MASSACHUSETTS NEWS: Struggling with Suburban Deer Management

Tom DePersia has been hunting in Marshfield for 25 years, long enough to see the deer population explode, as undeveloped land available for hunting shrinks.

Now, the town is seeing the results, DePersia said. Deer are roaming residential neighborhoods, running in front of cars, eating plantings and carrying Lyme disease into back yards.

Marshfield is among many South Shore towns struggling to balance public safety and what hunters say is the need to thin the deer population.

State regulations prohibit hunting within 500 feet of a dwelling and 150 feet of public roads. Towns can set additional restrictions on hunting on conservation land, and many do.

Marshfield closed conservation land to hunters 20 years ago.

The problem, hunters say, is that private undeveloped land, once open to hunters, has been sold off and developed, further limiting hunting.

Between 1971 and 1999, nearly 10,000 acres of forested land in 11 towns between Weymouth and Duxbury was developed for residential use, according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

Pembroke police Chief Michael Ohrenberger said hunting has “become less and less frequent over the years because of the limited space.”

Jason Zimmer of the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife said it is important to keep open whatever land remains to help control deer populations.

“We always advocate for as much land open as possible,” he said. “Before too long, those are the only areas we’re going to have left to effectively manage the deer herd.”

Duxbury and Hanover now allow bow hunting on some conservation lands.

Hingham allows bow hunting with written permission from the conservation commission on certain parcels.

“Hunters are getting squeezed a bit,” Hanover Conservation Agent Patrick Gallivan said. “I think some of the areas that were really pretty rural, now there’s subdivisions right around that.”

Police say they get calls every year from residents, complaining about hunters.

Zimmer said some of the conflict is because people who move from the city to smaller South Shore towns aren’t used to seeing hunters.

“People have been hunting deer in Marshfield since deer have been in Marshfield; it’s not something new,” he said.

In Marshfield, the conservation commission will meet Wednesday night to begin talks about easing the hunting restriction on conservation land.

A decision will be made after a public hearing in March.

DePersia, who hunts with his sons, said the increasing population of deer has made people more aware of the problems associated with them.

“I think there’s more of an awareness of some of the damages and health risks ... where (residents ) want to see more hunting and thinning out the herd,” he said.

Source: The Daily News Tribune