We are going to get ready to start our committee meeting.

Good morning, thank you, President Hudson and other members of the council who are with us today.

Among my duties is intergovernmental affairs.

I'm going to step up quickly and change that monitor briefly.

Okay.

The topic today, as you know, is the city's tick and deer management program and specifically the results from the work that was completed in 2024-25, and then looking ahead to plans for the upcoming season, which will start later this year and carry over into early next year.

Some quick background as a reminder things that the public and uh counselors may remember, but always worth covering again is we are addressing a longstanding problem that's existed in the city regarding overpopulation of deer.

This is not a topic that any of us relish to be undertaking, but one that the circumstances of our ecosystem and human interaction with it have created.

This is a program that uh first began in 2019 2020, so that makes us now heading into our sixth season of deer management, or excuse me, completed sixth season in 2025.

And this is a program, we're not alone in the city of Syracuse.

Uh this is undertaken by neighboring municipalities who face the same challenge.

And in fact, the coordination that goes on at the county level is one of the reasons that this program is recognized also by the county's Office of an Environment of Environment as an important matter for attention at a uh multi-levels of government.

Um it is often uh noted or thought that uh this is a program that is primarily about Lyme disease, and Lyme disease is a very important public health and safety concern.

It has many factors that contribute to Lyme disease.

So it's important for us to note that we also complete deer management because of the significant impact of uh deer motor vehicle accidents uh which uh happen in virtually all parts of the city.

Um also that there's damage to our environment that are caused by overpopulation of deer.

Um there they do have a significant impact on our parks and on people's private property.

Here's the background of how the program works.

Um the city working under uh the uh oversight of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation selects locations that meet very specific criteria outlined uh by the state.

In this case, we've identified and worked on east side, west side, and south side.

So, councillor Navi, actually, your district is a district that we do not receive significant reports of of deer activity.

We hear some, you may get some of them.

We hear some, uh, but to this so far we have not undertaken the program insights on the north side.

Um we're open to considering it in the future if we see those kinds of numbers, and I'm glad to talk to you more about it if necessary.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah.

Um, these are large private properties for the most part.

Some city-owned properties in the city-owned property cases.

Note that this occurs when there's no public access to those sites.

They're closed to the public.

Um there are um it requires written permission from property owners within 250 feet of an occupied dwelling and uh notification to property owners within 250 to 500 feet.

So, simplest terms, if you live really close, we got to get you to sign a form.

Uh if you live further out, we got to send you a letter by certified mail that you know and we know that we got that message to you.

Uh, these are requirements set by uh the state.

Uh the program is uh conducted with the help of Onondaga County, uh, the county legislature, the county executive, and the Office of Environment administer this program.

I'll cover the details of that briefly.

Um season, um, this past January through March, we did for the first time use a trap and euthanize method in the city.

Uh this was necessary because there are parts of the city where the deer population continues to be very high, but because of the close proximity of people's houses, uh the use of firearms is not feasible.

Can't find places that meet the state criteria.

All of this work, the trap and euthanize, uh, the firearms program are done by qualified wildlife managers who work with the USDA.

Um the program has close involvement with Syracuse Police Department, which is aware of and uh assists when necessary.

We issue a public notice at the start of each season, and we issue public notice about this process.

Uh deer management is uh tick and deer management is something that people's engagement should continue over time, and um wildlife managers do the work at night.

See if we can keep it going.

Yes.

When you trap them, what do you do with them?

Um how about if in just two slides I tell you more about trap and euthanize so that everyone is aware of of how that work occurs.

Okay.

Yeah, okay.

Um wait, can you clarify what was your question?

What happens with the remains?

No, we okay.

So when you trap them, yes, you automatically euthanize them.

Yes.

Okay.

Yes.

And I and I will be uh a little more clear about what happens there.

Uh okay.

Last season's program, uh, January, February, and March, uh 137 white-tailed deer were removed, were culled in the city of Syracuse.

Uh that does uh contribute to uh the food bank.

