Deer & Tick: 4-poster project’s future sits in limbo

The future of the 4-poster program is up in the air as the Town Board, Deer and Tick Committee and state and county agencies wait for the Cornell Cooperative Extension to complete the report of its study sometime this spring.

Until then, discussion of a future deployment of 4-posters is on hold: the Deer and Tick Committee agreed during its November 17 meeting that it would not meet again until the results are out.

“It’s a really uneasy position we’re in here,” explained committee member Mike Scheibel. “There’re just too many unknowns.” The committee has discussed options for a future 4-poster deployment, such as another year of 60 units in the field (the same as in the past three years), a partial deployment, or deploying units just every other year. But without the final analysis and recommendations from Cornell scientist Dr. Dan Gilrein, who conducted the Shelter Island 4-poster study, the committee has nothing to base its discussion on.

The town allocated $68,000 for the 4-poster program in the 2011 budget. That’s enough to deploy and maintain approximately 20 4-posters. But Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty told the Reporter that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be 20 units in the field next year, or any at all: “There’s no decision whatsoever regarding 20 units, 60 units or no deployment. The budget is our signal to the world, particularly Cornell and the DEC, that Shelter Island is ready to be a player again. We’re showing our positive attitude … and that we endorse the program.”

He said during the November 17 meeting that if that money isn’t spent it can be carried over to a future year. For instance, if Dr. Gilrein recommended alternate year deployment, the money in that budget could be preserved for the following year. He added, “If a positive report goes out from Cornell I do expect some money to fall out of the trees — not out of the town trees, but out of other sources.” The program has relied on outside donations and grants throughout the study period. The program received a $120,000 DEC grant earlier this year to complete this winter’s field work and to finish the data analysis and report writing this spring.

Janalyn Travis-Messer, the president of the Shelter Island Deer and Tick Management Foundation, told the Reporter “I don’t know whether people are going to be generous over the holiday season but I certainly hope they will be … The foundation needs to be a main financial source for this program.”

Mr. Dougherty said during the November meeting that whether Suffolk County Vector Control will continue to participate in a future deployment “is still an open issue, but it’s going to be tough.” Currently Vetor Control maintains the 20 units in Mashomack Preserve, but their future involvement is also contingent on the results of the final study.

In order to put out any 4-posters, the town would have to either receive a new DEC permit to use the permethrin solution or the DEC would have to register the devices for all of New York State. Vinny Palmer, assistant commissioner of the DEC and former head of the Bureau of Pesticides, said that the DEC hasn’t made a decision as to whether it will permit future use of the 4-poster tickicide or deer baiting beyond the three-year study, and that it won’t until after the data is analyzed. Still, he said, “Nothing has developed in connection with the study that caused any concern and … all indications are that we’ll likely look to register 4-poster tickicide and authorize baiting of the deer in connection with this technology.”

Though the final verdict isn’t in yet, Dr. Gilrein has given strong indications that the 4-posters have been effective in reducing tick numbers while not negatively impacting the deer, the environment or the community. He said during an October 19 presentation that the drop in tick numbers from 2008 through 2010, according to the raw data as determined by yearly tick drags, “has been very, very high overall,” he said. In North Haven, the control site where there are no 4-posters, “we have a fairly high drop but it doesn’t nearly match the Shelter Island level.”

He has also said that a few of the 4-poster sites used in the study could be eliminated in a future deployment, but that he would have to analyze the data to prioritize their locations.

Though the Deer and Tick Committee is more or less sidelined until the study is released, that doesn’t mean it won’t play a crucial role later on. Mr. Dougherty said: “I’m optimistic we’re going to have a future for the 4-poster on the Island or some variant thereof — the science continues to evolve. I have personally found in my three years that the committee has been both a very helpful sounding board and educational resource, and part of the management team. I don’t see them fading away in any sense at all.”