Ridgefield expands annual deer hunt
Again from my home state of Connecticut deer hunting changes will occur. Ridgefield has been in the news it seems quite a bit the past couple of years and this year is no different.
By: Rick Kratzke
RIDGEFIELD –This year’s controlled deer hunt will be expanded from four to eight parcels.This will be the third year of the hunt, which was supported by a majority of voters but that still has some opponents in town.
Deer Management Implementation Committee Chairman Tom Belote said last week that expanding the number of parcels for the hunt is necessary as deer find sanctuary in between hunted parcels, creating an “unworkable situation” for successfully culling the herd.
The Department of Environmental Protection estimates there are 60 deer per square mile in Fairfield County. Belote said the hunts in Ridgefield will be considered successful when that number is reduced to 20 deer per square mile. In a five-year period monitored by the Conservation Commission for numbers of deer taken, Belote expects to see “some improvements to a highly stressed area.” Last year, 77 deer were taken in the hunt.
Parcels to be hunted this fall are Hemlock Hills, Pine Mountain, two Spectacle Swamp parcels, Levy Park, Shadow Lake, Perry Lane, and Canterbury Keeler Court. Levy Park will only be hunted mornings and hunting at Shadow Lake will be halted during Little League practice season because a practice field is there. The hunt will run from October through January, with hunting on Hemlock Hills and Pine Mountain ending Dec. 19.
Conservation Commission Chairman Ben Oko said the hunts are necessary for open space lands to allow understory heavily browsed by deer to regenerate. His commission approved the expanded hunt, as did selectmen at their meeting last week.
Selectman Barbara Manners has been opposed to the controlled hunt because she opposes hunting. She voted against expanding the parcels hunted on this year.
“I’m concerned about having so many parcels hunted on in the same season,” Manners said last week. “I’m glad that the Conservation Commission is doing a count over a five-year period to judge how effective the hunts are but I don’t see why the number of parcels hunted should be expanded before that five-year period is up.”
Opponents to the hunt organized at CT No Arrows or Bullets (CT-NAB) said last week that hunters participating in the controlled hunt last year had not followed proper log-keeping practices. Rather than keeping paper logs, hunters were allowed to e-mail in when they were hunting a parcel.
“These e-mails were between hunters and the chairman of the Deer Management Committee. There was no Conservation Commission or Board of Selectmen names on the distribution lists, ” said Mike Gorfinkle, of CT-NAB. “Is that adequate oversight by the Ridgefield officials who approved the hunt and all its details?”
Belote said “We have moved from paper logs to cell phone, radio and computer check-ins, which gives us a real time for hunters on parcels. It lets us know what hunters are truly committed to the hunt.”
Can I add something?
Deer hunting is the activity or sport of pursuing deer which began as early as 7,000 BC. There are numerous types of deer throughout the world that are hunted.
The deer most sought after in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, is the white-tailed deer. West of the Rockies, the mule deer is the dominant deer species. The most notable differences between the two, other than distribution, are the differences in ears, tail, antler shape, and body size.
Whitetail Male Deer at night in Central Texas
Whitetail Male Deer at night in Central Texas
The mule deer’s ears are proportionally longer than the ears of a white-tailed deer, and resemble that of a mule. Mule deer have a black-tipped tail which is proportionally smaller than that of the white-tailed deer. Buck deer of both species sprout antlers; the antlers of the mule deer branch and rebranch, while white-tailed bucks have one main beam with several tines sprouting from it. White-tailed bucks are usually smaller than mule deer bucks.
Moose and elk are also popular game animals that are technically species of deer. However, hunting them is not usually referred to as deer hunting. They are considerably larger than mule deer or white-tailed deer, which makes hunting them rather different.
In Canada and Alaska, reindeer (caribou) are hunted extensively.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Nancy, thanks for all the added info.
July 11th, 2008 at 7:07 am