Southborough Conservation Commission to host deer management information session

Above: Deer in my backyard

From the Southborough Conservation Commission:

The Southborough Conservation Commission, in conjunction with the West Suburban Conservation Council, is sponsoring an information session to help local residents understand the impact of deer overpopulations on their health and property. The session will be held at 6:30 pm, Tuesday, June 28 at Cordaville Hall (Southborough Senior Center), 9 Cordaville Road, Southborough, MA. The public is invited to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Experts in the field of deer management issues will provide information and answer questions:

• Sonja Christensen, Deer Project Leader & Biologist, Mass. Division of Fisheries & Wildlife
• Tom Rawinski, Botanist, USDA Forest Service
• Sam Telford, Lyme disease expert, Tufts University

Towns and landowners in the SuAsCo (Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers) watershed region are beginning to notice the affects of large whitetail deer populations. The towns and landowners are concerned with the damage to forest ecosystems by heavy deer browsing, or grazing, which may be reducing or eliminating regeneration of some tree and shrub species and local populations of herbaceous plants, including some rare species, and promoting the growth of invasive plants through preferential browsing.

Human health and property concerns include the spread of Lyme disease, deer-vehicle collisions, and damage to landscape plantings and agricultural crops. While the consequences of a large deer population are well documented in other parts of the state and country, this forum will inform the public about the current impact of deer on the regional landscape and human health.

The West Suburban Conservation Council is a group of towns and land trusts in the SuAsCo region that collaborates on land management and protection issues.

For more information, contact Erin Snook, Community Outreach Coordinator, Sudbury Valley Trustees, AmeriCorps MassLIFT Member, 978-443-5588 X121.