The Town’s deer management program has provided 16,000 pounds (8 tons) of free venison for distribution to Islanders since 2016.
“Conservatively speaking, that’s somewhere on the order of about 50,000 meals worth of meat,” said Shelter Island Police Department Officer Beau Payne. He reported the management program’s progress Wednesday to the Town’s Deer & Tick Committee.
“That’s a really significant amount of food,” Payne told the committee, describing the distribution as “hugely successful.”
“I want to congratulate our processors on that. And the Town for supporting that,” he said.
While hunters took fewer deer this winter than last year, they provided the same amount of venison — about 2,800 pounds. Payne said that that’s due to the hunt’s focus on fully grown females.
Present for the meeting were Dr. James Bevilacqua, chairman, and members Dr. Joshua Potter, of Stony Brook’s Meetinghouse Lane Medical Practice on Shelter Island; Scott Campbell, Ph.D., director of Suffolk County Health Department’s Arthropod-Borne Diseases unit, and Julia Weisenberg. The committee is down one member, but Bevilacqua said he hopes to add Mashomack Preserve’s new hire soon.
8 tons of free venison, despite falling numbers
Payne provided the following deer management update.
Hunting/culling
- 324 deer from October 1 to March 31 (down from 402 during the same period last year)
- Includes 110 from February 1 to March 31 (138 last year)
- $2,200 was awarded in 12 raffles
“That’s a pretty steady downward trend we’re seeing,” Payne said.
NWCO (Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator)
- 3 NWCOs (down 1 from last year)
- The goal was 100 deer from high priority areas with an emphasis on adult females
- 83 deer were taken from 18 properties (down from 107 on 19 properties last year)
The NWCO numbers are included in the overall hunting/culling figures, Payne noted.
Cold Storage/Butchering
- 158 deer stored (246 last year)
- 36 for personal use (down from 41 last year)
- Over 2,800 pounds of meat were donated (about the same as last year)
- Over 16,000 pounds (8 tons) since weighing began in 2016
Waning hunter interest
Payne attributed the declining numbers to the management program’s success, which aims to reduce the Island’s deer population to 50 per square mile. But he also said waning hunter interest is a factor.
“There’s definitely a downward shift in overall hunter interest,” he said. “That’s a result of things getting a little bit harder for them in the field. And, there’s a limited number of days they can hunt here.”
What he’s hearing from hunters is: “I want to leave some for next year.”
“From a management standpoint, it’s a double-edged sword,” he said.
Flyover results due soon
While the cull serves as a surrogate for the deer population, Payne said solid estimates wouldn’t be available until the Town gets results from the March 10 flyover.
“The flyover will give better data,” he said, noting the pilot had ideal conditions for doing the survey. Once the data are in, the committee can recalibrate goals for the next hunting season.
The Nature Conservancy, which owns and operates Mashomack Preserve, confirmed it would contribute $6,500 to the flyover cost, roughly proportional to the Island area within the 2,039-acre preserve.
Educational program
Deer management is just one aspect of the committee’s work. Weisenberg, who leads the education subcommittee, told her colleagues she’s working with Mashomack staff on repeating a popular Tick Talk at the Shelter Island School. Aimed at kids in grades 3 through 6, it will include information about preventing tick bites.
She’ll also send home materials to educate parents and guardians about tick-borne illnesses and is planning a series of social media posts to share messages more broadly with Islanders and visitors.