Uh so there were about 4,000 pounds of enison, a little over 12,000 meals that were made possible because the uh uh the remains are are immediately delivered to uh a processor who ensures that then it's turned around for uh the food bank.

Um the trap and euthanized pilot.

If for on the screen uh you can see uh there's an image of the trap that is used.

It's a soft-sided trap uh with a door that has uh a kind of like a window shade.

And uh we conducted this pilot.

I want to be clear uh in one section of the city, the area where uh this situation with deer population continues to be persistently high, and that's on the east side.

Uh where, as I noted earlier, finding sites that uh using a firearm is is just not possible.

Um the traps were placed at seven properties, and there were uh 55 deer euthanized.

This marked a pretty fundamental shift in our methods.

Um I heard no pushback from constituents.

Did you and the mayor's office?

Uh we have had questions raised at the start of the program this year of the pilot about the process.

But after we in conducting it, we did not.

There is some citizen feedback in some neighborhoods, specific neighborhoods that stated as a citizen would say the program's gone too far, that there's no deer anymore.

Um, and that in some areas, people will notice a reduced or minimal activity as a result of the program.

But we know from reports from other parts of even the same side of town, so other parts of the east side within a mile away, we have reports of very high numbers and significant environmental damage.

I'll take a note to just point out now at this point that the program will correct for this.

It my words, self-corrects, meaning that the USDA wildlife managers only deploy in areas where they are observing activity.

So if a site is no longer seeing deer activity, the wildlife managers don't deploy there.

They simply monitor and then say, okay, that's not a site we need to operate at.

So we the program can self-correct in that way.

This is a total look at the results over time of deer management in the city.

Um as we anticipated in 2025 with the uh introduction of the trap and euthanized pilot, which allowed us to be able to operate in areas that previously we couldn't enter.

We did see a rise in the number of deer culled.

Uh it has still not reached the first year, and we're not necessarily expecting at any point that it will.

Oh, there we go, a little higher.

Um, to counselor Williams' question in terms of feedback from uh neighbors or the public.

Uh the USDA reported to us throughout its operations over the three-month program that they had minimal interaction with members of the public or nearby property owners or actual property owners where the work occurs.

Uh part of the results is what does it cost?

Uh well, uh the overall cost is around sixty thousand dollars.

This is very similar to last year's program cost.

Uh so it's staying around the same right now.

Uh it's it comes close to a 50-50 share, but the formula is a little bit different.

The county covers a base amount for all communities of a certain share and then pays a per cost of uh the rest of the program.

And um I do want to note, and I think this is a little funny today.

Um, a concern that Parks Chair Caldwell has had at previous meetings is around ensuring we have adequate signage.

First began with parks doing uh a significant increase in the number of signs that appear at parks and ensuring that all the parks that have this activity have them.

And most recently, when counselor Caldwell raised questions and concerns about whether or not the information on the signs was easy enough to read, the parks department did an audit of all of the sites and actually concluded, and we think this works, that the problem was the signs were just too high.

They it's not a matter actually that we need to change the content, those words warning the ticks may be found all work.

Uh parks went through and relocated the signs.

And we think they're working better.

Greg, uh, my concern um with the signs is um not just for parks.

Are we also um putting the signs at schools that have larger um green space or are closer to wooded areas?

I'm thinking offhand cork rent and robberts.

Um there's our there's a lot of deer activity in that area, and then they both will back up to um woods.

So um I think school signage is an excellent idea with large areas of green space that I think we could probably pretty uniformly cover with just some simple coordination with the district.

Yeah, and then Cleary and uh Bandy and that area.

So, Greg, it's an excellent idea.

So, Greg, were you focusing on Meadowbrook?

Was that one of your big targets because of the water and it's populated with runners and families?

You have to park there, Barry Park.

Our our efforts are always targeted around where we are experiencing reports of damage.

Okay.

Um and Meadowbrook is an area where over many many years there have been significant uh challenges with uh deer damage.

So it is one of the uh one of the focus areas.

So has anyone ever approached you uh about maybe having a deer sanctuary where we could get the deer, is there a way we could put them out in the forests or someplace have a deer sanctuary?

