Deer Issue

Needs To Be Studied

To the Editor:

The residents of Newtown may not be aware of a group called the Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance (FCMDMA). One of their members, Dave Shugarts, represents Newtown in the FCMDMA and has taken a position of advocating drastic deer reduction throughout Fairfield County. He has now set his sights on Newtown and has publicly stated in The Bee and at Board of Selectmen meetings that now is the time to act, not study and that controlled hunting should be initiated as soon as possible on town lands. He has urged the Board of Selectmen to form a tick and deer control task force.

The Board of Selected should keep the public advised by publishing in The Bee the following:

1. That applications from residents are still being taken for task force appointments.

2. What the name of the task force is.

3. The task force’s mission statement.

In the Town of Brookfield residents were caught off guard, given very little information, and did not have their questions adequately answered. A cull was instituted without public input. The Board of Selectmen needs to see that this doesn’t happen in Newtown. This is a very important topic and public input is crucial.

As for Mr Shugart’s comments that now is the time to act and not study, I disagree. There is solid scientific data that refutes the idea that culling deer reduces Lyme disease or helps in any other way. Claiming that culling will solve the problem does a disservice to those with Lyme and those afraid of getting Lyme. It is irresponsible to promote the idea of killing deer to wipe out Lyme. It is so much more complicated than that and needs to be studied. Residents need to be educated by independent sources and not the DEP, which collects revenue from hunting licenses.

Susan Kokoska

 9 White Oak Farm, Newtown                               December 18, 2008