|
Mayor De Luca is lone opponent to resoluton for another South Mountain Reservation hunt
The Township Committee voted, 4-1, Tuesday in favor of a resolution
to endorse yet another deer hunt in South Mountain Reservation.
After
Essex County Executive Joseph DeVincenzo made a plea for the plan -- which earlier this year resulted in 83 deer killed --
the TC approved Maplewood's involvement.
"I know that there
are folks opposed to this, but I do feel that it has
achieved its goals
of reducing the population and allowing for
reforestation," TC
Member Jerry Ryan said after the meeting.
The hunts have taken
place in the past under strict guidelines that limit days and areas of hunting and require hunters to turn over a portion
of their game above a certain limit to be donated to the Food Bank of New Jersey.
But Mayor Vic De Luca, who cast the lone opposing vote, did not support the latest move, noting a need for
other alternatives.
"I said that I wanted to go on record
with one voice in favor of looking at an alternative strategy to the hunt," he said. "I said the work that the county
and volunteers have done was remarkable and we are grateful. Nevertheless, it comes at a great cost to one species in the
reservation, deer. Since the hunt is going to be done each year, I did not want to vote for this year's hunt without a clear
understanding that alternatives would be tried in the future."
Combined
with the 2008 deer hunt, some 498 living and unborn deer were eliminated in the past two deer hunts. The last event, in which
the reservation was closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, began Jan. 22 and ended Feb. 26.
The next hunt is likely to take place in early 2010.
|
