Last week, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced that 339 deer were culled during the 2011 Essex County Deer Management Program in South Mountain Reservation, Eagle Rock Reservation and Hilltop Reservation. The total includes both living and unborn deer. The greatest number were taken from the Hilltop Reservation at the western edge of Verona, where 120 deer and 113 unborn deer were taken by volunteer marksmen.
At a press conference called to announce the results of the six-week hunt, DiVincenzo defended the county effort. “The scientific numbers from our program do not lie,” he said. “We continue to have a serious problem with the number of deer in our reservations. The overpopulation of deer is proven to be a detriment to the health of our forests and natural habitats, and dangerous driving conditions are created by deer wandering onto our roads. Anyone who claimed our program would completely eliminate the deer population is wrong. Our comprehensive Deer Management Program is an effective, affordable and humane method to control the deer population,” he added.
DiVincenzo said the number of deer at the Hilltop “remains at a staggering level,” and added that the county is committed to continuing its deer management program to keep the deer population in check. He also noted that the county effort to replant forest areas damaged by over-browsing now includes 47 native plant enclosures, 42 in South Mountain and five in Eagle Rock.
