.60 for fees including a bill for a previous deer removal, education, signage and additional expenses.