Town applies for bait and shoot permits
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

A full-grown male deer, shown on Dec. 16. stands in a clearing on the north side of Maple Road between the Buffalo Shooting Club property and the Amherst Parks Department. Photo by David F. Sherman

The Town of Amherst is seeking permits from the Department of Environmental Conservation to continue to bait and shoot for deer.

The town will also continue the Deer Vehicle Accident Management Plan due to the the number of collisions reported.

Capt. David Hoy of the Amherst Police Department said there have been 368 accidents in 2006 - 100 more than the goal - and the final tally isn't compiled.

"These are levels that we haven't seen since the mid-1990s," Hoy said about the increase in deer/vehicle accidents.

There were 546 accidents reported in 2003, 511 in 2004 and 467 in 2005. As of September 233 accidents were recorded in 2006, according to the Deer Vehicle Accident Management Plan.

From 1992 to 1996, accidents were recorded in the 317-444 range with a drop into the 200s between 1997 and 2001. Then in 2002, the number spiked to 436.

"It seems to be an issue we are getting a better handle on. It looks as though the rate has decreased in the past three years, about 22 percent. If we have a normal December, as we had last year, the total would be approximately 425 for the year," Jason Engel, project manager in the Planning Department, said.

There are several "hot spots" in the town including Ayer Road, Casey Road, Campbell Boulevard, Dodge Road, Hopkins Road, Interstates 290 and 990, Klein Road, Maple Road, Millersport Highway, Sheridan Drive, Wehrle Drive and Youngs Road.

With an increase in deer/vehicle accidents, the Town of Amherst is looking to continue the bait and shoot program that was started three or four years ago, Hoy said. The program was also used in the early and mid-1990s.

The Deer Vehicle Accident Management Plan committee recently released the numbers from 2006 - 304 nuisance permit tags were received (submitted by private property owners) and 232 deer were harvested. The total deer harvested in 2006 decreased compared to 400 in 2004 and 240 in 2005.

Permits from the DEC are granted from Jan. 1 to March 31. In 2006, 115 deer were harvested in January; 45 in February and 67 in March. Four other deer were harvested under a separate permit.

"This is definately a program we are going to have to continue to get that ideal number," Engel said about the goal of 250-275 of accidents per year. "As we go we are learning and trying to make the program more efficient and more effective. And also more productive in getting more meat to the Food Bank."

The cost for harvesting the deer has totaled $20,625 since 2004 with costs increasing in 2005 and 2006 to $25 per deer, up from $20 per deer in 2004.

Amherst donates the meat from the deer to the Food Bank of Western New York and contributed 25,960 pounds since 2004.

The bait and shoot program was suspended in 2005 from Feb. 3 through March 11 after a bullet ricocheted and entered a house on San Fernando Lane. In 2006, no complaints were filed.

Hoy said the warm weather has contributed to the increased number of accidents this year because the deer's food supply is readily available in fields and lawns.

"The weather is working against us," he said, because the deer are not going into wooded areas in search of food.

The Oct. 12 storm is also playing a role in blocking accessibility to wooded areas.

"This problem is not unique to Amherst," Hoy said about an increase in accidents.

In addition to the bait and shoot program, Amherst has started an education procedure, including leaflets with information on preventing collisions. Reflective

signs have also been added to the roadways warning motorists of hot spots. The average cost of an accident is $2,500.

The bait and shoot program cannot begin without permits from the DEC.

For more information, visit www.amherst.ny.us and click on the Planning Department. Anyone involved in a deer/vehicle accident should call the Amherst police at 689-1311 immediately.

e-mail: jfinch@beenews.com