HOLMDEL — Deer soon will need to watch their backs in the township, where bow hunting is expected to commence by the beginning of 2010.
Holmdel Township Committee voted 4-1 on Thursday to allow up to 20 hunters to roam portions of Bayonet Farm's 240 acres.
As of Monday, hunters had already snatched up the 20 available permits, which were issued on a first-come, first-served basis to those with state and county licenses, said Committeeman Rocco Pascucci, who proposed the initiative.
With at least 105 deer killed in the township during the first nine months of the year, Holmdel officials fear the population has gotten out of control, endangering motorists and defoliating farms and gardens.
"We're eager to see this get under way," said Pascucci, who had hoped to have implemented the plan sooner. "We've already lost the best time, just before they have their babies."
Committeewoman Janet Berk, the lone dissenter, could not be reached for comment.
Committeeman Larry Fink agreed to vote for the proposal after additional areas adjacent to the township park's trails were removed from where arrows can fly.
"I was trying to locate the hunting areas in the more remote areas of the park," said Fink, who is concerned that hunters and more passive users of Bayonet Farm could be a dangerous combination.
Hunting will be allowed to commence once signs are posted throughout the park, an endeavor that Pascucci hopes will be complete by Jan. 1. The season will run through Feb. 20.
Hunters must remove the carcasses. The township recommends that hunters eat the meat themselves or donate it to a charity, Pascucci said. Should a maimed animal leave the park and enter an adjoining property, hunters are instructed to notify police so the deer can be retrieved, he said.
Holmdel is talking with the owners of the former Bell Labs site about whether to expand the hunt to the adjacent property during the following hunting season, Pascucci said.
Holmdel Township Committee voted 4-1 on Thursday to allow up to 20 hunters to roam portions of Bayonet Farm's 240 acres.
As of Monday, hunters had already snatched up the 20 available permits, which were issued on a first-come, first-served basis to those with state and county licenses, said Committeeman Rocco Pascucci, who proposed the initiative.
With at least 105 deer killed in the township during the first nine months of the year, Holmdel officials fear the population has gotten out of control, endangering motorists and defoliating farms and gardens.
"We're eager to see this get under way," said Pascucci, who had hoped to have implemented the plan sooner. "We've already lost the best time, just before they have their babies."
Committeewoman Janet Berk, the lone dissenter, could not be reached for comment.
Committeeman Larry Fink agreed to vote for the proposal after additional areas adjacent to the township park's trails were removed from where arrows can fly.
"I was trying to locate the hunting areas in the more remote areas of the park," said Fink, who is concerned that hunters and more passive users of Bayonet Farm could be a dangerous combination.
Hunting will be allowed to commence once signs are posted throughout the park, an endeavor that Pascucci hopes will be complete by Jan. 1. The season will run through Feb. 20.
Hunters must remove the carcasses. The township recommends that hunters eat the meat themselves or donate it to a charity, Pascucci said. Should a maimed animal leave the park and enter an adjoining property, hunters are instructed to notify police so the deer can be retrieved, he said.
Holmdel is talking with the owners of the former Bell Labs site about whether to expand the hunt to the adjacent property during the following hunting season, Pascucci said.
