ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—An upcoming June meeting in Englewood will attempt to “develop a regional approach” to deer management among public officials countywide due to a lack of a comprehensive effort to manage the county’s increasing deer population.
At an April 9 Bergen County League of Municipalities meeting in Hackensack, Upper Saddle River Mayor Joanne Minichetti told about 20 North Jersey mayors that Bergen County remains only one of three counties statewide without a deer culling plan to manage deer numbers.
While two municipalities have decided to undertake regulated deer bow hunts—Saddle River culled 135 deer recently and River Vale plans a bow hunt later this year—most towns have opted for a wait-and-see approach due to strong opposition by animal-protection advocates who have pleaded, protested and sued to try to prevent such hunts.
The River Vale Township Council agreed unanimously April 8 to hold a bow hunt later this year after experiencing a spike in deer-vehicle incidents from about two to four yearly to over 50 incidents this year, most within less than a mile swath on Rivervale Road adjoining the town-owned golf course.
Council members cited public safety concerns, the spread of Lyme disease including a number of local cases, and a lack of approved non-lethal options as reasons for approving a hunt.
Members mulled a menu of lethal and non-lethal options presented by state officials and animal-protection advocates but agreed a bow hunt was the best short-term option, angering representatives from the Animal Protection League of New Jersey.
Calls for regional approach
Following a well-attended educational forum in December about deer population management, Englewood’s Deer Task Force Committee is reaching out to public officials, including mayors, council members, health officials and county officials, to develop a regional strategy for managing the deer population.
A deer survey by the Englewood task force in 2018 found numbers dramatically increased over a five-year period in all four wards and the task force, led by resident Lisa Wisotsky, decided to provide education on the issue and lately has pushed to create consensus for a regional approach.
June 5 Mayors’ Deer Forum
Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes urged North Jersey mayors at the April 9 mayors’ breakfast held at Coach House Diner, Hackensack, to attend a June 5 forum on white-tailed deer in Englewood, featuring biologists from the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.
He told mayors there was “no point in coming up with a deer plan” if deer can move back and forth between towns.
Wildes said controlling the deer population “was all hands on deck” in terms of towns cooperating to prevent “biological and ecological consequences” including forest health and public health impacts.
“We’d like to know what’s going on in your communities” with deer, Wildes said, urging mayors and interested public officials to attend.
25-plus towns invited
Wisotsky told Northern Valley Press that elected officials from at least 25 Bergen County towns or more interested in discussing a regional deer management approach will be invited to the June 5 deer educational forum.
“The only way to approach this is to do it regionally,” said Wisotsky.
She said she wants to find out what ideas towns have for deer control and who wants to band together to work on a regional approach. She said Saddle River and River Vale had to go out on their own to manage deer due to lack of any comprehensive approach in Bergen County.
‘Trying to step it up’
“We’re trying to step it up and get mayors and councils to look at options available to them,” Wisotsky said, as well as requesting ideas on a regional approach.
The session will be held Wednesday, June 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Englewood Court Room, 73 S. Van Brunt Street, and all public officials are invited.
Interested public officials are urged to attend or call Englewood Health Director James Fedorko at (201) 871-6501 for information.
Following a Division of Fish and Wildlife presentation—open to the public and sponsored by the city Deer Task Force—the committee decided to reach out to public officials and attempt to mobilize municipal cooperation to develop a regional approach to deer management, Wisotsky said.
Over the last year, several towns have sponsored information and education sessions on deer control strategies, but only two towns have initiated bow hunts.
Montvale: Don’t feed deer
In Montvale, Mayor Michael Ghassali hosted a forum on non-lethal deer management options last year by Animal Protection League of New Jersey.
“This is more of a county or a regional issue,” he said. He noted River Vale—which approved a bow hunt—has golf courses that Montvale lacks, offering a place to hunt deer. He said Montvale does not have an ordinance to discourage wildlife feeding but encourages residents to not feed deer.
“Don’t feed them and protect green areas and gardens,” suggested Ghassali. “The short answer is we won’t have a hunt in Montvale anytime soon.”
Other mayors interested
Old Tappan Mayor John Kramer agreed with Wildes that any deer management solution “should be a regional approach” and said he would see if he could make the upcoming Englewood meeting to effect a regional approach.
Closter Mayor John Glidden said a regional deer management approach “would be a good idea” and as for deer management, “everyone’s trying to figure out what to do about it,” he said. He noted many ideas are being suggested but most ideas remain less than effective.
Tenafly Mayor Peter Rustin said that without predators to cull a growing deer population, “there’s certainly a deer problem throughout the region.”
He said trying to fence out the deer—with fences of any kind— doesn’t work “because they just go somewhere else…the regional approach makes the most sense,” he added.
Rustin called the prospect of hunting to reduce deer “the 800-pound gorilla in the room” when debating deer control options.
Ecosystem ‘out of balance’
Peter Punzi, director of the 400-acre Tenafly Nature Center, said though the preserve suffers from deer browsing, the center does not exclude deer.
He said the regional ecosystem is “out of balance” because the area’s once top predator—wolves—no longer reduce the deer herd.
In some areas, coyotes play a role as predator, but mostly the lack of a predator—and abundant food—make regional deer management a priority, said Punzi.
He said the same ideological battles over deer culling occur now as they did decades ago in New Jersey.
“Ideally we need more of a comprehensive regional approach. Without the top level predator [wolves] around anymore, the ecosystem is out of whack,” Punzi said.
County needs ‘to do something’
Upper Saddle River Mayor Minichetti said discussions on deer management got so intense years ago that one mayor stopped attending Northwest Mayors’ Group meetings.
To illustrate deer numbers, she said a deer ran into the borough’s annual 5K run a couple years ago, but fortunately no one was hurt.
“I believe strongly that the county needs to do something that would actually be feasible,” said Minichetti.
She said when County Executive James Tedesco III came to a mayors’ meeting, he had “zero interest” in addressing deer management on a county level.
Wisotsky said county officials will be invited to the city’s forum on deer management.
Requests for comment from Tedesco and county press office staff on deer management were not returned by press time.