Southold deer task force to push Albany for stronger management tools

Oh deer.

Southold officials are renewing their push for stronger deer-management powers from Albany as the town struggles with a herd officials say remains far above sustainable levels and continues to fuel tick-borne illness and hundreds of vehicle collisions.

The Deer Management Task Force will meet Monday to discuss the town’s next steps, including renewed requests for expanded crossbow access, greater flexibility in handling harvested deer and other measures local officials say were left out of the earlier program.

John Rasweiler, a wildlife scientist who has served on Southold’s deer management committee since 2009 and Suffolk County’s Tick Control Advisory Committee since 2014, called the 2023 pilot “ineffective.”

“We didn’t get anywhere near what we needed,” Supervisor Al Krupski said.

Town Councilwoman Alexa Suess, the task force liaison, said officials are also considering whether professional sharpshooters should play a larger role because recreational hunting alone has not kept pace with the size of the herd.

“However, when populations are this high, it’s important to note that recreational hunting cannot control it alone,” Ms. Suess said. “Hunting is a time intensive and physically demanding activity, and even with the deer management strategies that we have in place, populations continue to grow.”

Monday’s meeting will also serve as the task force’s annual start-of-season organizational meeting ahead of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Deer Management Assistance Program, which begins Sept. 13 in Southold Town.

The town’s deer problem drew renewed attention during Mr. Krupski’s Aug. 13 State of the Town address, when he agreed with a resident who said Southold was “losing the war” against the growing herd and the spread of tick-borne illnesses. He said the town needs to remove about 60% of its deer population annually just to maintain current numbers.

Mr. Rasweiler estimated there are 65 to 75 deer per square mile in Southold. He said an environmentally sustainable level would be closer to 10 to 15 per square mile, while some parts of eastern Long Island have exceeded 100.

The consequences extend beyond tick-borne illness. Southold Town police recorded 183 deer-related vehicle collisions in 2025, according to data provided by Police Chief Steven Grattan. There were 227 in 2024, 207 in 2023, 180 in 2022, 206 in 2021 and 247 in 2020.

Stephen Canzoneri of the state Department of Transportation said 215 deer carcasses were removed from Route 25 on the North Fork over the past year, including 15 in June and 13 in July.

The task force meeting is scheduled for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Southold Town Hall.