The Essex County Sheriff's Office has announced multiple road closures that will be made to accommodate the upcoming annual county-sanctioned deer hunt, which is scheduled to start on Jan. 17.
The annual Essex County Deer Management Program, now in its fourth year, will be held each Tuesday and Thursday from Jan. 17-31 at the South Mountain Reservation, which runs through Millburn, Maplewood and West Orange. County-approved volunteer hunters will be allowed to take deer out of the 2,047-acre reservation during daylight hours on the days of the hunt, when roads in the area will be closed from midnight until 10 p.m.
The County's deer management program overlaps with Millburn's deer management program, which will entail hunting the deer on the Par 3 Golf Course and the East Orange Water Company property.
The following roads will be closed Tuesdays and Thursdays from midnight-10 p.m. from Jan. 17-31:
Turtle Back Rock, Walker Road, May Apple Hill (Northfield Avenue and Cedar Avenue entrances), Crest Drive (off South Orange Avenue), and Locust Grove (off Glen Avenue).
County officials say South Orange Avenue, Cherry Lane and Brookside Drive will remain open.
The second phase of the hunt is scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays from Feb. 2-23, and will be held at Hilltop Reservation and Eagle Rock Reservation.
The following roads will be closed Tuesdays and Thursdays from midnight-10 p.m. from Feb. 2-23:
In the vicinity of Hilltop Reservation, a 284-acre parcel that spans Cedar Grove, Verona, Caldwell and North Caldwell, Fairview Avenue, from Myrtle Avenue to Durrell Street, will be closed.
All roadways within the 408-acre Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, except for business traffic for the Highlawn Pavilion only. No other roadways in the immediate vicinity of Eagle Rock Reservation will be closed.
In the three years of the Deer Management Program, 1,089 deer have been killed in total, including 339 last year, the highest number to date.
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. said last year that culling the population of white-tailed deer is necessary for the safety of motorists traveling on roadways, and for the health of the county's forests. Echoing his point of view was Anne Stires, president of the Hilltop Conservancy.
The program is not without its detractors, who say population control methods including sterilizing the deer, are more humane. Last year, a group of residents protested the hunt outside Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, holding signs with slogans like "Stop the Brutality!" and "Honk if you Love Animals."
DiVincenzo will hold a news conference on the annual hunt on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at noon at the satellite office at the South Mountain Recreation Complex, 560 Northfield Ave., West Orange.
For further information about road closures during the dates and times of the Deer Management Program please contact the Essex County Sheriff’s Command and Communications Center at 973-621-4111. .
dana lustbader
1:41 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012
Deer Hunt seems more like tradition than the need for attrition. It is so obvious as we look around that there are fewer and fewer deer left in our area. My backyard is on the border of the S. Mt. reservation and where we used to see a family of deer crossing regularly, there is now not one. Before our town jumps at the chance to shoot and kill another 300+, an accurate count should be done. With a 2,000 acre reservation and so many killed already by sprawling office and housing developments, it's hard to believe that they are still a "threat" to the healthy of the forests. Wouldn't it be more humane to "re-forest" with new trees and plants and find alternative ways to control deer population? Coexisting feels a whole lot better than shooting & killing.
J S Beckerman
2:35 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012
I have been walking my dogs in the reservation every weekend for 5 years...have seen deer less than 3 or 4 times in 5 years.
Noreen Brunini
3:44 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012
Perhaps the deer were smart enough to move out of the reservation and into the neighborhood of Old Short HIlls where hunting is not allowed and salad is abundant. I see groups of 5-6 deer daily in my yard. And often around the Highland Ave area. Foxes and turkeys too.