Trapping deer

It won't happen..

I must be out of the loop. Last I heard at the commissioners meeting the residents were very ****ed at this. I think it's ridiculous as well

The idea of opening up properties owned by the Twp to bowhunting has been floating around for quite some time and without question to me, that was the best solution.  However, the yuppies of Mt. Lebo have decided that they didn't want bowhunting to take place on these properties and the PGC certainly can't force them do so.  If anyone is to blame here it's Mt Lebo.  If I lived there, I'd be furious that $75,000 of tax money was allocated to something that could have been done for virtually nothing if hunters were used.      
 
Anyone remotely familiar with the area knows that there really is a serious problem with overpopulation in the Twp.  According to the news, close to 60 vehicle crashes with deer occurred in 2014 in the Twp.  Something needed to be done, and since Mt Lebo didn't want hunters around, what other choice did they really have?   

Question is what are they going to do with the meat? As for cars, I've been driving for 50+ yes in the country with plenty of deer only hit one and that was definitely my fault. Slow down and pay attention to the road. And to think we claim to be the smartest mammals on earth.

I find it very weird that the game commission was backing this.. I am reading a article right now about it .. Some interesting reads. Btw chicfila is so good

That permit is prob big bucks

No matter how you sugar coat it just doesn't seem. I had no trouble shooting one of my cows in pen but just can't agree with doing that to deer, maybe its just me. Its been a few years since I was over there but I know its congested and overbuilt, way too crowded for me. As for the bow hunting if a hunter pas a skill test,pay for a permit it should not matter who they work for.but Pa. Buddy system at its best.

While donating to a food bank sounds good, because it is, there may be ramifications to doing that. Some state, I don't recall which, but it was not PA, was forced to destroy all food bank donated venison because it was not USDA inspected. They ripped open litterally tons of packaged venison and poured bleach on it to make it unedible. A Google search would probably turn up the article.

Typical case of urban dwellers as anti hunters- We are slobs in their opinion and dangerous to have around in the woods, besides we actually ENJOY it.
They would much rather have the pure clean trapping of deer as well as govt 'sharpshooters' care for Deer issues.
I firmly believe that those Urban folks are so far removed from the realities of nature they don't even know what they are up to- but ahhhh betcha they are all self appointed 'environmentalists' whos only concern is the Deer not being wounded by those shoot at anything that moves hunters. Not to mention pets and kids.
When they outnumber us by a wide enough margin our way of life is doomed.
Like my hard huntin retired Game warden cousin says-"we are the last generation to do what we do'.
 He often tells about being sent to a urbies house who had just moved to the country for  late night animal noise call- they wanted him to stop the peepers from peeping because it interfered with their sleep.
 They all vote .
 
 

I could not paste the link for some reason, but it was LA and 1600 pounds of venison that had been donated and processed which was destroyed.

One of our local processors stopped participating in the Share the Harvest program because of all the paperwork required by the PGC -- namely weighing in every deer and weighing out and recording every donated ounce and where it went. They felt they were too busy at that time of year to do the extra work and then go through an audit -- especially when they were doing the processing for FREE instead of making the donator pay all or a portion of it.

Esox_Hunter
The idea of opening up properties owned by the Twp to bowhunting has been floating around for quite some time and without question to me, that was the best solution.  However, the yuppies of Mt. Lebo have decided that they didn't want bowhunting to take place on these properties and the PGC certainly can't force them do so.  If anyone is to blame here it's Mt Lebo.  If I lived there, I'd be furious that $75,000 of tax money was allocated to something that could have been done for virtually nothing if hunters were used.      

Yep. The anger should be directed at the residents who do not welcome hunters who services are free. 

sSometimes we are our own worst enemies and play into the hands of those who  oppose our way of life and confuse those who don't understand us.
   A couple of years back there was a 'reality' TV hunting show about guys bow hunting the Ct coastline where Deer are overpopulated and live in some VERY expensive neighborhoods where multi million dollar estates and homes abound.
    Aside from the 4 regular bow tags here in Ct that area boasts almost unlimited bonus tags after each reported kill.
I eagerly awaited the show and watched it a few times untill becoming disgusted  about  how the hunt was portrayed in the REALITY show.
Not all the shows- some were good- but  too many were full of low grade buffoonish humor likely made up by someone who figured hunters were idiots and sought to portray them as such-consiously intended or not.
 
