Selectmen Feel The Heat In Lyme/Deer Management Debate

By Kendra Bobowick

He stood to face a room full of residents, their expressions filled with emotion.

“I know why we’re all here,” First Selectman Joe Borst said at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting Monday. People gathered to hear about the establishment of a Tick-Borne Disease Action Task Force, or is it the Tick-Borne Disease and Deer Action Task Force? Tuesday afternoon he admitted, “We haven’t decided yet.”

Mr Borst wants to wait until committee members are selected — hopefully by the board’s next meeting. “Then we’ll pick something noncontroversial.” They also may have gathered to hear Humane Society speaker Laura Simon, an appointment that was canceled last-minute. Several attendees disputed the cancellation later in the evening.

By 7:30 pm on Monday, every seat in the library’s downstairs meeting room was occupied, and more. Those attending the Board of Selectman’s meeting stood along the walls, backed up to the hallway and pushed out the door.

Mr Borst was stern: “We’re not going to talk about deer hunting.” Some dressed in camouflage or shooters’ sweaters, and others were poised to argue with sympathy for the doe-eyed wildlife. Hoping to direct conversation to the topic of tick-borne disease prevention, which can include deer culling methods, he differentiated that culling is something separate from the state-regulated hunting in general.

Mr Borst also warned: “I don’t want repetitious comments.” Limiting each speaker to two minutes, he then made a stipulation he hoped would reduce the amount of time spent in public comment: “I’ll ask for a show of hands from those who concur…” Also at his suggestion, roughly half of the people present indicated they were there about the prospect of deer management, although the gesture was misplaced, as Selectman Paul Mangiafico later noted.

“There has been some miscommunication here — this is not an issue for discussion with the Board of Selectmen.” He explained, “We have not taken a position” about instituting a deer management program, or not, he said. “[Tick-borne disease] is a public health issue, so we decided to establish a task force to hear the pros and cons, gather information and opinions, conclude if we have a problem and then what to do.” Ultimately, that task force of people would weigh all aspects of tick-related illnesses and potential solutions. “So all this public comment was out of order.”

Deferring to the number of people who had turned out to speak, he held his comments for later in the evening, but clarified that the eventual task force, which selectmen hope to appoint by next month, will be the proper place to lodge public opinions for the record. (See related story about the task force).

One at a time residents stepped through the crowd and reached for the microphone. Lynn Printy said, “I have concerns.” Specifically, she worries about resident David Shugarts, who is also aligned with the town’s Lyme Disease Task Force and has been tapped to head the task force until the group selects its own chairman, the first selectman had said. Mr Shugarts was among those calling upon the town for action against tick-borne diseases during October’s selectmen’s meeting. Mr Shugarts is also a proponent of deer management programs. Should he head the study group? Ms Printy asked. “He has made up his mind,” she said, adding that she wants to see a more open-minded approach.

In past discussions, Mr Shugarts has said that the time for study is over, noting that other towns have exhaustively researched what to do about disease, concluding that deer management is the only effective tool. It is time for action, he had told selectmen. Wary of those thoughts, Ms Printy said Monday, “We need a committee open to ideas that will do the homework” and the head of a study group or task force should seek information rather than taking the word of neighboring communities.

“Most of us have been affected by this disease and want to do what we can to stop it,” she said. Acknowledging the “divisive subject,’ she said, “We need the most updated scientific information, not the work of another community.”

Asking for a show of hands from those who agree, roughly 30 people responded.

Dee Davis worried about safety. “I am not against hunting, but on open space?” She noted the two shotgun shells she found within sight of a playground recently. “Hunting is fine, but on open space you’re asking for trouble.” The same hands went up when she was through.

Touching on open space — a discussion the Conservation Commission recently began — Mr Borst mentioned that open space properties in town could be deeded or be left to the town with restrictions. “This is something we have to find out, whether properties can be hunted or not.” Conservation also intends to decide whether or not it will recommend that a culling program take place on open spaces.

Mark Alexander’s point of view offered a look from another angle. “Nothing is proven” that culling is a mechanism to control Lyme, he said. “There is no guarantee of success.” Agreeing that Lyme disease is a problem, he said, “We should find a solution that works.”

Calming the scatter of applause, Mr Borst spoke up. “No one is saying anything about culling.”

“The [task force] has to research and recommend,” he continued. Regardless of this warning, residents eager to speak their minds since the words “deer culling” arose two months ago, continued. Stepping before the crowd gathered, Steve Sundell declared his support for thinning the deer population.

“I had extensive deer damage to my [landscaping],” he said. He argues that the population is overgrown and deer are “eating anything they can.” He hopes the task force will go ahead with a culling program. A different set of hands went up. Next to address listeners, Newtown Forest Association (NFA) President Bob Eckenrode. “It’s important to let [the Conservation Commission] know, it’s our policy not to allow hunting on our properties. Some are sanctuaries … we’re committed to protecting our natural resources.” He did argue that deer are harming the habitat, however. “I hope the task force considers what the deer are doing to the understory of our forests.” The lower level of forest is a food source and home to other animals, he said. Once all the native plants are literally eaten, invasive species, which tend to grow more quickly, and do not appeal to deer, for example, take their place.

Culling? “It’s a complicated issue,” he said. “We realize that a balance in the deer population is important to the ecological diversity for all species to thrive … we think culling is a last resort and have reservations that it works.” Because of various issues, he said the NFA is not ready to endorse it on their properties.

Similarly, Hunters for the Hungry state representative Mike O’Connell argued that culling improves forests, feeds people, and keeps nature in balance. Redding’s assistant deer warden and one resident from as far away as Sherman also spoke.

After hearing Lorrie Silber, who addressed the Conservation Commission with her opposition to culling, resident Lou Reda who noted the ill effects of the deer numbers, which are “unequivocally up.” He too noticed the forests are stripped of vegetation. “Wildlife is down, no nesting birds, because somebody ate the trees.”

Conservation Commission member and retired physician Marjorie Cramer said she was “appalled” at how the town has handled matters. “First canceling the speaker at the last-minute.” She also criticized the first selectman’s move to appoint Mr Shugarts as the acting task force head until the group appointed its own officers. “Appointing someone to head the [task force] who has publicly said he is for culling and has made up his mind — that’s ludicrous.” She added, “That’s a waste of taxpayers’ money. I am a taxpayer, and that makes me mad. We need to do this in an appropriate way.”