Hey! Hey! Get Out Of My Garden!

Southold Town Supervisor Plans On Taking Action With The Deer Issue

By T.J. Clemente

Out on the North Fork of Long Island there is a deer problem that only seems to be getting worse. Each Spring more and more gardens are being destroyed by the deer who love to feast on the budding flowers, plants and vegetables. Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell has received too many complaints over the years and has decided to try and do something. He is quoted as saying, “It’s over the top, we‘ve got to do something.” In a phone interview on Monday he told me that first thing he is going to do is to have a meeting about the problem. Second he is going to seek as much advice as he can from various groups who have some sort of expertise. Then he is committed to take some sort of action this year. Supervisor Russell said that the planting this time of year is devastated by deer. He feels the pain of the farmers.

Acute deer hunting has been regulated for many years and now the areas where people live in homes with children makes acute hunting impossible. The animals, which long ago were hunted in an unrestricted way for their meat, were actually hard to locate, and are now becoming increasingly plentiful. They are everywhere, or so it seems, to most residents out on the North Fork. With everyone unable to build fences around their gardens, the deer seem to feast anywhere they want and are becoming bolder and bolder. Mr. Russell pointed out that there is no natural predator for the deer and when hunter’s hunt these days, they only go for trophy bucks that have an impressive rack of antlers. Mr. Russell is considering proposing extend hunting on town lands by special permit. Only qualified hunters will be permitted on the lands, but he admitted he needed to work out many details. He believes that the contraceptive avenue has not really been successful and is looking for a more immediate solution to the problem. He is ready to build 8-foot high fences wherever it is practical, but he is looking for a way to control the population long term. He and the town government are open to suggestions and concerns. He expressed to me his concern about firearms being fired in or near residential areas and will make sure that only the safest solutions concerning fire arms will be entertained.

Supervisor Russell left no doubt in my mind that this problem is going to be addressed with a new concern and that lip service will not be acceptable. “We are going to act.” The problem at the moment is the action to be taken is still to be decided. The times for the public meetings will be announced and Supervisor Russell believes that what he is proposing is best for the farmers, best for the drivers and best for the general public. He reiterated the repeated statement that the deer problem by so many that it, “was never like this.” Something is going to be done, action is going to be taken to limit and lower the deer population in the town of Southold. Other town officials are on record to take action also.

The deer population problem is growing all over Long Island and perhaps if Supervisor Russell researches the problem as thoroughly as he pledged over the phone, he may come up with an effective solution. Lives and money are in the balance of a productive program to curb the deer population and keep it in some sort of balance with the rest of nature.