 One in particular sticks in my memory.
     The theme was who was going to clean the toilet in the Barn they lived in while hunting- complete with showing a filthy urine filled toilet-made sense to anyone thinking hunters are slobs and cant even flush.
   The game devised  to perform the cleaning was a target shoot at a reasonable distanced bow target.
Some arrows were shot and some were on target-not many and one  guy completely missed the whole target--the cleaning guy.
As a general group they were displayed as poor shots complete with lots of hooting and ya hooing.
   Just what too many think is reality.
 
Maybee the folks who watched that show chose to trap and kill nuisance Deer.
 
Don't even get me started bout that Alaskan homesteading show where they  miss far more Bears than they hit at some great distances and then realize their sights are off.
Yep guys with guns------------

walcat
Slow down and pay  attention to the road. That says all that needs to be said!!!!!!!! How the hell can you go that fast in ML?????Can only go 35 or 40 anywhere. Should be able to stop on a dime!! How do you hit a deer at that speed???

 
 
It's more dangerous than you think.  In many of these incidents you don't have time to stop.
 
In 2014, 83 incidents were reported to the Mt Lebanon police involving injured deer on roads or deer-vehicle collisions.
 
A few years back while driving on Lincoln Way in Whiteoak a deer came out of nowhere off the side of the road and slammed into the side of my truck.  I was traveling about 25 mph and didn't have time to react.  It could happen anywhere and usually does.
 
 
 
 

Many municipally (whether boro, township or county) owned parks in PA prohibit the general public from hunting all or portions of them, but do make certain exceptions from time to time.  For example, some (maybe most?) Allegheny County owned parks have limited archery hunting on a draw system for hunters that can pass a shooting proficiency test.  Even when there's enough room for shotgun and muzzleloader hunting, they are still restricted to archery only.  Some Westmoreland County parks have controlled hunts for geese.  
 
So yes, hunting in many parks is closed to the taxpayer, or tightly restricted to certain taxpayers that meet certain criteria.  
 
From the articles I've read about Mt Lebo's situation, sounds like they have a goal of removing 150 deer this year, and similar numbers over the next 5 years.  It would be nice to see archery hunters at least be able to be a part of the solution where there aren't concerns with safety zones and public safety.  
 
Look at the boundary of Mt Lebo on Google Maps: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mt+Lebanon,+PA&hl=en&ll=40.377936,-80.051193&spn=0.042304,0.089951&sll=41.117935,-77.604698&sspn=5.35395,11.513672&oq=mt+leban&t=h&hnear=Mt+Lebanon,+Allegheny+County,+Pennsylvania&z=14
 
I don't see a real feasible way that the municipality could depend on hunters to remove as many deer as they'd like/need to at this point with the limited number of acres that aren't inside of safety zones, even the relaxed 50 yard safety zone for archery.  After some culling of this nature is done, hunters could certainly be a part of the solution to prevent unchecked growth of the herd again.  
 
The problem could have been prevented, or at least lessened, with prior use of hunters.
 
Also consider that deer hit with arrows rarely drop where they're shot.  Do you want to be one of the decision makers in Mt. Lebo that has to deal with the public relations nightmare of explaining to residents why dying deer are running through their backyards and dropping under their kids' swingsets?  Would you want to have to explain to landowners that hunters will need to walk through their yards to track and recover deer that they hit?  I wouldn't.  Not in an area where there's enough $ for many residents to bring lawsuits against me or the municipality because they don't like the policy.  
 
Again, not saying that there isn't a place for hunting here at all.  But I don't think a solution to the problem lies in hunting alone.  
 
And just a wild guess, but $75 grand out of Mt Lebo's coffers is probably a drop in the bucket.  
 
 

Residents are complaining about lawn damage.......... http://triblive.com/mobil...96/deer-lebanon-benner