Mar 9, 2016 2 min read

Unusually warm weather contributed to the sharpshooting phase of Mt. Lebanon’s deer management program ending early.

“The deer aren’t as pressed for food,” Tony DeNicola, president of White Buffalo Inc., said, explaining that conditions also were favorable for outdoor activities by members of the community. “It became very challenging to continue to work.”

Mt. Lebanon contracted with White Buffalo to conduct sharpshooting at the wildlife management organization’s discretion between Feb. 1 and March 31, with the harvest maximum of 150 deer. The program ended March 9, with 115 of the animals taken.

DeNicola said the sharpshooters easily would have reached 150 deer had the weather cooperated. He cited peak daily totals on three consecutive days of 15, 19 and 33 deer, prior to the amount dipping into single digits.

“You get to the point where a couple of deer here and there is not going to be cost-effective,” he said.

Mt. Lebanon commissioners implemented the deer management program with the goal of reducing vehicular accidents involving the animals. Efforts for 2015-16 resulted in 219 deer removed from the local population.

“They should see an appreciable drop in vehicle strikes, between the archery hunt and sharpshooting,” DeNicola said, referring to bow-hunting activities, also coordinated by White Buffalo, that took place from September through January.

He plans to have a report prepared by midweek, with the document featuring information from six geographical zones within the municipality.

“People will have a pretty good idea where things took place,” he said.