RIVER VALE, N.J.—The deer bowhunt is on.
After listening to nearly 90 minutes of critical comments and impassioned pleas about their proposed deer bowhunt, Mayor Glen Jasionowski told about 50 people June 10 that the deer bowhunt would be conducted as planned this year, following consultations with state fish and wildlife officials.
The mayor said when a plan is prepared and signed off on by local police, the plan will be presented to residents.
Any state-regulated bowhunt will only be conducted on golf course property and non-residential open spaces, Jasionowski previously said.
Of 20 speakers weighing in against the hunt on June 10, 14 were non-residents.
‘Decision’s been made’
“The decision’s been made. People can come month after month … it’s done, and short of 500 River Vale residents coming in here and saying its the wrong thing to do. I haven’t gotten that,” Jasionowski said.
He added that of 100 people he spoke to at weekend events, at Rivervale Country Club and Coffee with a Cop at Adam’s Bagels, 80 to 85 were in favor of a hunt.
“We have advertised, we had it on the website, we’ve had no less than a dozen meetings on this, we’ve invited both sides to come in and speak, we’ve done multiple email blasts to everyone whose registered on our email blast list,” he added.
He noted frequent articles in Pascack Press on the issue.
“We’ve communicated every way we legally can to our residents and yes, this wasn’t what I believed. I’m a facts person. I thought we had multiple options. We had two,” said the mayor.
He noted choices came down to do nothing or have a bowhunt to reduce deer numbers.
“We discussed this and this is the best decision for River Vale and it’s going to happen,” he added.
Council President Mark Bromberg said the council “listened to experts on both sides of this” and “We need to decide the best course of action to serve the best needs of our residents.”
He conceded there were many councilmembers initially against deer hunting but they were left with only two choices after reviewing available options.
Member Ari Ben-Yishay said studies show that eight to 10 deer per square mile is “a healthy, sustainable deer population” and said if deer population rates continue to double annually, deer will be encountered every day everywhere all over town in a few years.
“You can shake your heads all you want, but you can’t argue with what’s happening with the population. It’s out of control, whether we like it or not,” he said.
Jasionowski said council members have been discussing possible solutions for deer overpopulation for at least two years before making a decision to conduct a bowhunt and will consult with state fish and wildlife officials to work out details, and keep the public informed of details.
Jasionowski said once a bowhunt plan is approved by the state, the plan would be vetted and authorized by the police department to ensure public safety, and then officials will put the plan on township website, do an email blast, and hold office hours for the mayor to meet with residents on the plan.
The mayor said a non-binding referendum on a deer hunt was not necessary because “we believe the majority of residents [favor a hunt] and if we’re wrong they’ll vote us out of office.”
“We felt that we are adequately representing the majority of River Vale residents as duly elected officials,” he added, rebutting the need for any townwide referendum on the issue.
Both Jasionowski and Township Administrator Gennaro Rotella said there was no costs to the municipality for the hunt. Bromberg said the hunters would pay for licenses and processing.
“There shouldn’t be any costs associated with it to our taxpayers,” Bromberg said.
When a Hillsdale resident questioned members if they would take their “children and grandchildren to witness this horrific act” of a deer bowhunt, the mayor said he does not take his kids to the dog pound when they euthanize dogs.
“You bring my kids into it…I’ve been polite to everyone. You start talking about my family you cross a line,” said Jasionowski, who said “maybe” he would bring his kids to witness the bowhunt.
Later, Park Ridge resident and animal rights advocate Mark Nagelhout, an Animal Protection League of New Jersey member, said that most towns have police-related costs during a hunt.
Nagelhout said he disagreed with a state official’s “lies” about wounding of deer during a deer hunt and effectiveness of a deer surgical sterilization program.
Nagelhout said “This is a yearly cruel thing that’s going to happen, year after year after year…it’s not going to solve the problem.”
At times during the meeting, emotions flared when residents and non-residents questioned the hunt’s alleged brutality and whether a hunt was necessary.
Generally, most questioners were respectful and council members often responded directly to questions and statements, although Bromberg noted at one point many criticisms being raised were addressed at other meetings and often multiple times before.
Councilwoman Denise Sieg said the bowhunt decision was difficult “and is killing all of us” but a decision had to be made to address deer overpopulation.
“Do you do nothing or do what the state is allowing us to do?” she asked. She suggested animal rights advocates “write letters to the governor” to secure more non-lethal deer management options.
Jasionowski said once the state approves more non-lethal options, he would be willing to consider those for River Vale.
Jasionowski attended the June 5 Englewood forum on deer population control with more than 20 towns represented.
He said based on what he saw there, “I think your mayors are split” on deer management and a regional solution did not seem possible. He said he would “definitely” meet with a group of mayors interested in pursuing a regional deer strategy.
The Township Council unanimously agreed April 22 to move forward with a bowhunt but “paused” the decision in early May to hear from residents.
Jasionowski said he was hoping to meet with Saddle River Mayor Albert Kurpis to get a rundown on that borough’s experiences with a bowhunt—which killed 135 deer during a regulated bowhunt—and later offered to host a mayors’ meeting on regional deer management in River Vale.
“If you can get enough mayors interested I will host a discussion here in our chambers to hear their opinions,” Jasionowski told animal rights advocate Kim Nagelhout.
Nagelhout urged the town and other Bergen County towns to sue the state to permit non-lethal options for deer control.
Most council members did not support the idea of a lawsuit, but several urged the animal-rights advocates on to push the state to come up with non-lethal options for towns.
Councilman John Donovan said he pressed to see deer numbers before a hunt moved forward and said before next year he would prefer a non-lethal option as a choice for River Vale in 2020.
The deer drone survey, conducted by Raritan Valley Community College Professor Jay Kelly and Jessica Ray over four days in late April, showed a total of 546 deer in a 5.6-square-mile area, which equals 96 deer per square mile.
The report notes a goal of about 10 deer per square mile for towns to maintain a healthy ecosystem and minimize social and economic costs.
Optimal deer population several years out
“To comprehensively satisfy ecological and social/economic concerns, the goal should be 10 deer per square mile. Whether or not this is feasible is another question and depends extensively on what methods are used, how much access there is to hunting, how much the town is willing to invest/persist over time,” Kelly wrote Pascack Press on June 11.
“In most cases, it is likely to take several years before the target is reached, but must continue to be maintained over time after that, as deer populations may quickly return to previous levels,” Kelly added.
Pascack Press provided survey details online. A survey link is posted on a town-wide email on the website addressing the planned bowhunt.
