The paramount charge of government, by definition, is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. At the top of many citizens’ lists are deer control measures. Now is the time to implement an action plan, and we have one that works.
Deer cause car accidents, leaving humans injured or dead and deer to suffer slow agonizing deaths. Deer spread Lyme tick that debilitates most who get bit.
Many Greenhaven homeowners are reluctant to let kids play in their yards for fear they will get bitten.
“The forests of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are in imminent danger of collapse from white tailed deer,” said Cornell University ecologist Bernd Blossey. “And there is little hope that business as usual or incremental changes will suffice to address the serious issues we face.”
Deer devour native seedlings, denying our woodlands a future. They leave invasive plants to thrive, and those have little value for pollinators, birds, and small mammals. This further exacerbates negative ecological ramifications.
Nearby communities allow bow hunters to successfully reduce herds. The Town of Pound Ridge, Rockefeller State Park, Westchester County Parks, Teatown Lake Reservation, and Somer’s land trust all have ongoing successful hunting programs.
Irvington just hired a solo hunter to bow hunt their 250-acre Irvington Woods property this season and next. They did the work and welcomed Rye to embrace similar efforts. It works!
Both Hastings on Hudson and the Village of Irvington hired Heatseeker Drone Services to conduct deer surveys measuring population densities. I spoke with Heatseeker owner who is interested in flying Rye to get a real count of the deer present. This data would be critical in providing Rye guidance to effectively manage deer population.
Herd reduction in The Marshlands/Jay Estate/ Rye Golf Course combined areas would be a good place to start. Edith G. Read Sanctuary is another suitable location. The surrounding private golf club courses might be willing as well. Both the Marshlands and Edith Read are County Parks; bow hunting is allowed in some County Parks.
The Westchester County Bow Hunters Association, established 1979, is prepared to help make this work. This is a safe and effective program.
Sharp shooting bow hunters set up in elevated blinds, aim down, and fell the deer quickly and quietly. Rarely do they miss. If they do, arrows go into the ground next to deer.
They set up pre-dawn when areas are closed to the public for a few hours. Areas will be posted with no entrance during those brief times. Additional hunters stand by in parking lots to explain, just in case someone arrives early. This is a short multi-day event.
Again, all the work to implement an effective deer hunting program is done for Rye by other communities overpopulated by deer. Westchester County Adaptive Deer Management Program rules and guidelines exist that include the requirement that only qualified licensed bowhunters may participate.
Bow hunting season is Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024. Now is the time to move forward. Deer are in jeopardy of dying painful deaths by car crashes, disease, and starvation brought on by “their own too-much.”
The humane thing to do is reduce the herd size.
Let’s not allow this ongoing problem to fester and become our sword of Damocles. Let’s take action to improve the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens by reducing herd size — as well as for the deer’s own sake. The Westchester bow hunters group has successfully done this before and is ready to successfully do it for Rye.
We need the mayor and Rye City Council to act. Simply, place the matter on the agenda, discuss, approve, and set in motion this effective solution to a citywide problem.
As the Nike motto goes, Just Do It!