The firearm component of this year’s Mt. Lebanon deer management plan is scheduled for Feb. 11 through March 31. With special authority granted by the state Game Commission, contractors from Connecticut-based White Buffalo Inc. will place bait at designated locations and target white-tailed deer, primarily does, from elevated deer stands.
Mt. Lebanon commissioners have said their goal is to reduce deer-vehicle collisions by 50 percent in the 6.2-square mile home-rule municipality south of Pittsburgh. White Buffalo will be paid $59,605 for the upcoming cull.
On Wednesday, Timothy J. Steinauer, superintendent of the Mt. Lebanon School District, sent a message regarding the sharpshooting operation to families of its students. An attached letter from Ian McMeans, Mt. Lebanon assistant municipal manager, included the program’s general goals, times and locations.
Shooters will use suppressed-fire rifles to reduce noise, stated the letter, and will not be deployed on the neighborhood’s “safe walking routes” or within 1,000 feet of schools. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Fridays sharpshooters will be deployed in McNeilly and Robb Hollow parks, the public works property adjacent to Robb Hollow, the municipal golf course and the conservation district on Connor Road. On private properties accessed with the permission of owners, sharpshooters will be in position 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily including Sundays. Specific private properties included in the program are not public information, per a ruling in a high-profile legal decision.
“Parents and teachers may want to tell children to avoid the designated parks after dark and suggest they use sidewalks/established safe walking routes instead of shortcuts through private properties,” stated Mr. McMeans’ letter. “Anyone with a safety concern should call 911 immediately.”
The Game Commission permit authorizes White Buffalo to kill up to 100 deer during the upcoming cull, which is defined as a sanctioned wildlife-control operation not bound by state hunting regulations. A recent controlled hunt, which included vetted and licensed archers required to follow hunting regulations, ended Jan. 26.
Most of the venison generated by the cull and controlled hunt is donated to Hunters Sharing the Harvest, a nonprofit program which distributes the meat to food shelters and soup kitchens. Similar controlled archery and sharpshooting programs in 2017 and early 2018 removed 82 deer from Mt. Lebanon. There were no safety incidents.
An experimental surgical sterilization program, which had been proposed for Mt. Lebanon but was denied state approval, is in its third year in Ann Arbor, Mich. A similar experiment is also underway in Fairfax, Va. Both are being conducted by White Buffalo.
John Hayes: 412-263-1991, jhayes@post-gazette.com.
First Published: February 6, 2019, 8:24 p.m.
