• Seven new parcels in Deer Committee’s sights for upcoming

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In this week's Ridgefield Press
Written by The Ridgefield Press
Thursday, 22 July 2010 10:10

Here are some of the stories and features in this week's Ridgefield Press, out today:

• Seven new parcels in Deer Committee’s sights for upcoming hunting season and the committee wants to reduce hunting in certain areas. Board of Selectmen will weigh in on the hunt next Wednesday.

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Seven new parcels in Ridgefield deer panel’s sights
Written by Kate Czaplinski, Press Staff
Monday, 26 July 2010 06:17

With a new hunting season on the horizon in October, the town’s Deer Management Implementation Committee is proposing to drop seven open space sites in favor of seven new parcels, while reducing hunting on a few approved sites during the upcoming town controlled hunt.

The Conservation Commission has yet to approve the committee’s requested open space sites for the hunt but is expected to give a response before the requests go before the Board of Selectmen for approval during a meeting next Wednesday, July 28.

If approved, the controlled hunt would have use of 14 parcels, both open space and town-owned properties, during designated hunting hours and season.

The Deer Committee has proposed reducing hunting on a few parcels, including the Lynch Brook Lane open space. The parcel caused some uproar last year from a few vocal opponents to hunting on the site, including Selectman Barbara Manners and a nearby resident.

Hunting season for archery begins Oct. 15 and runs until Jan. 31. Shotgun and muzzleloader season begins Nov. 17 and runs until Dec. 31.

Ridgefield had the highest deer kill in the state last year at 416 — the controlled hunt accounted for 121 of the total deer deaths.

The committee has requested the Conservation Commission consider allowing the hunt on the following additional open spaces:

•Laurel Lane open space of 49 acres, for shotgun and muzzleloader hunting
•Thirty-six acres of Limestone Road parcel for archery only
•Linden Road’s 22-acre property for archery only
•Old Sib Road’s 26.4 acres for archery
•Forty-four acres on Old Trolley Road for archery
•George Washington Highway/Scodon Drive/Pheasant Lane parcel for archery only
The deer committee has asked for two properties not under Conservation Commission jurisdiction — the Ridgefield Golf Course, which has been hunted in the past, and Sturges Park, which would be new to the hunt this year. The committee will seek Board of Selectmen approval for those two parcels. Selectmen take a final vote on all the properties.

The hunt is proposed to continue as usual at Levy Park and Shadow Lake.

Deer Committee Chair Tom Belote said that hunting on Hemlock Hills, Lynch Brook Lane, Powdermaker Drive and Keeler Court are proposed to be reduced this season.

Hemlock Hills hunting reductions will allow for more recreational use on the popular open space site. In previous years, the parcel was hunted with firearms from November to the end of December. This season, the site will be hunted only in December, based on committee recommendations.

“It’s the most heavily used recreational acreage in Ridgefield,” Mr. Belote said. “Our heaviest culling there is always in the first three to four weeks of hunting, so we are better off cutting down to where we find our high points are.”

Hunting at the Lynch Brook Lane parcel, used for archery only, is recommended to start Nov. 1, rather than Oct. 15, and to be allowed only in the early morning hours.

“The primary complaint by the most vocal abutting neighbor was that children use that space in the afternoon to get back home from school,” Mr. Belote said.

Mr. Belote said the committee is willing to drop Lynch Brook in favor of one of the new parcels.

“If the number of properties hunted is an issue this year, we are inclined to drop Lynch Brook in favor of one of the new parcels,” Mr. Belote wrote to Dr. Ben Oko of the Conservation Commission.

Both the Powdermaker and Keeler Court parcels will have reduced archery hunting starting in November.

The following parcels, previously used for the hunt, are being dropped: Perry Lane, Reed Park, Peaceable Swamp, Spectacle Swamp’s large and small parcel, Canterbury and Pine Mountain.

Those spaces were dropped because the committee noticed fewer deer bedding down in those areas because of the hunt over the last few years.

“We don’t want to just close off properties and then find it’s not as productive for culling as we want,” Mr. Belote said. “We are trying to adjust our hunting techniques to how the deer are reacting based on our three- to four-year statistics.”

The committee has requested adding Sturges Park this year because Westchester County has started a controlled hunt that will abut Ridgefield’s border, Mr. Belote said.

“They are opening up over 1,000 acres that border our town to controlled hunting,” he said. “To have that many hunters on the New York side of our border we will see deer coming into Ridgefield unless we have our own hunters there to offset the migration.”

Criteria
The Conservation Commission uses a number of criteria before approving parcels for the hunt, including location, impact on recreational use, character of surrounding neighborhood, weapons proposed to be used, deed restrictions and the deer committee’s rationale, among others.

The Conservation Commission’s decision will aid the selectmen in making the final decision for this year’s hunt.

First Selectman Rudy Marconi said he isn’t sure if selectmen will be voting next Wednesday. Last year, the topic caused a great deal of debate that culminated in Selectman Manners, a hunt opponent, storming out of the meeting. Mr. Marconi said a public hearing on the hunt may be suggested.

“Not a public hearing on suspending the hunt but on the parcels chosen and number of parcels,” Mr. Marconi said. “But that is to be determined by the board.”

Mr. Belote said he welcomes public comment and questions and that no members of the public have attended the past Deer Committee meetings on the topic of hunting parcels.

The Board of Selectmen and the Deer Committee will be discussing the upcoming hunting season Wednesday, July 28, during the regular 7:30 p.m. meeting in the town hall conference room.