Um so one of the uh uh I'll presume that probably you're recognizing that in the city that would be a very difficult undertaking given the space constraints we have in the city.

But even in that case, my understanding is uh that New York State DEC would forbid movement of deer over areas to other parts of the state or other parts of the region for for the health issues that can result.

All right, so we also that each year is carrying disease and may well carry disease that could be spread to other parts of the state or illnesses that could impact deer that aren't prepared to fight that off.

Okay.

Thank you.

And just offhand, I'm just thinking um as far as signage.

It may not be as far as like culling at all, because it may not be to that degree, but um there's a lot of community gardens um that are in like open spaces, and they may very well also have um deers um frequenting their area, not in large large amounts, but there may be like a family.

Um so they may need to be considered for signage at the at the least.

And I think that's also pretty easily plottable by us.

You know, I think we can all know where they are.

I can and frankly, somebody like you, I know a simple text, and you'd give me in your district the six sites I need to cover.

So expect that counselors may hear from me with any uh recommendations on places we should cover.

We could use that help.

Um, and um we'll we'll undertake that.

Uh with the USDA's experience in this work and knowing our area the way that it does, uh, it has recommended uh three primary uh points for us going forward, continue to identify additional properties that we should add to make sure we have coverage of where the problems exist.

Um, based on our experience with the pilot program, continue the trap and euthanized method.

This is uh a change in a recommendation or an evolution of a recommendation.

It was just last year that USDA had been suggesting to us to undertake this, so it used to say undertake it.

Now we've experienced it and think it it should be continued.

I would note that uh from the earliest um from the creation of this program, and you'll see it in the record for the city's uh overarching tick and deer management plan, which was created in 2019.

Um trap and euthanized was always a method studied by this group of citizens with significant help from um the USDA uh and uh other uh experts.

Um it that group of citizens over years wanted to make sure we continued to demonstrate that the program was worthwhile in the city, could be conducted safely in the city, and then it actually looked at this issue when it was last year that it said let's progress to a pilot for trap and euthanized, which tracks with what USDA has said to us and continue to look at the data that we can collect on deer damage.

So we do this in two primary ways, in addition to just the raw data that you look at already, uh right, the raw data you saw earlier, which I'm gonna go back quickly, because one thing I didn't do on this slide was point out on the map that we do look at this by quadrant in the city, and it continues, this is never changed.

Um the southeast part of the city is yes, it's a large geography, but it's also where uh the predominant deer activity has been and continues to be by a long shot.

More than a hundred in the southeast and just looking over to the southwest 22, which is the next largest.

Um so I want to point out that's one raw piece of data that we track year in and out, year out.

We also engage citizen volunteers in what are called deer diaries, they're diarists.

Um, and um that data is useful to us to be able to get specifically into smaller parts of the city, neighborhoods where people who are experiencing the problem share that information with us.

We're then able to compare that with GIS mapping data and identify locations that could be uh either in compliance with the state requirements or could work for trap and euthanized.

And we do look at deer motor vehicle collision data with the help of the Syracuse Police Department.

Um this data, one quick note the reason that the numbers are different for the deer is we just look at this based on the calendar year.

So the other data you look at was a whole season that spreads across multiple years, so it included December, January, February, March.

This just looks at January, February, March of each year.

And then it looks at the same time period for motor vehicle collisions.

When you look at this data now over the past six years, it has bounced around on us a lot, and it still is.

Everything dropped significantly last year.

We'll have to continue over the long term to just monitor this data and see what it tells us, which is why it's worthwhile to track.

And I want to um begin to wrap up and introduce some others who are here today.

Uh, if the council has any questions.

Um from a next step standpoint, we believe the tick and deer management advisory group, which I've referenced already, should be continued.

That group meets at least annually to provide input on the program.

We want to expand the direist program, which we did make an announcement with the meeting notice for this meeting that we're looking for more people to participate in this program.

And I want to be clear this is for any citizen who has uh an interest in this matter.

