Project may help officials assess success of deer-management efforts
By: David Campbell
Alec Bennet, 18, a Princeton High School senior and Poe Road resident, achieved Eagle Scout status in the Boy Scouts of America through a project that may help Princeton Township officials gauge the success of their deer-management efforts with regard to regeneration of the forest floor.
The township has sought to address deer overpopulation within its borders using lethal culling of the herd in conjunction with an ongoing experimental deer birth-control vaccination program in the southeastern corner of the municipality. A sixth year of culling wrapped up in March.
Since the program began in 2001, more than 1,300 deer have been culled. Since the fertility program began in 2003, more than 100 female deer have been vaccinated.
Township officials have cited the need to reduce deer-vehicle collisions and health hazards from Lyme disease, but also have pointed to the impact of too many deer overgrazing township woods and residents’ properties.
Greg O’Neil, the township’s arborist and open space manager who suggested the deer "exclosure" project Alec undertook in township parks to earn his Eagle Scout status said the forest floor has been severely depleted by deer overgrazing.
"The impact the deer have had over the past 20 to 30 years has been almost devastating," he said. "There’s very little re-vegetation happening."
According to Alec, who plans to study mechanical engineering this fall at Western New England College and join the U.S. Army ROTC, the township prides itself on being a Tree City USA a program sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation and wants to keep it that way.
But, he said, "The undergrowth is starting to get thin. With woods, you shouldn’t be able to see more than 50 yards in, where here you can see straight through."
What, then, is a deer "exclosure"?
Each one is basically a 100-square-foot enclosure of metal posts and wire fencing intended to keep deer from grazing the undergrowth contained inside. Alec, leading a team of Scouts, built six of them in total, two each at three township parks.
He said that to qualify for Eagle Scout, he had to demonstrate the skills as a leader he’s learned through his years of Scouting. "The difficult part was getting the Scouts together," he said.
Thomas Poole of the township’s Deer Program Evaluation Committee, said the committee has wanted such exclosures built for some time, but until now was unsuccessful in having any installed. He said Alec’s project hopefully will provide confirmation that a reduced deer herd is allowing the forest floor to regenerate.
"We would like to have had these about five years ago when there were more deer," Mr. Poole said. "We could have demonstrated more clearly that the deer were reducing the forest floor. We don’t have that ‘before’ picture, but we will have that ‘after’ picture in that we will be able to demonstrate that the outside is growing up more or less like the inside."
The new exclosures were installed between October and January, and Alec formally was granted Eagle Scout status following a review in February by a board of Boy Scout officials, said Scoutmaster Tom Zucosky.
"Alec Bennet in my view is an ideal Boy Scout and represents the Boy Scouts of America extremely well," Mr. Zucosky said. "The purpose of Boy Scouts is to enable young men to learn the skills they need to become leaders, things like discipline, self-sacrifice, community service. Alec is exemplary. He sets a good example."
Mr. Zucosky said Princeton Boy Scout Troop 43 Alec’s troop has been in existence in Princeton since 1918 and has produced numerous Eagle Scouts, every one of whom, he said, has earned that honor through community service to Princeton.
"This is a real benefit to our community, having these boys with a vested interest in executing some worthwhile community project, and working with community leaders to identify and successfully complete these projects," the scoutmaster said.
"Alec is a fine example of a long tradition of Boy Scouts that have served the Princeton community since the beginning of the 20th century," he said.