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DALTON: Best way to manage deer

| April 28, 2021 1:00 AM

As a resident of Dalton Gardens for the past 33 years, I have watched the deer population explode. We live near Fourth Street, and there were no deer at all here until about 15 years ago. There were always deer closer to the mountain, but not living in neighborhoods like they do now.

There are hundreds of miles of forest directly on, and behind Canfield Mountain that they could choose to inhabit, so saying we have pushed them out of their home, or that they were in town before us just isn’t correct. People feeding them is partly to blame.

According to Cornell Cooperative Extension agency, problems with urban deer will continue to increase in areas such as Dalton. Herd size can double every 2 to 5 years. Deer in urban areas easily become acclimated to human presence, and stop exhibiting the typical flight behavior seen in rural areas. This has lead to deer threatening both pets and their owners.

In the absence of a proactive deer management program their numbers will continue to escalate, making control measures more costly and controversial. The city of Dalton, in conjunction with the Fish and Game department, is proposing allowing residents to opt in for a carefully managed bow season. Such programs have proved to be the most effective way to reduce numbers to a manageable size.

ANN JOHNSTON

Dalton Gardens