Uh there are those who uh are concerned about a program like this, and that's that's okay.

Uh it would also be okay for those people to come forward and participate in the program and help us with their data based on what we're seeing, what they're seeing.

It's a very simple process.

We ask people to, on a daily basis, simply make a recording of what they see on their property.

Each participant receives an Excel spreadsheet, they're tracking on the Excel spreadsheet, and they simply share it with us at the mayor's office.

We aggregate the data and then use it to try to uh uh compare it with GIS mapping and make decisions about where there are areas that we're not able to address.

Um Greg, are you working with the outside areas?

Like DeWitt?

Yes.

Okay.

Um through the USDA's work and with the help of the county, there is coordination with some of the municipalities.

There are some municipalities who have chosen not as close into the city to undertake this work on their own.

We choose not to in the city and have thus far, with the council support, always wanted to ensure that this work is done by trained certified professionals uh taking the responsibility for this work.

But those per so those professionals do interact directly with the most immediate municipalities around us, specifically the ones with the greatest concern, DeWitt and Solving.

Because like when I go to work, you got the bend when you went that bend onto Nottingham Road, and if you look up above where East Calvin is, and I have seen the deer come right down.

Yeah, and you're looking, and they're just gonna come right down as you're bending, and you're right.

That is uh that's an accident.

And DeWitt does uh continue to undertake in a program.

Uh we recently had a meeting on the east side to discuss the issues that were occurring in the university area, and DeWitt had a representative present and continues to interact with us.

There are a lot of green lands where they are they stay and then move.

Yep.

Thank you.

Greg, have you guys um have you guys had any conversations around um the possibility of maybe um reaching out to veterinarian offices or pet grooming um places or even having someone uh inquire at pet parks, dog parks per se, um when they see ticks on animals to record like the location that the person lives at, possibly have a possibly have something that they can fill out saying like where do you most frequent um so you can kind of get a hold on like the tick management portion of it, like where are where are the ticks most prevalent um we have not engaged with uh veterinarians, pet groomers, um, and frankly, just a reminder to us the city's own dog parks are a place where I think we need to check with the parks team and make sure we cover those spaces because I think they that may be a gap for us.

Um I think we we can do some outreach to veterinarians, grooming businesses.

We have access to that information.

Um there was uh for a period of time upstate, you may remember, ran uh the Thangamani Institute, which it no longer has the funding, and that program is not continuing to collect ticks in the way that it did.

But there is a community organization that does coordination in this area, the CNY Lyme Alliance.

It is particularly focused on the tick issue, which would be a good complement to our work in the city.

So we'll follow up with the Lyme Alliance.

Okay, which we have not had contact with in about the past year, which is a gap we can fill.

Yeah, I saw that there was a tick conference or something just a few weeks ago.

Oh, there was uh that was operated um by the Lyme Alliance, I think, and I spoke with one of the citizens who was involved with it.

Yeah, I wish they would have sent something to us.

I didn't receive anything.

Um we do uh want to continue to monitor and uh identify areas where, as I noted earlier, specific areas where there continues to be high population so we can properly focus our efforts in the right areas.

Um we do want to continue the trap and euthanized pilot.

And in the next year, one of the things that will uh be happening uh is working with our state delegation to extend or if we can make permanent the urban deer management pilot program.

This council several years ago uh advocated for and assisted us in encouraging our state delegation.

We've had excellent help from assembly member Hunter and Senator May to pass specific state legislation that allowed Syracuse to conduct an urban deer management pilot.

The state has been interested in this program because it it is a chance for it to learn how this can be done successfully in urban areas.

That program had a three-year life, and so it needs to be renewed.

It is important to Syracuse, and I will ask the council to consider assistance again in communicating to our delegation um and to the governor's office that we want to see this program continue uh in the city.

And I just wanted to speak to uh Counselor Williams' point about um any constituent um concerns or cause and um for myself I only received I was expecting a lot more, but I only received um one email um concerning the um trap in youth and eyes, and I think their main concern was the euthanization portion of it.

