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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes MINUTES Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Meeting January 25, 2010 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLLCALL The Meeting was called to order at 4:45 P.M. Present: Michael Beeth, Grady Bullington, LorRae Crubaugh, Richard Hall, Nikki Hronis, Cecil Streeter, Wendy Suzuki, Steve Voss Absent: Dennis McHugh Staff: John Fitzpatrick, Assistant City Manager/Director of Administrative Services; Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Bill Sturm, Assistant Parks Director/City Forester; Scott Greuel, Chief of Police; Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Suzuki for approval of the December 14, 2009 minutes, as submitted. Seconded by Hronis. Motion carried 8-0. BUSINESS 1)Parks Department staff introductions Introductions were held as this was the first meeting with Parks Department staff. Mr. Maurer stated that the Board listing will be updated to include staff’s information. 2)History of deer management in the City of Oshkosh Chief Greuel distributed an Urban Deer Project Timeline (said timeline on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He gave a brief background of the initial survey that was distributed to surrounding property owners in January of 2008 by the Parks Department, and steps taken after the survey results were determined. He discussed the workshop held on June 7, 2008 with Sandy Baker of the Humane Society of US. Ms. Baker offered site visits and did some of them. She visited Stuart’s Landscaping for presentations as well and discussed the non-lethal landscape options that could be utilized by adjacent property owners. Ms. Suzuki inquired as to what the goal was of the cullings and were the targeted deer just at the baiting areas. Chief Greuel responded that the goal was 20-35 deer (50-60%) and the target area was only at the baiting stations. He stated that the cullings can only be done when there is snow on the ground which provides a visual contrast. The area is groomed for the deer pattern and trees are groomed for the tree stands that are 25-30 feet up. The cullings are done in the late PM or early evenings. Sharpshooters use high powered rifles with suppressors for less noise. Their rifles are high powered ones with suppressions. The sharpshooters shoot downward from the tree stands. Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -2- January 25, 2010 Ms. Hronis inquired if any of the non-lethal attempts that Ms. Baker had suggested were used by any of the stakeholders? Chief Greuel stated that many residents had done some things such as fencing, repellants, as well as some recommendations suggested by Ms. Baker. It was up to the residents as to how they would implement the recommendations since it was their own money that would be used. None of the recommendations had long- term successes. Ms. Hronis inquired as to the expiration date of the variance. Chief Greuel stated the permit from the DNR is expired. He also noted that most of the grant money has already been spent on the program. Ms. Suzuki inquired if entry into the Quarry itself was a viable option. Chief Greuel stated it is prohibitive to go onto the Quarry property. The only property owner that gave OPD permission for the cullings was the National Guard Armory property owners. Questions arose as to any recorded damage of property and other areas that are affected by urban deer. Chief Greuel stated there are pictures of some property damage. He stated he would be able to check the monthly reports as to the car/deer crashes within the City. One area that is highly affected is the Evergreen Manor property off Westfield (a deer jumped into a glass window). Other areas include Picnic Point at Winnebago Mental Health Institute; the area by the Prison and Snell Road; and the area south of the airport (residential area). Some property damage with cars/deer goes unreported if the damage is insignificant or if the driver has other issues and they don’t want to report an accident with the Police Department. There are also cases where a deer gets wounded and an officer is required to put it down. He estimated about 70 deer/car crashes in the past two years. CHIEF GREUEL LEFT THE MEETING AT THIS TIME (5:30 PM) Bryan Woodbury of Wis DNR distributed forms relative to committees (said forms on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He then briefly discussed the goals of the advisory committee. Discussion ensued as to chronic waste disease, lime disease and ticks. Mr. Woodbury stated CWD is notable in Columbia and Sauk County. He stated he is not an expert on how ticks migrate, but noted that deer carcasses cannot be transported from CWD areas, the carcass needs to be boned out. He stated each person is able to deal with small nuisance animals. It’s the larger animals that his office deals with, i.e. bears, wolves, foxes, coyotes, etc. Question arose as to the geese and seagulls in Menominee Park. Mr. Woodbury stated that the USDA Fish & Wildlife Service handles those services through roundups and other programs. Mr. Maurer stated staff has an on-going annual program since the 1990’s relative to geese roundups and noted that staff will provide the committee with information in the future as to the geese and seagull issues in Menominee Park. Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -3- January 25, 2010 Ms. Suzuki stated the reproduction of deer is significant. Killing off the female deer to reduce the reproduction capabilities is necessary. There is a need to get the public to accept the cullings. Mr. Beeth suggested that all minutes/agendas/attachments, etc., be put on the City’s website. Mr. Maurer concurred that the public needs to be made aware of what the City is doing in regards to the deer issues and noted that the Minutes, Agendas, etc., of the Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee will be placed on the City’s website. Ms. Hronis stated the committee would be well to follow page 13 of the technical guide (Managing White- Tailed Deer in Suburban Environments) titled, Developing an Integrated Management Strategy (said technical guide on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). She stated how the Committee develops their strategy and how it is presented to the public will lessen the hostility. Marketing it to the community will help with the success. She stated that this Page 13 of the Guide should be the Committee’s step one. Ms. Suzuki inquired as to the enforcement of the ban on no-feeding the deer? Mr. Voss stated once the Police find out that someone is feeding the deer, they talk to them and ask them not to do it in the future and the next step is a citation. Ms. Suzuki suggested education of the children through the schools about not feeding the deer. People are not aware of the Ordinance in place relative to not feeding them. Mr. Streeter stated people don’t understand how deer come and go from property with enclosed spaces. He stated that the Quarry property is part of the problem; they have to be put into the solution. What can the people in the Quarry do? If there is a scheduled cull possibly the Quarry personnel could haze the deer inside the Quarry beforehand. Discussion ensued relative to reduction in the herds by ordinary hunting or other methods and the costs for same. Mr. Woodbury stated methods of reduction are dependent upon the amount of money available and noted that hunters would be the cheapest. He also stated that different methods would be dependent upon the neighborhood or vicinity and hunting in urban settings really isn’t an option. Ms. Suzuki stated that if there are funds available, it would be wise to proceed with another aerial count and then a determination needs to be made as to what is an acceptable amount allowed in the City. Mr. Maurer stated an item for topic at the next meeting would be funding and a possible aerial survey. Mr. Street stated with respect to the Quarry property, the Committee would need a count of how many deer are inside the fenced area. Mr. Maurer inquired as to the timetable that the DNR takes aerial pictures? Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -4- January 25, 2010 Mr. Woodbury stated the DNR doesn’t usually take aerials of deer. Mr. Beeth stated the number of deer doesn’t matter if there is a problem. The City has tried different approaches and the public has been trying, i.e. the feeding ban, etc. The act of culling is sensitive. Ms. Crubaugh inquired as to what role the Committee is supposed to be playing? Is this Committee going to make a difference? Mr. Maurer stated another agenda item for the next meeting could be what the Committee’s goals are (bullet points). Ms. Crubaugh stated she was discouraged that the Committee was not advised as to the last culling. Ms. Hronis stated the Committee is asking for reassurance that their recommendations are valued. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated one of the concerns that City Manager Rohloff has is what the Committee members brought up – City Council got approval and those members council decided not to stop the culling efforts. Education is a must. This Committee can make a difference through education. Discussion ensued as to a possible budget to implement the committee’s ideas. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated there is no budget available. As the Committee moves forward and they feel that they’ll need some financial assistance, and then the City staff could check some financial avenues. Mr. Woodbury stated that grants are available each year, but noted the grant application deadline has past for 2010 funding. The committee would have to apply for grant money for next year. Discussion ensued relative to the City purchasing low cost repellents in bulk and having the citizens purchase them through the City. Mr. Sturm suggested that a resource list could be available to the public. 5)Topics for next meeting A)Committee member list updated B)Monthly car accident reports C)Look into potential aerial counts – infrared use D)Review feeding ban ordinance E)Funding F)Provide tasks/goals appointed by City Council G)Brain storm ways to educate the public – on-going list and how to implement it. H)How do you define solution to the problem? What is the definition of a problem? Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -5- January 25, 2010 ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Hall for adjournment; seconded by Streeter. Motion carried 8 – 0. The meeting adjourned at 6:35 PM. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary