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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes MINUTES Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Meeting November 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, Loren Dieck, Michael Nigl, Paul Sobralski, Cecil Streeter, Steve Voss Absent: Nikki Hronis Staff: Chad Dallman, Parks Operations Manager; Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Crubaugh for approval of the September 26, 2011 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by Cummings. Motion carried 8-0. CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS (Items on Agenda) There were no citizen’s statements. BUSINESS 1)Review monthly car accident reports from Police Department Chairman Voss questioned if there are people hitting deer and not reporting them. He stated he had seen a dead deer on Osborn and Mason in September and wondered if the Police Department had it listed on the wrong street or if it had been reported at all. 2)Discussion on public education opportunities on wildlife management Mr. Streeter stated that the Committee would need to develop/create worksheets or exercises for different educational levels for use in elementary or high schools as to what levels and what kind of information the Committee would like the students to internalize. Examples would be “what do you do if there are turkeys running through your back yard, etc.” and “what do you do if a deer is eating on your ornamentals?”. Worksheets would need to include questions and answers with quiz at the end and be in the correct grade level vocabulary and content. Worksheets could be developed for each level, i.e., grade 2, grade 4, grade 8, high school, etc. Mr. Beeth inquired if anyone has asked the School District as to what they are teaching presently? Mr. Streeter stated there are civil units that work with City government as well as environmental groups. He did not think there were urban versus world groups or urban versus City groups. Mr. Voss inquired if any of the schools would be interested in this type of learning experience. Mr. Streeter stated the schools (teachers) would be interested in urban protocols or wildlife. They are always happy URBAN WILDLIFE ADVISORY BOARD COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE TWO NOVEMBER 28, 2011 to accept this kind of learning exercises for the students so that the students learn how to do things correctly. Mr. Voss stated he thought it would be a worthwhile experience for the students. Mr. Cummings inquired if there was grant money available for this exercise? Mr. Streeter stated he did not think a grant was necessary as the teachers could work with the Committee and have the worksheets inserted in with their regular school planning, 3)Discuss deer management options Discussion ensued relative to determining if there is an Urban Wildlife Specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). And if so, how does the specialist define “urban” (i.e., Omro). Mr. Dieck stated he thinks “urban” would mean anything within the typical normal city limits. Chairman Voss suggested that the Committee determine how many deer need to be taken out with the next culling. Mr. Cummings inquired as to how the determination was made at the last culling; was it a certain percentage? Mr. Dallman stated it is his understanding that the guidelines are stated in the Management Plan. He stated that Mr. Maurer is working with the Vulcan Quarry owners to monitor deer in the quarry. He did not know if Mr. Maurer had communicated with the Armory personnel with respect to deer within their property. He stated a grant is being processed for the cost of an aerial survey and any culling should be on hold until the aerial survey is completed. Ms. Crubaugh inquired if a determination was made as to the cost to raise the Vulcan Quarry fence to 8 ft. in height. Mr. Streeter suggested that the cost may be close to $100,000 because of the length of the fence. Mr. Nigl inquired if the Vulcan Quarry owners are replacing the current 6 ft. fence what would be the cost difference for an 8 ft fence. Mr. Cummings stated that Ellen Barth, Area Wildlife Supervisor of the WDNR was adamant the Vulcan Quarry deer are the property of the State and if that’s correct, then the WDNR should be responsible for getting the deer out of that property. Discussion ensued about the previous aerial survey that was taken and how easy it was to pinpoint where the deer were located. Mr. Nigl inquired as to who determines the amount of deer taken in a cull. Mr. Dallman reiterated that is determined according to the Management Plan. We are more mind set on managing a herd. Mr. Dieck stated that is exactly my problem with the WDNR as they don’t have an urban plan or have any idea of how many deer are allowed in the city. Mr. Nigl suggested that all the deer within the Vulcan Quarry property should be culled. Mr. Beeth stated we are not eradicating all the deer in the City, just in this one space (Vulcan Quarry property). URBAN WILDLIFE ADVISORY BOARD COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE THREE NOVEMBER 28, 2011 Mr. Nigl questioned are we managing a herd or eliminating a problem? Mr. Sobralski stated if all of the deer are culled from the Quarry, there are still deer in two other places listed in the Management Plan as well as some deer in the Sawyer Creek area. Mr. Dallman stated those deer are site specific. Mr. Sobralski stated it is his opinion that if all of the deer are eradicated from the quarry, we are not hurting our grant because we will not be eradicating them from the city. Mr. Dallman stated a determination needs to be made as to the habitat zone; what is the WDNR’s definition of a habitat zone and go from there. Mr. Dieck stated that neither this Committee nor the city should be in the business of managing a herd. Mr. Streeter stated that the deer are unique in the Armory/Quarry area because they can ingress/egress. The Committee needs to pay attention to that landlocked herd. According to the accident reports, the deer do not appear to be moving very much in the Vulcan Quarry area. Chairman Voss suggested inviting the WDNR Urban Wildlife Specialist to one of the Committee’s meetings to discuss the concerns of the Committee. Mr. Dallman stated he would check into the WDNR guidelines and contact Chris Jacques from the WDNR as to the Urban Wildlife Specialist. 4)Topics for next meeting Mr. Beeth stated he had 12 wild turkeys in his back yard yesterday about 8:30 AM. Year ago there were six and now there are 12. Mr. Sobralski stated he has seen 13 in the Sawyer Creek area. Mr. Beeth stated that when he was attempting to take a picture of the turkeys, the turkeys came up to him as if he was going to feed them. He suggested the Committee explore the turkey problem within the city as they are on an increase. th It was the consensus of the Committee to change the December meeting date to December 19 due to the holidays. Ms. Wendorf stated she would check and make sure a room was available and if so, would change the meeting date to th December 19. CITIZENS STATEMENTS (Items not on agenda) Lori Meitzen, 1064 West South Park Avenue, distributed pictures (said pictures on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes) with respect to deer that were in her yard earlier this afternoon. She pointed out that one of the deer looks like it is starved and noted that starvation is not the route she would like to see. Cindy Smith, 1345 Kensington Avenue, stated the deer continue to eat her lawn. She noted she is happy that the Committee is planning on doing another cull. She thinks the goal is to have a zero population in the quarry area and was glad to hear tonight’s discussion. She feels a zero population is humane because the deer are starving in the Quarry area. URBAN WILDLIFE ADVISORY BOARD COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE FOUR NOVEMBER 28, 2011 Property damage done by the deer and public safety are issues are a big concern. She noted that turkeys are now also becoming a problem. She stated that her neighbors feed the birds and in doing so, they are also feeding the turkey and deer. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Streeter for adjournment; seconded by Cummings. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:04 PM. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary