WEST SENECA N.Y. (WKBW) — The deer population in West Seneca has become a major focus for town leaders. Officials are now approaching the one-year mark since a "deer management task force" first unveiled a two-phase plan to get the numbers under control.
Phase one:
Began in July last year for the first six months the task force wanted to focus on education and plant programs. From there it would begin to establish methods for a deer "cull program."
Phase two:
The implementation of the cull program could begin as early as January next year.
"They're everywhere around here. They're either going to get hit by cars or they're going to start to starve to death," Northridge Garden Center Manager Michael Stotz said.
Stotz said he helps his customers keep their landscape and garden deer free.
"As a result of all of the complaint we were getting in town the town board decided to create this task force," West Seneca Town Supervisor Gary Dickson said.
The task force was created in 2021 to address the deer situation but was disbanded in 2022. However the West Seneca environmental commission continues to monitor the situation.
"We spent a year researching what other town have done, what the real risks or problems are, we surveyed residents and tax payers on what their perceptions of what human deer interaction is or was at that time and then we put together a good packet of recommendations," West Seneca Environmental Commission Chair Cynnie Gaash said.
Packet of recommendation can be found here.
The Commission says there are people who like the deer and there are some who don't. But they are working to make the best environment for the community around them as the process continues.
