Download Finding a Way to Better Manage Wildlife in New Castle County

Finding a Way to Better Manage Wildlife in
New Castle County, Delaware
Meeting Constituent Needs
Joe Rogerson
Deer and Furbearer Biologist
Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife
Today's Agenda
y Introduction
y Identifying the Problem
y Proposed Solution
y Justification
y Comments/Questions
Problem
The Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW) is responsible for
managing wildlife in this state in a manner that meets that needs of
the public but is also not detrimental to the species.
y Some wildlife species are capable of reaching population sizes that
exceed the tolerance levels of many people (cultural carrying
capacity).
y Common examples:
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White-tailed deer
Red fox
Raccoons
Groundhogs
Canada Geese
Snow Geese
Problem
y For species that exceed cultural carrying capacity, the DFW
has established hunting seasons to help reduce their
population.
y Many of the former large predators (e.g. black bears, Eastern
gray wolf, mountain lion, etc…) that would have kept many
of these populations from reaching excessive levels have been
extirpated from Delaware.
y Therefore, hunting serves as a
replacement for the loss in predation
as a means to population control
Problem - Defined
Firearms Discharge Distances
y State law
y
Firearms Definition (Title 11, Chapter 2, § 222. General definitions. )
y Archery equipment included in this definition
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Safety Zone (Title 7, Chapter 7, § 723. Hunting or trapping in safety zones; penalty. )
y 100 yards from a dwelling for guns (e.g. shotgun, muzzleloader, etc…)
y 50 yards for archery equipment (law changed in June)
y New Castle County Law (Article 3. Weapons, Section 22.03.003. Discharge
within safety zone around structures)
y 200 yards for all of the lands north of Interstates 95 and 295
y 100 yards for the remainder of the County
General Aerial Photo
Total Area = 150 mi2, Deer Habitat = 42 mi2 (28%)
200 Yard Safety Zone
61% of Deer Habitat Unavailable to Hunting
100 Yard Safety Zone
29% of Deer Habitat Unavailable to Hunting
50 Yard Safety Zone
8% of Deer Habitat Unavailable to Hunting
Safety Zone Close-up
13.5 acre woodlot, 49 houses within 200 yard safety zone
Safety Zone Close-up
13.5 acre woodlot, 49 houses within 200 yard safety zone
Proposed Solution
y Amend New Castle County Code, Article 3. Weapons. Section
22.03.003 Exemptions to safety zone.
y Add the following as Subsection F:
F. While actively hunting, the state of Delaware’s mandated safety
zone restriction shall be adhered to.
y This change would allow additional wildlife management
activities to occur, while still restricting the general
discharge of firearms in the County.
Justification
Is Hunting Safe?
y
In 2004, The National Safety Council determined the number of
accidents/100,000 participants for various sports.
y
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Hunting = 4
Bowling = 40
Cheerleading = 69
Baseball = 1,022
Football = 2,220
In 2001, there were 79 fatal accidents and 721 non-fatal accidents
for the more than 13 million licensed hunters in the United States.
In contrast, recreational boating and bicycling account for 800 to
900 fatalities per year, respectively. Additionally, swimming
fatalities normally exceed 1,000 per year.
Justification
Deer Damage to Landscapes
Justification
Deer Damage to Crops
Justification
Lyme Disease
Incidence Rate and Associated National Ranking for Lyme
Disease Cases in Delaware from 2004-2009.
Category
Incidence
Rate*
National
Rank
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
40.8
76.7
56.5
82.7
88.4
111.2
1
2
2
2
3
N/A
*Incidence rate = confirmed cases per 100,000 persons, calculated using July 1st
population estimates for each year
Justification
Lyme Disease
Justification
Canada Geese
Justification
Conflicts with Homeowners
Justification
Coyotes
Recap
y The required distance from a house in New Castle County is
twice as great as the State of Delaware’s restriction
y Extended safety zones in New Castle County poses many
obstacles concerning wildlife management
y Our proposal is for New Castle County to follow the same
safety zone distance regarding hunting as the rest of the state
y Individual opinions on hunting and wildlife management can be
very different, but by changing your law you at least give those
individuals that want to manage wildlife on their property the
ability to do so.
Questions