The problem

White-tailed Deer are spreading Lyme disease, are becoming involved in hundreds of auto accidents, are destroying countless cultivated plants, and are changing the ecology of woodlands through overbrowsing.

• The State Department of Environmental Protection says the density may reach 120 deer per square mile in some areas of Fairfield County.
• A survey of the Weir Preserve found a density of 79 deer per square mile in that area, four times what is considered to be the natural density of White-tailed Deer.
• Since Jan. 1, 1999, there have been 334 reported auto accidents involving deer. At least five people were injured in those crashes.
• Since Jan. 1, 1999, 646 deer have been struck and killed by cars along Ridgefield roads.
• 95 cases of Lyme disease in Ridgefield were reported in 2002, a rate of 1 per 250 residents.