Mt. Lebanon Commission approves sharpshooting program
Signs opposing hunting appear in numerous yards throughout Mt. Lebanon.
Anthony DeNicola, president of White Buffalo Inc., addresses the Mt. Lebanon Commission.
Stephanie Boyles Griffin, senior director and wildlife biologist for the Humane Society of the United States, addresses the Mt. Lebanon Commission.
Sharpshooting will take place in Mt. Lebanon during a two-week period between Feb. 1 and March 31 as part of the municipal deer management program.
Commissioners voted 3-2 on Jan. 12 to proceed with the hunt, the exact dates of which have not yet been determined. John Bendel, Steve McLean and Steve Silverman supported the measure, and Dave Brumfield and commission president Kelly Fraasch were against.
McLean, attending his first regular meeting after being elected to the commission, said the deer issue often was a point of discussion as he campaigned.
“I have met with a variety of people, and safety was a paramount concern,” he said. “I do have confidence in Mt. Lebanon’s police being able to assess the safety piece, so I feel comfortable with that.”
Fraasch has led opposition to lethal means of deer management since taking office in 2012.
“We are going to have this conversation now for the next year after year after year. We don’t have this planned out. We don’t have this figured out,” she said. “We move forward, but I think it’s a sad day – me, personally – for Mt. Lebanon.”
In October, the commission approved a contract for sharpshooting services with White Buffalo Inc., with implementation contingent on another vote after commissioners had an opportunity to review the effectiveness of an archery hunt being conducted by the same organization.
As of Jan. 12, Anthony DeNicola, White Buffalo president, said that the archers in the program had taken 82 deer. Archers who were hunting independently on private property reported another 20.
During the discussion session prior to the commission’s regular meeting, DeNicola said sharpshooters plan to work closely with Mt. Lebanon police during the culling period.
“There will be full and continuous communication with those people,” he said. “You never compromise safety. It’s that simple.”
Also attending was Stephanie Boyles Griffin, senior director and wildlife biologist for the Humane Society of the United States, whose organization is working with an Eastern Pennsylvania charitable foundation toward funding a pilot project to study the effects of deer sterilization.
Although Mt. Lebanon is under consideration for funding, the sharpshooting effort could lead the foundation to look elsewhere.
“The interest is to see what happens when you just do nonlethal,” she explained.
The contract with White Buffalo for sharpshooting has an estimated cost of $80,750, including $67,670 for the implementation phase, based on culling 150 deer at approximately $451 per animal. That figure could be adjusted downward depending on how many deer are taken, DeNicola told commissioners.
Hunting is to occur after 4 p.m. each day on private property and after 6 p.m. Monday through Friday on public land designated by the municipality.
“Public works will post appropriate signs on all properties where this may occur,” municipal manager Keith McGill said.