Following a successful first year of the town’s deer management program, town officials are already preparing for year two. At a Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on June 12, officials discussed certain tweaks to the program moving forward.

After years of controversy and planning, the deer management program started this past fall, allowing hunting on the East River Preserve for the first time since the town purchased the parcel. Hunting wrapped up in November 2016 and, after speaking with hunters and members of the Deer Management Committee, town officials said the first year of the program is considered a success.

The East River Preserve, a 584-acre property, was purchased for $14.5 million in 2009 from the Goss family. Back in January 2012, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) approved a management plan put forward by the East River Preserve Planning Committee—a plan that drew some criticism because it included hunting on the property. Town officials said no hunting would be allowed until a safe and practical deer management plan was established and approved.

Over the next several years, the Deer Management Committee, established as a part of the East River Management Plan in 2012, conducted research to establish a deer management plan designed “to ensure that the ecological values and uses of this protected open space are managed to sustain and, where necessary, restore the property’s natural resource values by conserving a diverse and healthy suite of habitats,” according to a release from the East River Preserve Deer Management Committee.

With the plan approved and in place, bow hunting for deer, with a goal of helping to control the deer population, was conducted on the property Monday through Friday from Oct. 15 through Nov. 15. Guilford Environmental Planner Kevin Magee said 17 hunters, who were selected through a lottery system after passing a background check and a proficiency test, participated in the program. Only bow hunting was allowed as a safety precaution and hunters shot from tree stands to ensure they shot at an angle toward the ground.

Magee said the hunt went well, but that only seven deer were killed, a lower number than expected. In an effort to consider options that would result in a higher number of deer killed, Magee presented five suggestions to the board brought forward by the Deer Management Committee.

The suggestions included setting a time period for the installation of the deer stands so hunters could be more familiar with their location during the scouting period, give preference to those hunters who successfully killed a deer in the previous year, allow up to three people who assisted with the program to be given licenses, to allow five alternates to be selected to the program, and to possibly lengthen the hunting season.

Magee said most of these changes are designed to encourage a more successful hunting season, but said he was not sure lengthening the season is appropriate at this time.

“This is one where I think we can wait a couple of years until we actually see the results of the program before we start extending the season,” he said. “This year was a warmer October, which sort of messed up the activities of the deer. In warmer weather they move differently then they do when it is cooler outside.”

First Selectman Joe Mazza said he agreed that it was too soon to consider lengthening the season as far out as January.

“I am not in agreement for extending the season,” he said.

The selectman voted to approve the time period for setting the tree stand, the preference for successful hunters, and the selection of five alternates, but chose not to include licenses for people who assist with the program (some selectmen said they felt that would cheat the lottery process), and opted not to extend the hunting season.