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BY MATT BLEIMAN

In print | February 21, 2008

The Crum Woods Stewardship Committee held a public forum last night to discuss their recommended solution for addressing the overabundance of deer in the Crum Woods. Members of the committee and Bryon Shissler, a consultant from Natural Resource Consultants, Inc., were present at the forum to explain their proposal and address questions and concerns of community members.

According to the college’s Web site, the Crum Woods Stewardship Committee was established seven years ago “to create a protection, restoration and stewardship plan for the woods.” Since then, the committee has arrived at the conclusion that an overpopulation of deer is jeopardizing the ecological well-being of the Crum Woods.

After much research, the committee issued a report in 2007 with the help of Shissler that weighed potential solutions to the population problem. After ruling out all but one, the report concluded that the most efficient and likely way to reduce the deer population would be to use specialized sharpshooters to lure and snipe deer. The meat would then be donated to charitable groups as food for those in need.

The Stewardship Committee supports the decision to go ahead with the sharpshooter deer cull. The committee’s Web site states that the college will need to commence a lengthy bureaucratic procedure before proceeding with the initiative, which will include asking the Swarthmore Borough and Nether Providence Township to amend an ordinance to allow shooting on College property, specifically in the Crum Woods. The college would then be required to apply for a deer removal permit from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Associate Professor of Biology José-Luis Machado, the Chair of the Crum Woods Stewardship Committee, believes the forum was a necessary step to make sure student opinions were heard and questions answered. “We are at a point at which we want an open discussion with students,” he said. “We are in an educational institution so our jobs are to educate ourselves and the students.”

The committee wants to make sure that students understand why this particular recommendation was put forth after three years of investigation and research. Machado said that the report demonstrates the college’s commitment to transparency on the issue and a concerted effort by the committee to disseminate relevant information to the public.

Machado hopes that the forum clarified the need for sharpshooters. The committee believes that this method of deer culling is the best option at this time, although committee members are open to change as research continues. For now, the goal of the committee is to keep the forest safe. “The ultimate goal is to find a balance between the deer population and a safe forest,” said Machado. “What we do today will have implications in the next hundred years.”

Machado explained that no one sees a problem now because the trees are visible. In several decades, the deer population, if left alone, will cause the forest to completely stop regenerating. When the current trees are gone, none will come back. “We can make a difference for the future,” Machado said. “What people see today is the result of someone planting the forest in the 1930s. We are trying to prevent a reversion to 70 years ago.”

At the forum, committee member Zachary Eichenwald ’10 introduced the issue at hand and gave a brief overview, saying that an overhead infrared scan found that there are an average of 29 deer per square mile in the Crum, well above a normal number.

He then introduced consultant Shissler, who explained the conclusions of his report and the recommendation to use sharpshooters. “Sharpshooting is the only appropriate option in our situation,” he said. Shissler defended his conclusion by discussing all of the available options and their effectiveness. He discredited recreational hunting as being ineffective because hunters are not allowed to hunt within 150 yards of residential areas and because deer are good at adapting and hiding when being hunted. He also argued that capture and euthanasia would be ineffective because the woods are used by many people and it would be dangerous to have traps all over the woods.

While he did not initially bring up non-lethal methods of reduction, the subject was brought up in the form of a question. “You really can’t use mitigation techniques at a landscape ecosystem level,” Shissler said. He explained that fences and barrier methods work on a garden but are not effective at protecting a tract of land as large as the Crum. He added that all current contraceptives for deer are at an experimental stage of development and are not considered ready for use at this time.

Shissler believes that sharpshooting is a very effective way of reducing the deer population. “You can get up to 90 percent reduction in the first year but you just can’t get rid of them all,” Shissler said. He said that the most effective course of action is a long-term plan where sharpshooters come over winter break every year. With careful monitoring of deer impact in the woods, they will be able to reduce the number of sharpshooting nights in future years.

When asked if it was possible to exterminate the deer population, Shissler said, “If you do, you’ll be the first.” If all goes according to plan, eventually the deer population will find an equilibrium with forest growth and the forest will be able to regenerate.

The Crum Woods Stewardship Committee is very interested in hearing feedback about the proposed plan of action. More information can be found on their website, www.swarthmore.edu/crumwoods and questions can be e-mailed to crumwoods@swarthmore.edu.

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