Call for dissenting voice on Deer & Tick Committee
With the recent resignation of Patricia Shillingburg from the Shelter Island Deer and Tick Committee, an opponent of the 4-poster system appealed to the Town Board at its November 6 work session to appoint a replacement who can voice a dissenting point of view.
Richard Kelly has been outspoken at meetings here and in nearby North Haven about his view that there is no evidence the 4-posters are an effective way of controlling the tick population here. The 4-posters are feeding stations that apply a permethrin solution to the necks of deer as the animals feed and the solution is meant to kill ticks. But Mr. Kelly and other critics maintain there is no data from the Suffolk Country Department of Health Services that shows a decrease in tick-related diseases since the town first deployed 4-posters in 2007. After five years of using the 4-posters, the town should discontinue the program, he said.
He has also expressed concerns that the tickicide is dangerous to fish, pets, honeybees and other beneficial species.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officials who were initially reluctant to embrace the program disagree and have also said that use of 4-posters results in far less negative environmental impact than spraying of insecticides. Proponents have also argued that there has been a reduction in the numbers of ticks in tests done by waving a flag-like banner in typically tick-infested areas to count the insects.
But this year there is evidence ticks have increased on Shelter Island. That has been ammunition for both sides. To Mr. Kelly, it’s evidence that 4-posters aren’t working. To Deer and Tick Committee members it’s evidence that a decrease in the number of units deployed here is ineffective and that the 25 units put out this year need to be increased to 60 units as they were during a three-year test program that first brought the units to the Island.
The committee needs “a different point of view and voice,” Mr. Kelly said, presenting three letters from potential candidates — himself, Bill Smith and Jack Kiffer.
Supervisor Jim Dougherty said he has received two other letters from people seeking appointment to the committee and Police Chief Jim Read, a spokesman for the committee, said it wouldn’t hurt to have a dissenting voice.
At the same time, Councilman Paul Shepherd said committee members and the Town Board have heard plenty of dissent about use of 4-posters. And Councilwoman Chris Lewis said when she’s considering appointments to various committees, she likes to seek candidates who will approach their work with open minds.
To Mr. Kelly’s complaint that none of the three letter applicants have had a response, Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar said they were received after the last regular Town Board meeting and were to be acknowledged at the November 8 regular meeting as is always the case with correspondence that arrives between meetings.
Mr. Dougherty said he’s always grateful to have volunteers step up to serve on various town committees. But no appointment will be made until the Town Board completes its study of defining the purpose of the Deer and Tick Committee. Besides the attention given to 4-posters, the Town Board, at the suggestion of Councilman Ed Brown, has focused on increasing the effort to cull the deer population.
The board is also exploring hunter safety programs for both those using firearms and others using bows and arrows to shoot deer. Chief Read said he’s asking Recreation Director Garth Griffin to look into what safety programs are available and help to coordinate access for town hunters to take courses with Department of Environmental Conservation-certified trainers.
The town has rejected the idea, at least for now, of employing U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters to cull the herd as nearby Southold Town is doing.
Shelter Island has also been represented at two regional meetings to address deer and tick problems and the Town Board is waiting reports on those, Mr. Dougherty said.