Syracuse Mayor Walsh to appoint advisory group focused on deer and tick management

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh plans to appoint an advisory group to address the public-safety and public-health issues resulting from the city’s growing deer and tick population.

The advisory group will focus on deer and tick management and include Syracuse residents “with knowledge” in family health, medicine, law, and the tick and deer issue in the city, Walsh’s office said in a Monday news release.

Walsh wants the group to study existing plans and proposals, to conduct a public-information meeting, and to recommend a tick and deer management plan by June 1.

He says the group should consider all options including tick-population measurement, deer culling and fertility control, landscape and habitat management, and public outreach and education.

The Onondaga County Department of the Environment and Cornell Cooperative Extension will assist the group in its efforts. Walsh will also ask the group to consult with the office of New York State Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter (D–Syracuse), who has “done extensive work” to address the tick and deer issue in Syracuse. Prior to implementation, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will review and approve the plan.

Nearly every part of the city has deer, Walsh’s office said, but neighborhoods on the east and west sides “report the highest populations.” Concerns reported to the city government focus on debilitating incidences of Lyme disease affecting both young and old people, motor-vehicle accidents involving deer, and damage to property.

“The tick and deer population in the city presents a real threat to people’s health and safety,” Walsh said in the release. “It’s taken a long time for the problem to reach this serious level, so we need to work together now as a community to take action. Reducing the negative impacts of the high tick and deer populations will take time.”

The Walsh administration said it is working several people and organizations to “determine the proper steps to address the impacts of the growing” tick and deer populations in Syracuse, per the release. Those involved include city lawmakers, concerned neighbors, Cornell Cooperative Extension, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Onondaga County.

Walsh proposed a $75,000 allocation in his fiscal year 2020 budget proposal to fund implementation of a tick and deer management plan. Onondaga County will reimburse the expenditure, Walsh’s office said.

The Syracuse Common Council on Monday discussed the matter during a special meeting on the city’s problem with ticks and deer, Walsh’s office said.

The Walsh Administration — in coordination with City Councilor Joe Driscoll — will also ask the Common Council at its April 22 meeting to approve a revised ordinance that would enable to the city to use city property for deer management.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com