Um and they kind of didn't want that to happen, but outside of that, I had not received um a lot of feedback um with uh negative or positive comments.

So thank you for that information.

Greg, both living in and representing neighborhoods that have significant deer activity and impact from the deer.

I'd like to thank you and your team and the USTA and Nader, both your time as counselor and as auditor for getting this program up and running and continuing it.

And I I hope that we are able to continue to do so in the future.

And just so my colleagues know, Greg and I attended the meeting up at Thornton Park two or three weeks ago, um, as you mentioned with the USTA with um representation from outside communities, and we're really having a pretty significant impact on the road garden.

Um the health and vitality of you know all of the plants in the rose garden really being detrimentally impacted.

And you know, I knew that there was deer activity in the park, didn't realize that it had made its way down to the road garden when you actually get a guided tour from folks that work with the roads day in and day out, and you realize that plants that are that high should be you know flowering and about three or four feet tall.

Um it's a very easy visual indicator and representation that we've got significant challenges with the deer population.

That publicly displays what isn't seen in other parts of our parks where these conditions exist and in people's private properties where it's you know we don't see that, but we have residents who are experiencing it all summer long, and it comes then with that fear that they have of being in their own yards or having their children in their yards about the risk of a tick-borne illness.

Madam President, if I could, I just want to quickly note we have with us today a number of people who have been participating and assisting with this.

They're available if there are any questions, but with uh the the uh U.S.

uh Department of Agriculture, Justin Gansowski with the U.S.

Geological Survey and a professor emeritus, I think it is at ESF, Brian Underwood is here.

Um I noted earlier Chief Schoff is here because of the uh police department's involvement.

And I I do also want to recognize the parks department, which acts as a uh administrative host to this program.

I you all know I think this ends up in the parks department's budget, and um Casey Craig, Chris Abbott, and Saisha Bird all put significant effort into making sure that this program is conducted safely.

There are also a number of people who I will just thank in the aggregate uh to say thank you to our TIC and Deer Management Advisory Group members and repeat Counselor Williams thanks to uh Nader Maroon, who's uh uh been at this longer than all of us.

Nader, how'd your garden do this year?

How did your garden do this year?

Some almost arrived.

Some of us arrived.

I tell them because I put up flash room that we like to try to prevent it.

But they're back.

I just said I have born every year, and four so far born in my I think that the um one of the most important pieces um for the euthanization part is the fact that the uh the meat is donated to the um the uh food banks.

If someone uh you work with a food um that part of it, so if you can test give us information on once the deer is caught, euthanized, and the turnover to the um food bank, like what is that process in like days, hours, how does that work?

Um well the deer are all taken immediately to the processor who is a certified, you know, New York State processor, um, does this as part of their living?

Um then you know it's it's all in their hands at that point.

Um, but usually by the end of the week, um they're fully processed, and uh the the food I think the food bank actually comes to them and picks up the picks up the meat directly from their facility.

So within a four to five day span birthday.

Yeah, um, and they have all the freezers and facilities, so if you know if they need if it's a two-week process, it's you know it's gotta fit on the food bank schedule.

Yeah, um, but they they come get it as uh when they have a load and and deliver it directly.

Justin and his team work what we could sort of call a swing shift, I guess.

So he's uh in addition to obviously operating always at nightfall, then it goes into the early mornings of the uh early hours of the morning because they don't finish their shift without making sure that delivery is done to the processor.

And then Justin takes my calls at 7 a.m.

Everything's handled by our staff directly from the city to the to the processor, is all by you know, we don't hire anybody out, it's all us.

Thank you.

Counselor Williams.

Please.

So as was just mentioned, I've been at this for 16 years.

Um, and it's something that the when I was a counselor, the previous administration didn't choose to participate in this program.

I went to the town of DeWitt with Brian with Justin.

Uh and we started the program.

We went to the county.

You see Commissioner Romeo's here asking for money to do this program.

Um, but I want to thank this administration and Greg Lowe.

Greg has been a zealot advocate for this program, done a comprehensive job, engaged a lot of different players.

