Yorktown Park Officials Consider Bowhunting Deer Management Plan

Local park officials, who are concerned over deer population, are exploring bowhunting at the Trump properties, especially Indian Hill.

"Depending on the success there, it may be considered as a management practice at [Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park] in the future," Park Manager Brian Strasavich told Patch. 

Experts say deer are starving because they are so overpopulated and they don’t have enough food. Residents are complaining of the deer dangerously leaping across roadways and disrupting their gardens and backyards.

Overpopulation also leads to the disappearance of shrubs and wildflowers, the decline of bird species and the increase of invasive plants that take over the understory, said John Baker of the Westchester County Parks Conservation, who spoke on the issue in May at a Rye meeting where similar measures are being considered.   

"Bow hunting is something that is being considered down the road in very limited areas in FDR," Strasavich said.

Are deer a problem in your neighborhood? What do you think of the bowhunting plan? Please share your thoughts in the comments.