Deer are pictured grazing in Jamestown. Candidates for the Jamestown City Council discussed the growing deer population. P-J file photo

The Jamestown City Council has a wide and varied opinion on how to take care of the city’s growing deer population.

The topic of deer in the city was one of the questions asked by the moderators at the WRFA, Media One Group and Post-Journal during last week’s Meet-the-Candidates forum.

“The deer population remains a problem in Jamestown, and the surrounding area as well,” said Terry Frank, the Media One news director. “City Council did have a committee at one time to look at the problem and provide some solutions. However, nothing was ever put in place, and there are limits on what can be done. How would you approach this?”

There was a recurring theme in most of the answers, and that was deferment to the state government agency that has oversight of this growing concern and issue.

“The deer population is a difficult topic as you know and it’s been bantered about for a while now as you know,” said Councilman Bill Reynolds III, R-Ward 5. “I’d defer to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for what’s the proper and best solution.”

In 2021, council members rejected a proposal by former Ward 6 Councilman Tom Nelson for a controlled deer hunt. Nelson led a special council committee, with the resulting plan to select 15 experienced licensed volunteer hunters with archery equipment to hunt in isolated areas on property owned by the city.

The five proposed areas would have been Jones Memorial Park, Jackson-Taylor Park, Bergman Park, Allen Park and the stormwater management pond on Buffalo Street. The hunters would have been in the woods and not near the open areas of the parks. They would have used archery equipment and been shooting from elevated positions.

The hunters would only have been allowed to kill antlerless deer, with each allowed to kill up to four deer, with half of the meat going to the Food Bank of Western New York. Warning signs would have been put up to let the public know the hunt was happening.

“I’ll be open on my position on this … I’m not against a deer hunt,” said Councilman Jeff Russell, R At-Large. “Tom Nelson did an excellent job with his committee on this. He met with the New York DEC, held meetings, and it got shot down.”

A point of view expressed by a Democratic challenger somewhat varied from the status quo, and she also highlighted more underlying issues at-hand.

“I live in Ward 6, where we see a heavy impact with our growing deer population,” said Alyssa Porter, city Democratic Party chairwoman and candidate for one of three of the council’s at-large positions. “I think this points to a larger issue that we have in city government though. We don’t have enough collaboration with our mayor and City Council. Not only has one solution been proposed, but multiple conversations regarding this. Also, we need city council members who are willing to seek additional funding to be able to support these programs.”

The state Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Motor Vehicles recently issued news releases stating that deer are most active and more likely to enter public roads in November and December.

The agencies added the following tips: Decrease speed when approaching deer near roadsides. Deer can “bolt” or change direction at the last minute, so those who see a deer go across the road should decrease speed. Deer often travel in groups, so expect other deer to follow.

Use emergency lights or a headlight signal to warn other drivers when deer are seen on or near the road. When a deer is seen approaching the roadway ahead, honk a car horn to help them avoid entering the roadway. Use added caution on roads marked with deer crossing signs and use caution when driving at dawn or dusk, when animal movement is at its highest and visibility is reduced.

According to State Farm Insurance, U.S. drivers had an estimated 1.8 million animal collision insurance claims in the U.S. between July 2022 and June 2023 that were mostly deer related; Pennsylvania had the highest estimated number of auto claims at 153,397.