Um, and without it, we wouldn't be having the success we have.

And for me personally, um I've seen the real impact that it's had um not only for the east side, but for our communities as a whole.

Um, and as Greg just mentioned, I as a former counselor I'm asking you, the new counselor, to really adhere to what Greg is asking us.

We need the support from the governor and from the state assembly and Senate uh coming forward for this year.

So thank you, Greg, for what you've done.

Appreciate it.

Yeah, anything else?

No, I don't.

Yes, please.

I appreciate this.

My name's Bob Haley.

I've lived in the university area for over 50 years.

Um I am one of the jodirists, which is now five, six years in the program.

It's wonderful to hear this discussion tonight.

I just wanted to today, just wanted to mention that there are new things that you've heard today that we haven't heard before.

The euphonization is now what we the best advance in the program where we have to put down uh animals like our pets.

The euphemization is being done in the same way that as I understand it.

Uh and I was felt very good about this this year to find out that it was much more necess the best way to do a necessary issue.

I love the comments about more reading, getting the signs down at eye level at schools and the open gardens.

We have Ed Smith, a classic case.

The readers are in the schools, young and old.

The parents were just looking for a sign like that.

Uh more of those are better.

The gardens are like next to Ed Smith, and I only use that because that's our neighborhood where our children and grandchildren have gone.

Um these are these are really good steps.

Park signs, all of our greenways through the city should have those on in the nature places.

So the comment about education and more signs, I think there's an area that could be advanced greatly.

Uh green areas.

The numbers, uh, we have a typical city lot in the university area, uh but it's heavily wooded on the backside, and we're close to the east side into it where the deer are coming from through drumlins and so on.

Um at one time our lot our lots 40 feet wide and 160 feet deep.

One time we've had 14 feet deer, I'm sorry, 14 deer in that 40 feet.

Uh, that was quite a few years ago.

We're way down in the count.

The the deer population is less, the births are less.

Um the accidents have happened over those years.

Our we have three four family members who live in the area, and one of uh one of one of the family members has had a deer collision many years ago.

Um so these are all common problems for the whole city.

I think it's a great program.

I would encourage the education of it to be advanced as much as any other component.

Thank you.

And Greg Creek walk.

Let's look at sign us for the creek walks as well.

Easily done.

Okay.

Yes, ma'am.

Well, nothing matters.

Okay.

Morning, counselors.

My name is Nancy Larson.

I live on Meadowbrook Drive.

I have lived there for 19 years.

I was thrilled the first spring I lived there to see a family of deer walk across my yard.

I am here to speak on behalf of the many neighbors who love the deer and have seen their numbers greatly decrease to practically zero, at least in my neighborhood, with respect to my neighbor Nader.

I did I have not seen since January.

I have seen a total of 12 deer, which I know most of this group would consider a success.

Uh I would submit number one, there was never any proof before this program came into effect that the increased deer, that the number of deer in the area were a cause of increased Lyme disease, though the program is called a tick in deer management program.

It is really a deer killing program as far as I'm concerned.

In a city where our budget primarily has issues funding police and fire and parks.

Yes, I was I'm a gardener.

I was very sad the first year I lived there and then discovered I'd planted tulips on the path the deer take through my yard.

As soon as the buds are ready to open the deer and nibble off the buds.

So what did I do?

So I say I should kill those deer.

I said, I shouldn't plant tulips on the deer path.

There are plenty of uh if you want to see my gardens, I'd be happy to show you the seven gardens I put in my yard.

Excuse me.

There are other ish ways to maintain control of deer with fences, different plantings, other than killing them, and particularly the uh trap and euthanized program, the trap and kill program, I think is particularly egregious in that deer who have come to an area and expect to be safe are being trapped even though uh you might argue it's a humane way to do it.

I would like to see a film of how it's done and how the deer look when they are trapped and killed, and we might have some different sentiments.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Carson.

And with that, Mr.

Lowe, we are gonna call this committee meeting.

Adjourn.

Thank you all very much.

Thank you.

So you have