Minutes of the Ridgefield Deer Committee
Sept. 29, 2004: First meeting; organization; issues to consider.
Oct. 12, 2004: General organizational issues; plans; Lyme disease discussion; complaint about bow hunting.
Oct. 25, 2004: Presentations by Howard Kilpatrick, senior biologist with state DEP, on deer population and effects of overpopulation, plus hunting information; and Georgina Scholl, MD, on deer contraception techniques.
Nov. 9, 2004: Is there a deer problem -- a straw vote; how should committee proceed; deer-car accidents in town.
Nov. 22, 2004: Wilton's deer program; description of deer hunting program at The Nature Conservancy's Devil's Den in Weston; demonstration of hunting gear.
Dec. 14, 2004: Laura Simons of the Fund for Animals speaks about many deer-related issues and control alternatives to hunting.
Dec. 20, 2004: Dr. Kirby Stafford of Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Stations speaks on research into deer ticks.
The Jan. 11 meeting was snowed out.
Jan. 24, 2005 Dr. Os Schmitz of Yale Forestry School on long-range planning for deer reduction.
Feb. 8, 2005: Denise Savageau, director of conservation in Greenwich, describes that town's plans to cull deer by using paid bow hunters.
The March 8 meeting was snowed out.
March 28, 2005: The committee agrees by consensus that cases of Lyme disease, car-deer accidents and wild vegetation damage are all too high to be acceptable. Reports will be written on each.
April 14, 2005: The committee agrees the town deer populations should be 20 or fewer per square mile and hopes Yale Forestry School will help find "hot spots." Aerial deer surveys are recommended.
April 24, 2005: The committee discusses and assigns some work on its final report.
May 10, 2005: Committee votes in favor of controlled hunts on town-owned property; accepts subreports; hears objections to its operations and data.
May 23, 2005: Committee discusses tick and deer control techniques, Lyme disease, auto accidents, landscaping; agrees to draft final report
June 14, 2005: The committee discusses its final report and how to deal with a minority report.
June 27, 2005: The penultimate meeting. Changes and corrections to the final report. More discussion of a minority report.
July 6, 2005: The committee met briefly before appearing before the Board of Selectmen to deliver its report.