Rye’s Deer Management Committee (DMC) has spent the last few months studying a possible overpopulation of white-tailed deer in the area. According to DMC, with little new growth left in the woods, the animals have spread to local Rye yards in search of food, fueling concerns among residents.
Most recently, the City Council approved a $7,000 proposal to use thermal imaging to track the population. Thermal imaging utilizes infrared cameras to detect heat emitted by objects, allowing officials to easily detect wildlife. Over a seven-day period, drones will search for white-tails across Rye’s parks, golf courses, and marshes.
Councilman Keith Cunningham wonders if the sex of the deer would be useful in planning herd management.
“If there’s three-quarters does versus bucks, are you going to want to cut that down to … an eighth bucks and the rest does?” he asked.
Stephanie Gomez, a DMC member, said she believes that the immediate focus should be getting a total count.
“I don’t know that that necessarily makes any difference. I think what we need to really determine up front is the amount of view that we currently have here,” she said.
Rye’s issue with deer population traces back to 2015, when residents reported property damage, disappearing forest growth, and an increase in Lyme disease from deer-carried ticks. However, similar occurrences in recent months have reopened discussion of the issue. Gomez said the deer problem is a long-term project that Rye will have to deal with “for years to come.”
As projected by Professor Blossey of Cornell University in a meeting with the DMC, it was determined that forest health will be the true indicator of overpopulation. Thus, once thermal imaging has been completed, the city plans on conducting a forest understory analysis to see how the deer are affecting plants and trees. For this, a documentarian will take photographs over time to investigate the impact of control or other measures on forest health.
The entire process is expected to be a multi-year effort requiring extensive permits and testing.
