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As the Village of Lansing struggles with its oversized deer population it looks like the third year of its deer population management program will continue to be marginally effective.  Trustee John O'Neill reported Monday that he approached the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) about providing sharp shooters to help thin the deer population, but it doesn't look like that will be a viable option.

The program hasn't been very effective because the owner of the largest undeveloped property in the Village has not agreed to a hunt.  This year O'Neill says the owner of Murray Estates, long known as Sundowns Farm, is willing to consider a limited sharpshooting hunt during specific hours, but state regulations provide too many obstacles to make such a hunt viable.


"The DEC said we have to authorize (a sharpshooter hunt) for the whole village," O'Neill told the board.  "The other thing is that if we do this we have to get a policeman there for the two to three nights.  We can't do that so I think that's pretty much gone."

The Village does not have its own police force, so would be required to depend on Sheriff's deputies.  Village officials doubted deputies could provide the coverage the DEC requires, because they are already stretched throughout the county, and dealing with additional calls during the hunting seasons.

A DEC official told O'Neill that the a sharpshooter hunt would have to be authorized for the entire village, even though it would actually take place at specific locations.  Village Clerk Jodi Dake noted that would require changing the Village firearms law, which currently prohibits the discharge of firearms anywhere in the Village.  Even if the Trustees were inclined to change the law, the process of doing so could not be completed in time for the upcoming hunting season.

A third obstacle is who would pay.  The DEC told O'Neill that they will only deal with the Village as a whole on the deer control issue.  This means that the Village would have to collect fees from landowners who want deer removed to pay the DEC for sharpshooter services.

"That strikes me as way too cumbersome," said Trustee Lynn Leopold.  "Way too complicated."

The Village deer management initiative allows for bow hunters only.  Special deer Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) tags are obtained by the Village each year to distribute to landowners whose property has been approved for a hunt.  DEC regulations must be met, including not shooting within 500 feet of a dwelling or public structure.  Permission of neighbors is often required depending on the size of the property and the exact location of the hunters.  Hunters must be approved by the landowners and the Village.


Leopold's has had a DMAP hunt on her own property for the last two years, and plans another this year.  But hers is one of very few in the Village that is big enough for a hunt, and only if her neighbors give permission.  She laments that a hunt on her property isn't nearly enough to control the Village deer population.  The woods on her land has been decimated to the point where it is unlikely that new growth will take over when the old growth eventually dies away.  She says without a concentrated hunt on a property as big as Murray Estates no significant decrease will result.

Village officials estimate there are about 30 deer / automobile collisions per year.  "It's too bad that beasts on four wheels are the only predators," Leopold says.

Trustees agreed the Village will apply for 30 DMAP tags this year, reasoning that it is better to have more than they can use than not enough.  Leopold definitely plans another hunt this year on her property, and there is one other possible location that may allow hunts.  Village resident Delores Adler told trustees her neighborhood would support a hunt wholeheartedly.  She noted that six to 18 deer have been spotted between houses there at a time.  Leopold says that if there are more hunts the program could be more effective even without Murray Estates.

"It's actually more effective if you can rotate around two or three different sites, because after a while they get spooked out of an area," she says.  "That's what we experienced last year."

The outlook is bleak for the Village program actually being effective.  On some evenings scores of deer can be seen grazing on the Murray Estates property.  Without the owner signing on for a bow hunt, there isn't much the Village can do to thin the deer population.  That is bad news for property owners and drivers alike.

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