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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes (2) MINUTES Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Meeting February 27, 2012 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLLCALL The meeting was called to order at 4:46 P.M. Present: Michael Beeth, LorRae Crubaugh, Steve Cummings, Loren Dieck, Michael Nigl, Paul Sobralski, Cecil Streeter, Steve Voss Staff: Chad Dallman, Parks Operations Manager; Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Crubaugh for approval of the December 19, 2011 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by Beeth. 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 Mr. Voss stated he cannot believe that they aren’t reports from homeowners along Jackson Street relative to road-killed deer. Mr. Sobralski stated he sited quite a few deer on Packer and Vinland recently. Mr. Streeter stated he had sited some deer along the railroad tracks by the carp pond area. th Mr. Cummings stated he saw a deer by the Pepsi plant on 20 Avenue last week. 2)Discussion on public education opportunities on wildlife management Mr. Streeter suggested that the Committee members pool together some questions with politically correct answers for thth use for 4 and 5 grade students. The Committee members could email Mr. Streeter with their questions/answers so he could compile them all together in preparation for a future meeting. Upon his retirement he stated he will have more time to work on this project which he hopes to have ready for next fall for the start of school. He stated parents will help the children study for the test. Mr. Voss concurred with Mr. Streeter and stated it would be a learning experience for the parents as well. Mr. Streeter reiterated that the Committee members should email him with questions/answers based on the Committee’s protocols and hopefully this project can be implemented next fall. URBAN WILDLIFE ADVISORY BOARD COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE TWO FEBRUARY 27, 2012 3)Update on deer management projects Mr. Voss announced that there was a deer cull recently. Mr. Dallman stated that staff will continue to work with service providers and proceed with the Management Plan. He noted that all permits and insurances are in place. The permit is good until December 31, 2011 and we can continue in the fall as conditions allow. Ms. Crubaugh inquired as to the number of deer culled. Mr. Dallman stated that total eradication most likely would not occur just due to species cooperation. Ms. Crubaugh stated that she talked with Stephanie Boyles Griffin of the Humane Society of the United States who stated that when an area is wiped out, it becomes a vacuum effect. She stated they also discussed steps that must be taken to participate in a pilot study regarding contraception in free roaming deer. She inquired if the committee might be interested in hearing how a pilot study is going in another community. Mr. Nigl stated he did not think that contraception would solve the deer problem within the Quarry property as those deer are from the same gene pool and have been there for years. Mr. Voss stated it wouldn’t hurt to keep that information on the back burner because things are constantly changing and that information might be helpful in the future. Ms. Crubaugh stated it is a long shot, but it is important to keep options open. Mr. Beeth inquired as to the status of the deer that were harvested. Mr. Dallman stated the deer that were harvested were use for food pantries. Mr. Sobralski inquired if there was any negative impact with respect to the culling? Mr. Dallman stated he did not receive one telephone call or other communication. Ms. Crubaugh inquired as to why the Committee members were not alerted beforehand as to when the culling would take place. Mr. Dallman stated that staff followed the protocol directed by the Committee. Both Mr. Dieck and Mr. Cummings concurred with Mr. Dallman and stated that was the reason the Committee was formed – to insure that these types of actions/protocols were followed through. Mr. Nigl inquired if the hunt is still based on snow cover. Mr. Dallman stated no, the cull is based on deer cooperation and that the aerial survey is dependent upon snow cover. Mr. Streeter inquired as to the outcome. URBAN WILDLIFE ADVISORY BOARD COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE THREE FEBRUARY 27, 2012 Mr. Dallman stated there were approximately 20 deer within the quarry area and of those, 11 deer were culled. He noted the Urban Wildlife Management team stated it was a good cull. Mr. Voss inquired if they did the culling at night? Mr. Dallman stated that the culls normally take place around the dinner hour when less people are active and it is feeding time for the deer. Mr. Voss inquired if the culling took place in the Quarry property alone or also in the Armory property as well. Mr. Dallman stated that this culling was done in cooperation with the Quarry owners and the deer were taken just out of the Quarry property. He noted that he will have a full report for the next regularly scheduled meeting. Mr. Nigl inquired as to what type of firearms were used. Mr. Dallman stated 223 caliber rifles with ballistic tipper bullets were used. It only took one hour and 15 minutes to harvest the deer culled. The Urban Wildlife Management team had good provisions within which to move the carcasses. Mr. Voss reported that there is a hole in the fence on Osborn Street by the mini-warehousing units (by building “H”). It appears the fence is pulled apart in that area. Mr. Dallman stated he will advise the Quarry owners as to that situation so they could tie it up/repair it. Mr. Beeth stated it would be interesting to know as to what kind of improvement the neighbors in the Quarry area are seeing due to the culling. It might be worthwhile to talk to those people to see if there is an incline/decline in deer damage. He would like to hear from some of the people in the affected area. Mr. Dallman concurred and stated that staff will continue working with these areas and see how the public reacts to see if we’re making a difference or not. Mr. Cummings stated it is important for the public to know that cullings are done to help prevent starvation. 4)Topics for next meeting Discuss educational purposes and schools worksheets  Updated car and deer accident reports  Discussion about turkeys and wood chucks  Update on deer management  Discuss pilot study information regarding contraception in free roaming deer from Stephanie Boyles  Griffin of the Humane Society of the United States. Mr. Dieck suggested that possibly once a year the Committee could hold some type of public forum to address any concerns of the public. The forum could possibly be covered by the local public access television and could be a question/answer type session and cover such topics such as the management tactics for the geese at Menominee Park. It was suggested to have a flip chart available at the next meeting to list possible questions/answers with regard to the school worksheets. URBAN WILDLIFE ADVISORY BOARD COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE FOUR FEBRUARY 27, 2012 CITIZENS STATEMENTS (Items not on agenda) Cindy Smith, 1345 Kensington Avenue, wished to thank the Committee for the aerial work and the culling and noted that she likes how it is being done. She stated that hopefully the other deer that were spotted outside of the Quarry property will be taken care of with future cullings. She stated that it doesn’t matter if the gates/fences to the Quarry property are closed or not as the deer can jump over the fence. She stated that within the past week she still had deer race tracks on her property and the deer are still digging up her lawn and noted that she is still experiencing damage by the deer on both sides of her house. OTHER BUSINES ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Beeth for adjournment; seconded by Streeter. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 5:32 PM. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary