Ridgefield Deer
Committee
Ridgefield Recreation Center
195 Danbury Road
Ridgefield, CT 06877
A meeting of the Ridgefield Deer
Committee was held in the Copper Beech Room of the Ridgefield Recreation
Center, 195 Danbury Road, Ridgefield, CT
06877 on November 9, 2004 at approximately 7:00 p.m.
The following members were present:
Douglas
Barile
Tom
Belote
Guy
Bocchino
Andy
Bodner
Helene
Daly
Matthew
Denesuk
Penny
Hoffman
Pat
Hutchings
Peter
Keeler
Sid
Kelley
Jack
Sanders
Raymond
Sementini
Gwen
Thaxter
Tom
Venus
Mr. Belote chaired the meeting. Rudy Marconi, First Selectman, and John
Roche of the Ridgefield Police Department were present. Nancy McDaniel was present to take minutes.
MINUTES
The minutes of the October 25, 2004 meeting were
reviewed. Mr. Denesuk corrected the
record in stating that he was present at the meeting.
Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously carried, it
was
RESOLVED, that the corrected minutes
of the meeting of October 25, 2004 be and hereby are approved and ordered filed
in the minute book of the Committee and the Town Hall minute book.
NEW BUSINESS
Schedule
of Speakers
– Laura Simon of the Fund for Animals will speak on December 14, and Os
Schmitz, Ph.D. will speak on January 11.
Kirby Stafford, CT entomologist, will speak at a date yet to be
confirmed, as will volunteers from the towns of Wilton, New Canaan, Darien and
Greenwich. Mr. Belote asked John Frey
about securing the new commissioner of DEP for a presentation. Ms. Hoffman expressed an interest in hearing
Steven Phillips, M.D. discuss Lyme Disease and other tick-borne diseases.
Ridgefield
Press Editorial
– In commenting on the editorial, members observed that their charge is to
present a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen, not call for a referendum. Mr. Marconi stated that a referendum has not
been considered because the Board will not act on the issue until the Committee
report has been submitted.
Timing
of Report to Board of Selectmen – The target date for submitting the Committee’s report is
February, 2005.
Where
Do We Go from Here?
- Mr. Barile commented that the Committee should agree on a hierarchy of
questions which, when systematically answered, would lead to clear conclusions
about the deer problem. He suggested
the following format:
Several members mentioned the importance of
obtaining data from other towns before coming to a decision.
Mr.
Belote suggested a straw vote on whether or not Ridgefield has a deer
problem. The majority of members agreed
that, based on health issues, automobile accidents, damage to plant material
and starvation of deer, the town does have a deer problem. Two members demurred, saying that they did not have enough
information to make a judgment. Ms.
Thaxter emphasized the need for real data and details on how it was collected.
Discussion
followed on the efficacy of taking a deer census. Mr. Belote will inquire about the method Greenwich used in its
survey.
Members
agreed that it would be acceptable to explore solutions to the problem before
achieving unanimity on the question of whether or not there is a deer
problem. Some open questions that future
speakers might address are:
What are lethal methods of control?
What is the equipment that hunters use?
What are controlled hunts?
What are the financial considerations?
Mr.
Marconi suggested breaking the group into subcommittees that would research
specific questions. Mr. Belote asked
each member to email to him and to Ms. McDaniel (nmmcdaniel@yahoo.com) by
November 16 all questions that they want answered and the names of speakers
they wish to hear. Members who are
interested in serving on a subcommittee are asked to notify Mr. Belote.
Presentation
by John Roche
– Major Roche displayed a map of the town showing sites of deer kills. During the period of January, 1999 to
December 31, 2003, 334 deer accidents occurred. In that timeframe, 646 deer were either killed or tagged. The majority of incidents happened along
roads with high volumes of traffic, but high vehicular speed was not considered
a cause. Migration patterns and
location of open space had not been factored into the data. The average repair cost of cars hit by deer
is $1200. Cost to the police department
in investigating and reporting accidents is substantial.
NEXT MEETING
The
next meeting will be on November 22, 2004 in the Copper Beach Room of the
Recreation Center.
ADJOURNMENT
Noting
that the remainder of the agenda will be addressed at the next meeting, Mr.
Belote adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy McDaniel