Deer Cull Continues At South Mountain and Hilltop Reservations For 2016

For the ninth consecutive year, Essex County will host a deer cull in South Mountain Reservation and Hilltop Reservation, authorities announced on Tuesday.

According to a county news release, the program will be conducted in South Mountain Reservation and Hilltop Reservation on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Tuesday, Jan. 19, to Tuesday, March 1.

South Mountain Reservation is located in Maplewood, Millburn and West Orange, and Hilltop Reservation is in Cedar Grove, North Caldwell and Verona.

The program will not be held in Eagle Rock Reservation, according to a release.

To maximize safety, the two reservations will be closed to the public on the days the Deer Management Program is being conducted, county administrators stated.

Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, Essex County Codey Arena, the Essex County Park-N-Ride facility and McLoone’s Boathouse Restaurant in the Essex County South Mountain Recreation Complex in West Orange and all Essex County roads through the reservations will remain open.

The deer culls are part of an ongoing initiative by the administration to preserve and restore the forest ecology in Essex County’s open spaces, county administrators stated.

“Since we started in 2008, we have removed 1,670 deer from our reservations, started a program to accelerate the re-growth of our forests and introduced a pilot program to reduce traffic accidents involving deer,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. stated in a release on Tuesday. “The over-abundance of deer affects all of our communities, and our program provides a comprehensive approach to address the problem.”

According to the county news release, from 2008 to 2015, a total of 1,773 (1,100 deer and 673 unborn deer) were culled.

• There were 103 deer (70 deer and 33 unborn deer) removed in 2015
• There were 155 deer (108 deer and 47 unborn deer) removed in 2014
• There were 152 deer (104 deer and 48 unborn deer) removed in 2013
• There were 274 deer (175 deer and 99 unborn deer) removed in 2012
• There were 339 deer (187 deer and 152 unborn deer) removed in 2011
• There were 252 deer (160 deer and 92 unborn deer) removed in 2010
• There were 138 deer (83 deer and 55 unborn deer) removed in 2009
• There were 360 deer (213 deer and 147 unborn deer) removed in 2008

According to county officials, the shooters are “qualified, volunteer marksmen” who are licensed by the State of New Jersey and have “demonstrated their marksmanship ability and completed an orientation program with the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office.”

When in the reservations, the agents are required to station themselves in trees at least 20 feet above the ground and only take shots at a downward angle, according to county officials.

All deer removed from the reservations are transported to a check station, where county officials inspect the animals and collect information about its age, reproductive status, gender and weight, as well as the number of shots fired, county officials stated.

According to authorities, the deer are then transported to a NJ Department of Health-approved butcher for processing. The processed venison is donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside, which “distributes the meat to the needy and homeless.”

Since 2008, a total of 32,649 pounds of venison have been donated to the FoodBank, which equates to about 130,600 meals, county officials stated.

File photo via the NJ Department of Environmental Protection