Deer forage at Oglebay Park in Wheeling. (File Photo)

Members of the community pitched to the Wheeling Park Commission on Tuesday the formation of a Deer Population Control Task Force. The idea, they said, was to create a plan for non-lethal methods of deer population control at Oglebay Park.

The group approached the commission with the idea at its monthly meeting.

According to Karen Kahle, a local attorney and member of the West Virginia Animal Law Committee, the group would consist of Oglebay administrators, representative community members and WV Department of Natural Resources representatives.

Representing “a group of community members who love the park and also love the wildlife in the park,” Kahle explained that many in the community were “somewhat frustrated” when Oglebay announced its Nov. 6-8 Limited Purpose Bow Hunt.

In the announcement of the bow hunt, Oglebay cited the growing population of deer at the park as the reason for the culling. To fulfill the “overarching goal” of managing their deer population, a stipulation Oglebay set for participants in the hunt was that at least one of the deer collected had to be a doe.

Over the three-day event, 10 of the 16 deer collected were does, according to Oglebay’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing Herb Faulkenberry.

As a way to bridge the gap between community members and park leadership following the culling, Kahle proposed the task force as a way to incorporate community feedback in future deer population management efforts.

“We think a collaborative approach will allow the community to have a seat at the table to provide input, which will foster community relations,” said Kahle. “It seemed like there was a sense of concern on the part of some community members that maybe Oglebay wasn’t listening.”

The “ultimate task” of the group, according to Kahle, would be to research and develop a plan of deer population control to recommend to the WPC. Consisting of six to nine members, Kahle proposed the group meet at least once a quarter to report their research and plan development progress to the WPC during their monthly meetings.

“The Oglebay deer population control methodology presented by the force will satisfy not only Oglebay and the WVDNR, but the community at large,” noted Kahle. “This will restore the community’s trust in Oglebay’s handling of the deer that live in this beautiful park that we all love.”

Kahle also presented on Tuesday the initial research she had conducted on non-lethal deer population control methods. She explained the porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccine could serve as a method of birth control for the park’s deer. According to Kahle, the drug is effective for “eight to nine months” in female deer.

“Many experts we have preliminarily consulted suggest that non-lethal methods are available for deer population control, which can eliminate any need for future deer killing events,” explained Kahle. “Approval of the WVDNR is required for most of these birth control methods, so we further propose that members of WVDNR be included in this collaborative effort.”

Saying she had spoken to someone trained to give PZP injections, Kahle noted that administering the vaccine was “something a layperson can be trained on.”

“We understand that Oglebay administrators and the WVDNR have access to the same type of experts we consulted,” added Kahle. “However, by working collaboratively among Oglebay administrators, community members and the WVDNR, we propose that the end result

of such a plan will be more meaningful and more palatable overall.”

Former Oglebay employee and volunteer Elaine Beneke Strauch also spoke at the meeting in support of the task force. She implored the WPC to listen to the community and consider the proposal.

“The deer are a part of the DNA of this park, and we each have our own stories of why we like the park and why the deer are important,” noted Strauch. “Yes, there are emotions, but there is also knowledge behind it.”

Saying they would “absolutely” consider the proposal, Oglebay CEO Bob Peckenpaugh explained the WPC would discuss the matter further.

On using birth control as a method of deer population control, Peckenpaugh said he would “love to see” what Kahle and Strauch’s research regarding birth control for the deer had shown. He explained the park had been “told through various sources” that birth control was not a viable option in West Virginia, and he would want to bring the DNR to the table when it came to considering birth control as a method of deer population control.

“The DNR is better to talk to about that than myself or the team here,” added Peckenpaugh.

The next step Oglebay will take in managing the overpopulation of deer at the park is discouraging visitors from hand-feeding the deer. Oglebay is still “finalizing some of the details” on the signage that would go up at the park to deter guests from feeding the deer, Peckenpaugh said.

He emphasized the park wanted the wording on the signs “to be a little bit more succinct and clear.”

“It’s slower at the park right now because it’s cold out, so I really want to take the opportunity to make sure we have the right message and consistency we want,” he added.

Oglebay will also translate their message of the negative consequences of hand-feeding deer at the park to pamphlets and documents, according to Peckenpaugh, who expects the signage to be up in the park within the next four weeks.