Dover's Deer Culling Program Results

The Dover Board of Health Lyme Disease Committee wrapped up their second Deer Management Program on Dec. 31, 2011.

Experienced bow hunters on designated tracts of land throughout Dover culled a total of 16 deer from Oct. 17, 2011 through the end of the year. 10 does and six bucks were culled.

While the program more than doubled the amount of land available for the hunters to use from 2010, the results were down compared to last year's DMP.

Last year, hunters culled 19 deer in Dover - 16 does and 3 bucks during the program.

The unseasonably warm winter may be to blame for lower results.

"Based on the opinions of experts of MWL, the USDA Forest Service Botanist, and the Dover hunters’ experience, deer behavior is significantly different from previous years, possibly due to the absence of acorns. Deer are seen to roam and ravage fields significantly more than in previous years," said Lyme Disease Committee chair Barbara Roth-Schechter in an email.

Warmer winters generally mean less acorns falling to the ground, which the deer feed off of. Instead, the deer shift their focus on grazing fields. Hunting is not permitted within 150 feet of roads or 500 feet of buildings or dwellings. So, if a deer is snacking at the edge of your lawn the hunters must wait until they are the proper distance away from the property.

During the program, the LDC also had two deer exclosures set up in the Noanet Woodlands and on Powissett Farm in order to study the deer's behavior, specifically when it comes to foraging on underbrush.

"In order to evaluate over the next several years the extent of deer browsing on the underbrush and vegetation, two deer exclosures were constructed with the volunteer help of some hunters (in Noanet) and with boy scouts in Powissett," Roth-Schechter said.

According to Roth-Schechter there were no injuries or complaints reported to the Dover Police Department, the Board of Health, hunters, or the DMAs during the program.

In addition to the program, during the calendar year of 2011, there were a total of 38 deer-vehicle collisions as reported to the Dover Police Department, Roth-Schechter said.

During their meeting on Thursday Jan. 5, the LDC discussed the possibility of hosting an informative forum for townspeople to attend.