BY JIMMY SHOCKLEY, Eastern Shore Post —
A divided Northampton Board of Supervisors defeated a plan that would have asked the state to study expanding deer hunting season within the county, where the deer damage to vehicles and crops has become a point of concern.
Supervisors Oliver Bennett, Betsy Mapp, and Ernest Smith voted against the measure without explaining their opposition.
During the Tuesday, Oct. 13, meeting, Supervisor Jon Dempster proposed drafting a resolution requesting the state Department of Wildlife Resources to evaluate whether Northampton County should incorporate an Earn-a-Buck program or early and late antlerless-only deer seasons.
The Earn-a-Buck program requires hunters to harvest a specific number of does or fawns before they are allowed to take an antlered buck.
Last month, a state wildlife official told supervisors that data shows a need to increase deer harvests on the Eastern Shore.
In addition, the official told supervisors that the key to thinning deer in the county is to harvest more female deer.
Supervisors, however, did not act on the advice, voting against even the study of programs to reduce deer populations.
Dempster’s resolution failed, 2-3, with only Dempster and board Chairman Dixon Leatherbury voting in favor of it.
Dempster said he has researched controlling the population of deer within the county. At the September meeting, he brought up allowing the use of rifles during firearm season for deer.
In recent Northampton County meetings, many speakers have said that excessive deer population is bad for farmers and is also a safety hazard for motorists.
Dempster said the window to request the state to look into this only spans from Oct. 5 to Nov. 13 — and to request it would have been completely free of charge to the county.
Dempster also said included in the resolution would have been the ability for the board to discuss the DWR’s recommendation prior to implementation.
The board did not discuss allowing the use of rifles for deer at the meeting, but an audience member did.
Scott Hines, owner of Eastern Shore Outfitters in Exmore, said all hunting seasons in Northampton County permit the use of rifles except for deer hunting seasons.
Hines also said that the majority of his customers are from Hampton Roads and they drive through Northampton County to go deer hunting in Accomack County, which allows rifles to hunt deer.
Timber mill sought
During the meeting, Area Forester Robbie Lewis told supervisors that for the last few years there has been a desire to get a timber mill back on the Eastern Shore.
“We’re trying to promote our forest resources on this Eastern Shore,” he said. “In my opinion this is some of the best live pine timber we’ve got in Virginia.”
Still, Lewis said the economy has been an issue for drawing interest in bringing a timber mill to the Shore, and mills in eastern Virginia have been shutting down more than they have been opening.
For the future, Lewis said all that can be done is to keep taking care of resources for when interest does arise.
Lewis said in the last year he has seen 25 tree plantings covering 271 acres total on the Eastern Shore.
