Jamestown City Council has voted down a proposal by a vote of 2 to 7 to allow bow hunting for deer in the City.
Council President Tony Dolce said the plan wasn’t ready yet, but agrees that something needs to be done to address growing deer herds and why that is happening, “It’s deer management. You need to thin the herds out. You need to do something to kind of control the number because they will starve, they will get hit by vehicles, they will die of diseases, and so we need to come up with a more comprehensive plan that hits on all those areas.”
Council Member At Large Kim Ecklund said she is not opposed to hunting but couldn’t support a resolution with so many open issues, “I have mentioned liability and I know Mr. Johnson has stated about one liability thing but that doesn’t cover everything. As a city, and as an elected official, we have to do our due diligence on the liability side of it. And even our Corporation Counsel presented to me the fact that we are liable and probably in some ways we have not uncovered yet.”
Ecklund said the town of Irondequoit deer program that’s been cited by members of Jamestown’s Ad Hoc Deer Management Committee has 52 items in their charter, and far exceeds what Jamestown’s pilot program proposes, “I had probably a 45 minute conversation again today with the officer who runs this program. He is pulled off the streets and given his total time to run this program while it exists. We have no oversight built into this. I’m concerned. I’m very concerned. I realize they call the Director of Parks and Recreation and tell them they are hunting, but who is checking?”
Council Members Grant Olson and Tom Nelson, who proposed the program, were the only yes votes on the resolution. Nelson was encouraged by council members to continue discussions on the issue.
This is disappointing. Homeowners are losing money every year replacing plantings & general lawn care. Last night I had 3 deer wandering my yard on the north side. The council needs to do something asap or the homeowners will take care of it & you won’t be happy with the result.
Homeowners who have deer damage to their yards would be smart to learn how other people have successful gardens and yards with deer in the neighborhood. My neighbors have beautiful yards and also can enjoy watching the deer as they play with their fawns etc. Other deer will move into the area when some deer have been removed. There will always be deer. What is disappointing is that a homeowner would threaten her council!
That was NOT a threat. It was a statement of fact. Deer are dirty & leave their droppings in yards. They carry disease. The fact that the council doesn’t understand this shows how ignorant they are of a problem threatening homeowners peace of mind & health. Would you say this if there were “cute” bears roaming the neighborhoods?