BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF PASCACK PRESS
RIVER VALE, N.J.—Here’s a primer on the Jan. 28 workshop meeting where River Vale Council members will hear about and discuss non-lethal options from the Animal Protection League of New Jersey for managing a growing local deer population that Mayor Glen Jasionowski calls a top priority for solving in 2019.
Council members heard from state Division of Fish and Wildlife officials Dec. 10 that a “regulated hunt” during the normal deer hunting seasons in fall and winter was the only effective method to reduce local deer population.
Although he had been opposed to hunting for years, Jasionowski told a fall mayors’ forum that he had concluded that River Vale likely needed a controlled hunt to reduce local deer numbers, which have led to over 50 automobile-related incidents in 2018.
Following public pushback, Jasionowski said he would hear both sides of the issue. After the state’s presentation Dec. 10, 2018, Jasionowski said he had made no decision on lethal versus non-lethal options, but said “it will take a lot to convince me that something other than a hunt is the way to go.”
Only one other Bergen County town has tried to use a non-lethal approach. Following initial efforts to get a non-lethal plan featuring surgical sterilization of does approved, Saddle River had their plan rejected by the state Fish and Game Council (part of NJ Department of Environmental Protection) and then adopted a regulated hunting program approved by the state featuring bowhunters from United Bowhunters of New New Jersey.
In late December, The Bergen Record reported 90 deer were culled in Saddle River since early October. It also reported 200 participating property owners in the county’s only municipal-sponsored deer hunting program.
Following the Jan. 28 presentation, council members will ask questions of the League’s representative.
WHO: Animal Protection League of New Jersey (aplnj.org) Doris Lin, league director of legal and government affairs.
WHAT: The animal-rights advocacy organization provides a detailed presentation on non-lethal deer management strategies to assist towns dealing with deer control and reduction issues.
WHEN: Jan. 28, Monday, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: River Vale Township Hall chambers.
WHY: River Vale has experienced a jump in deer-auto related incidents, increasing to over 50 in 2018 from about four only yearly eight years ago, said Mayor Jasionowski. Over several public discussions, other impacts noted include destruction of local landscaping and forest understory, several local Lyme Disease cases and public safety concerns, specifically preventing any future human fatalities related to a deer-auto accident.
BACKGROUND: Since Jasionowski first mentioned hunting in October as a possible option to control the township’s increased deer population, the issue has been a town-wide topic of conversation, with local animal-rights activists attending council sessions to voice dissent with any type of hunting program.
Jasionowski said Dec. 10, 2018, that someone on social media labeled him “a serial killer” for his talking about a possible regulated deer-hunting program and urged residents to comment courteously and keep the conversation respectful.
As Jan. 28 is a workshop session, generally public comments are not permitted. At the Dec. 10 presentation by state Division of Fish and Wildlife officials, the two biologists speaking both said non-lethal methods for population reduction have proved ineffective. Both cited studies that showed zero or minimal population reductions for programs that are also expensive, costing $1,000 to $1,200 per doe for surgical sterilization.
State agency officials said they can assist municipalities apply for state approval for a local hunt. Both officials stressed River Vale should begin as soon as possible to submit the required paperwork and obtain approvals for the hunt should that be the council’s preference for 2019.
Animal Protection League representatives have cited studies showing effective non-lethal efforts including Staten Island, N.Y., and criticized the state’s failure to approve Saddle River’s management plan incorporating surgical sterilization.
Doris Lin, league director of legal and government affairs, said the state refuses to even list surgical sterilization as a non-lethal option, instead listing only trap and transfer and chemical sterilization.
She previously urged local officials to lobby state environmental officials to include surgical sterilization. State officials on Dec. 10 said the studies do not prove such a method effective except for controlled populations in a confined area.
River Vale in ‘lead role’
Over the past several years, numerous mayors and public officials in Pascack Valley have suggested the need for a “regional solution” to the deer overpopulation issue, and many mayors appear to be watching what happens in River Vale, including Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo, who recently said that River Vale is taking the lead role on the deer overpopulation issue among Pascack Valley towns.
Following a shortened League presentation in November during a town hall meeting, Montvale Mayor Michael Ghassali told residents he opposed hunting as a solution to reduce deer population.
While most mayors admit there is a problem with growing impacts from increased deer, only Saddle River has adopted a hunting program to reduce deer.
Many mayors suggest the county undertake a countywide effort to reduce deer but no such efforts have been discussed.