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Letter to the Solon Mayor and City Council
To March 23, 2011Mayor Drucker,Ladies and Gentlemen of
Council,
I am taking the opportunity to write this letter in order to
express my views and concerns over Solons
impending deer management activities. I felt that writing might
be more convenient for everyone and lesspainful than having to
listen to my comments at a meeting.
One of the concerns regarding deer is the anticipated surge in
the deer population. I would like to takeyou back to 2004. When
Solon counted the deer in 2004 using the thermal imaging method, it
wasdetermined that there was a population of approximately 922 deer
within our boundaries. Consideringthat there had been no culling or
hunting of the deer prior to 2004, wouldnt it be reasonable to
assumethat the 922 deer represented a static population in an
environment already at its carrying capacity fordeer? A population
level where the birth rate and the death rate balance each other
out. Granted, DVAshave increased over the past three decades, but
then so has Solons population as well as traffic throughSolon. Is
it that we have more deer, or simply more traffic? In any case, it
is my belief that a population
of around 1000 deer, give or take, is the maximum number that we
would experience.
Since 2004, the City of Solon has spent in the neighborhood of
$800,000 in the effort to use sharpshootersto manage the deer
population. This number includes not only White Buffalos costs, but
also the cost ofprocessing the deer at Trumbull Locker as well as
Police and Service Department overtime. After a brieftwo year
hiatus, the deer numbers are back to their original 2004 numbers.
The compensatory reboundeffect would seem to render all efforts,
using either sharpshooters or hunters, ineffective as a means
forpopulation control. The missing deer are simply replaced by new
births and deer migrating in fromsurrounding areas.
Bow hunting has been mentioned. I am against the use of hunters
for deer management within the City of
Solon for reasons that I have already mentioned at an earlier
Safety Meeting. I believe the City has in itspossession, a letter
from Dr. DeNicola commenting on the proposed use of bow hunters.
Dr. DeNicolastates that the use of bow hunters as a means of
reducing the number of deer would not be effective andwould serve
only as a recreational activity for a handful of hunters.
One of the arguments that I hear quite often from people is the
argument that the deer are starving and wemust thin the herd to
prevent their horrible death from starvation. In a more natural
setting, apexpredators would perform that task by taking the old,
the weak, and the sick deer, leaving the healthierspecimens to
remain and breed. On the other hand, hunters seek out and take the
best specimens of theherd and sharpshooters take whatever enters
their range of fire. I have seen the reports from WhiteBuffalo
indicating the deer that were taken. They include Does, Bucks and
Fawns under a year of age, all
taken to satisfy a quota. Thats not management, thats
indiscriminant slaughter. Another disturbing bitof information is
the detailing of the number of pregnant Does and the number of
fetuses they werecarrying when they were shot. Honestly, what sort
of civilized society shoots children, pregnant mothersand then
counts the fetuses? You dont have to take my word for this, I can
forward copies of the report ifyou wish.
Another argument is the one to reduce the number of DVAs. There
will always be DVAs. As long asthere are deer, there will be DVAs.
While stating a goal to lower DVAs may seem noble, it may not
bepractical. To say for instance, that an acceptable number might
be 50 DVAs a year, may satisfy many,but what do you say to the 50?
Im sorry, you were an acceptable loss. A person accepts risk
every
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time they venture out onto the road. Its time people accepted
their responsibility and stopped makingtheir risks, other peoples
problem.
The City has apparently been approached by at least three
individuals involved in non-lethal managementof deer. Two involving
street-side devices for deterring deer and one lady who gives talks
on deerproofing gardens and landscaping. We have heard from ODOW
and USDA, the advocates of lethalmanagement. Why have we not heard
more about the advocates of non-lethal management, and why have
they not been provided equal time?
What is perhaps the most disturbing and disappointing aspect is
the apparent lack of understanding bycertain members of Council,
the Administration and fellow Citizens, of just how wrong the whole
conceptof killing is when it is done simply to rid oneself of a
perceived annoyance. The City is employingmediaeval methods to
solve a 21st century problem. For me this is simply a moral issue.
What you havedone in the past is wrong. We could not convince you
of that in the past. I doubt that it will have anyimpact now, or in
the future. We do however have other arguments at our disposal this
time around. Forinstance, the Citys own numbers confirm the
existence and the effects of compensatory rebound. If it isyour
intention to continue to spend $100,000 to $200,000 a year to
pursue a futile program with no lastingresults, then we are going
to continue to have differences. There is no rational reason to
continue a
program that is expensive, ineffective, and not to mention,
controversial. That money could be spent onmore permanent and
effective solutions that dont involve killing animals that some of
us consider anatural resource for our enjoyment.
As one who is opposed to the use of any lethal measures I would
suggest the following.
Continue with the annual count. You cant make informed decisions
without the facts.Expand the use of Strieter Lights and similar
deterrent devices to minimize DVAs.
Engage horticultural experts to educate the community on how to
deer proof gardens andlandscaping.Install warning signs in areas of
high deer traffic.
Provide educational material to the community to familiarize
people with the deer and theirhabits.Install fencing to discourage
deer from entering areas where they might cause danger andencourage
citizens to fence in vegetable gardens when needed.Prohibit the
feeding of deer and other wildlife year round. A possible exception
would be birdfeeders that are off the ground and out of the reach
of deer.Encourage people to learn to live with the surrounding
wildlife. Its a natural resource that willalways be with us. They
might as well get used to it.
These are just a few suggestions, Im sure we can find more if we
work together. Please take time toconsider a kinder and more humane
approach to the deer issue.
Sincerely,
Heinz KnallSolon
