A roadside deer survey in the Town of Hamilton, sampling 9.27 square miles (22.4 %) of the town during dusk hours in Sept. 2013 & 2014.

We found that:• At 42.5 deer/m2 (2013) and 59 deer/m2 (2014) Hamilton’s deer

population greatly exceeds the acceptable level of 10 deer/m2 (Fig. 1).

White-tailed deer are overabundant in Hamilton, NY

Public presentation December 2013, students from Environmental Studies who conducted research

Formation of a Deer Task Force composed of members of the town and village boards and residents, Spring 2014.

Community forum March 24th, 2015.

The result is a proposal to cull deer within the village beginning September 2015.

White-tailed deer are overabundant in Hamilton, NY

Lack of forest regeneration—e.g. impacting timber

harvest, carbon sequestration

Changes in forest composition (the species)

Reduction in other animal populations, such as birds

Increased deer vehicle collisions, exceeding alcohol-related accidents

Increased reservoir for diseases such as Lyme which results in increased incidence among humans

Ecological Impacts of Overabundance

Lyme Disease in Madison County

Vehicle Collissions

The proposed cull is similar to that underway in the Village of Trumansburg which is also found in the DEC region 7 of NY State. (http://trumansburg-ny.gov/).

We aim to have 12-18 permanent cull sites scattered around the village: 6-12 on Village lands and 4-6 on Colgate University lands.

The proposed sites will minimize risk of deer running in to the road and allowing for wounded deer to run ~50 yards.

Deer Management: Cull for Hamilton

Participation as a shooter, pending an application, is

open to town residents with multi-year experience of archery hunting, background check, interview, and archery demonstration with Chief Gifford.

Successful shooters will be required to field dress the carcass at the DPW or on their own/private properties outside the village.

Chief Gifford and police officers will be available to facilitate the retrieval of any deer that might run onto neighboring properties at 315-824-3311.

Who will participate in the cull?

Prior to the cull we will contact all landowners within

500 feet of a proposed stand location to determine:

1. If the landowner will allow a stand on their property

2. If the landowner will allow a deer to be retrieved from their property

3. Whether they would like to receive venison according to priority

Will My Property Be Affected?

Proposed Culling Sites in Village

Figure 5. Aerial map of Hamilton showing proposed deer cull locations. These locations are subject to edits of the village board and requisition of necessary neighboring property owners permissions.

Potential sites for tree stands include:• forested edges of Woodman Pond (1)• area west of the Hamilton Pet/Car

wash before the airfield near Wings Way (2)

• broken forest east of Spring Street (3)• sites along the Chenango Canal

walking path where there is evidence of deer trails and areas of bedding down (4,5)

• land to the west of the Hamilton Water Works (6)

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Figure 6. Land to the east of Spring Street (3). (photo taken looking downhill towards the street)

Figure 5. Aerial map of Hamilton showing proposed deer cull locations. These locations are subject to edits of the village board and requisition of necessary neighboring property owners permissions.

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Figure 7. Deer trail off the Chenango Canal walking path (4, 5)

Figure 8. Land to the west of the Hamilton Water Works (6)

Figure 5. Aerial map of Hamilton showing proposed deer cull locations. These locations are subject to edits of the village board and requisition of necessary neighboring property owners permissions.

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1.Shooters will have the right to keep each odd deer culled (e.g. 1st,

3rd, etc.).

2.The landowner will have the rights to the carcass of the second deer culled on their land.

3.Each consecutive EVEN numbered deer, regardless of shooter (4, 6, 8, etc.), will go in priority to:

1. Village residents who sign up to receive carcasses that are eligible, and entire carcass can be divided.

2. The Hamilton Food Cupboard

Both Town and Village residents are encouraged to donate to a venison processing fund to provide venison to the Hamilton Food Cupboard.

*All those receiving a carcass are responsible for all processing fees.

Venison Priority

Extra Slides

In a phone survey conducted over three nights and for five days

on NextDoorHamilton.com we surveyed 16% of town households. 78% of village residents and 73% of non-village residents think:

• Deer populations should be reduced and 62% think local government should be involved in management.

How do residents perceive the deer population?

89% of those surveyed had negative interactions with deer, which include:• 65% have hit a deer (Fig. 3) within the

last 10 years, with 55% costing more than $1000 in repair• 13% Lyme disease (average $281 per

patient, Zhang et al. 2006)• 14% Agricultural losses, 57% of these

losses cost over $100 Figure 3. Bar chart comparing collision numbers based on cause between deer and alcohol related for New York State

Our land management practices

provided ideal deer habitat and food sources

Humans eradicated natural predators (wolves)

Females have high reproductive rates (up to 30 offspring in lifetime)

Causes of Deer Overabundance