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Residents urge Avalon to oppose proposed mule deer removal plan, cite CEQA bypass and lethal methods
Summary
Multiple Avalon residents told council they oppose the Conservancy/Department of Fish and Wildlife plan and urged the city to object, saying the plan may bypass CEQA and would use netting, baiting and lethal injections; council reiterated there is no hunting inside the city limits.
Several residents used the oral-communications period to urge the City Council to formally oppose a proposed restoration plan and associated SERP application they said would allow lethal removal of mule deer and bypass local environmental review.
Daniel Phelps, a local resident, asked the council to reach out to the Department of Fish and Wildlife and "formally object" because the restoration plan and SERP application "would bypass CEQA requirements," he said. Ashley Needleman, another resident who has followed the conservancy meetings, described what she said she was told the conservancy would do "if their permit is approved": enter city property at night, "net, bait, and capture, and kill the deer through lethal injection and with air guns," and use helicopters and dogs to corral animals. Pastor Lopez appealed to the council’s stewardship of island wildlife, saying he stands "in solidarity with the coalition" opposing what he described as a plan to "slaughter animals."
Council members and the mayor acknowledged the comments and reiterated that "there is no hunting in the city of Avalon," a point the mayor repeated during public comment. No formal council action was taken during the meeting; speakers requested that the council send a formal objection to state agencies or otherwise engage in the review process.
