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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes MINUTES Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Meeting February 28, 2011 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLLCALL The meeting was called to order at 4:45 P.M. Present: Michael Beeth, LorRae Crubaugh, Steve Cummings, Nikki Hronis, Michael Nigl, Steve Voss Absent: Grady Bullington, Cecil Streeter, Wendy Suzuki Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Chad Dallman, Parks Operations Manager; Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Cummings for approval of the January 24, 2011 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by Beeth. Motion carried 5-0. CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS (Items on Agenda) There were no citizen’s statements. BUSINESS 1)Review monthly car accident reports from Police Department Ms. Hronis inquired if the amount reflected (3 car/deer accidents) is normal average for January? Mr. Maurer stated as soon as the snow disappears, the deer go to new areas (deer are on the move). 2) Update on quarry owner cooperation with deer management Mr. Maurer stated he received a message from the Quarry’s legal council. He returned the call, but hasn’t heard back. He stated he will be sharing the management plan and aerial survey with them. 3)Discussion and approval of DNR revisions to draft management plan Mr. Maurer stated that he had forwarded the draft management plan to the DNR ahead of time. Mr. Bryan Woodbury and two other people within his department reviewed the document. Their biggest recommendation was to remove any reference to trapping and relocation. Because times have changed and it is not allowable to relocate, so that verbiage was removed from the document. They also gave us additional website information which we added to the plan. All in all, there were relatively minor changes. Mr. Cummings inquired will a fox or coyote attack people? Mr. Maurer stated he didn’t know, but is of the opinion if a fox or coyote (or any other animal) is cornered or feels threatened, that it would attempt to protect itself. Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -2- FEBRUARY 28, 2011 Mr. Voss inquired why the trapping and relocation references were struck? Mr. Dallman stated deer cannot be relocated due to the CWD (Chronis Wasting Disease) issue. Mr. Nigl suggested adding a sentence similar to “Currently relocation of live animals is not an option with the DNR”. Mr. Maurer suggested inserting a sentence under Trapping and Euthanasia, “Trapping and relocation is currently banned as an option by the Wisconsin DNR because of chronic wasting disease (CWD).” Mr. Voss stated that is a good idea, since people are continually asking that question. Motion by Beeth that the updated version of the management plan with the DNR input be forwarded to the City Council for approval. Seconded by Hronis. Motion carried 5-0. 4)Update on aerial survey deer Mr. Dallman gave a brief background on the aerial survey which was done on Thursday, February 24, 2011. He stated that the southwest area of the EAA grounds contained 11 deer. The residential subdivision of the EAA grounds had 7 deer in the corner and 4 more on the backside of that building. In the Vulcan/Armory area, there were 23 congregated around the interior perimeter of the quarry and 4 in the armory area. On the north side of town (landfill area), they counted 43 deer (hillside had 30 laying down and the north end of Hwy 41 held 13 deer). Also there were 6 deer located to the lots east toward the lake. It is hoped to perform another aerial survey of the deer in December. Mr. Cummings inquired if any deer were spotted in the County Park area? Mr. Dallman stated they did not go that far. He did state that one day last month about 1 PM in the afternoon, he and Mr. Maurer were driving by the Sunnyview Road area and they counted 9 deer in that area. Mr. Beeth inquired if an official report would be filed with respect to the aerial survey? Mr. Dallman stated an official report would be filed. He stated he had the preliminary report and would make copies of that document for the Committee members at the next meeting. Mr. Maurer stated the updated version of the management plan will be submitted to the City Council as part of the plan establishes the goal. Then this Committee will take a look at these areas and come up with an action plan and decide what steps should be taken. For example, with respect to the Quarry area, we need to work with the Vulcan’s owners to attempt to get those numbers under control. With respect to the northside, discussions need to be held with the adjacent neighbors with regard to possible hunting options if they believe the deer are an issue. Ms. Hronis stated that the citizens need to be aware of what they should be doing and suggested educational brochures or a public forum to compliment the plan. Mr. Nigl stated with respect to the landfill area, the houses in the Jackson Heights area are not in the City of Oshkosh. He inquired if the landfill itself was in the City or the County? Mr. Maurer stated he did not know and would have to check into that. Mr. Nigl inquired if the County is taking action with respect to the deer herd? Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -3- FEBRUARY 28, 2011 Mr. Maurer stated he would check with the County Parks Director, Rob Way. Mr. Beeth inquired if the Committee should be surveying the citizens about impact? Is there some way to monitor those areas? Maybe there is a social threshold of what is acceptable? He feels there is a need to monitor activity in that area. Mr. Maurer stated that the consultants hired to assist with updating the park plan will be putting together a general questionnaire so we could get a general feel of what is acceptable. He stated there could be one or two general questions about wildlife in parks. Ms. Hronis stated that is a good idea. Mr. Voss stated that a suggestion might be to use a clover trap. He stated that he has researched the trapping options on the internet and came across the clover trap which is similar to a box trap except it has a metal frame and netting. It is the size of a regular box trap. The deer hits a trip wire and a net comes down over them. He thinks the clover traps would be useful and that the Police Department would be able to euthanize the deer. The clover traps are light weight and could be placed in the resident’s yard. He stated that Chris Jacques from Madison DNR would be a good contact. Mr. Maurer requested Mr. Jacques contact information from Mr. Voss. Staff can then do further research as it may be an option to pursue. 5)Discuss personal email addresses of Board members on City’s website Mr. Maurer reiterated that there was some discussion on this issue at last month’s meeting. He stated since that meeting, he has discussed the issue with the City Attorney. The City Attorney has advised that her recommendation is not to put personal emails on the website because those emails become public record. There is a potential for committee members personal computers to be seized if there is a dispute or lawsuit due to emails to the committee members. 6)Topics for next meeting (March 28, 2011) Educational options  If City Council approves the management plan, discussion for action plan for each section needs to be  commenced Clover trap research  Mr. Cummings stated when the management plan goes before the City Council for approval there may be a lot of discussion about it. He is concerned that there may be a lot of people at the Council meeting which would entail the Committee to do a further fine-tuning of the document. Mr. Maurer stated once the management plan is scheduled to be on the Council agenda, he will advise the Committee members so that they may be present to answer any questions that may arise. CITIZENS STATEMENTS (Items not on agenda) Lori Meitzen, 1064 W South Park Avenue questions the monthly deer report. She stated she found a dead deer in her yard and called the Police Department who told her to handle it herself. Finally after several calls, a representative from the Police Department came out and physically looked at the deer and stated he didn’t see any physical damage Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -4- FEBRUARY 28, 2011 to the deer. Bryan Woodbury from the DNR came out and stated he believed the deer got bumped by a car and ran around until it died. The general public needs to know what to do in a situation such as hers. Pets are running after the deer. She stated she still has three deer (does) in her yard. Most likely those three deer will multiply into nine deer over the winter months. Ms. Meitzen stated she thinks there are holes in the fence along the Quarry’s fence line which the deer have access to. Cindy Smith, 1345 Kensington Avenue, stated she is getting frustrated with the Committee as the time of their meetings is not convenient for her. She suggested the meetings being televised. It would be too time-consuming for her to call each Committee member with her concerns or questions. She stated there is no communication between the public and the Committee. She inquired as to time of day the aerial survey was done and if infrared was used. She also inquired as to the perimeter that was viewed. She stated she is not comfortable with the numbers from the aerial survey. Mr. Dallman stated the aerial survey was commenced at approximately 9:15 A.M., and no infrared was used. He stated the survey team hovered over the perimeter fence and surrounding properties by the quarry. Mr. Maurer stated the aerial survey was done by professionals who do this routinely for the DNR and other communities. Ms. Crubaugh arrived at this time (5:40 P.M.) making a 6-member Committee. Ms. Smith stated she did not feel the survey was an accurate count and didn’t think they covered the whole area. She stated there is an area on Knapp Street and Mason Street between the buildings and the railroad tracks that the deer hide by. There is also an area by the school and the frontage road that contain many deer. Mr. Dallman stated when the aerial survey was done, they quartered up and down with two sets of eyes. It was a good way to see things and it was great to have the snow so they could easily spot the deer. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Cummings for adjournment; seconded by Beeth. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 5:47 PM. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary