Schuylkill Township supervisors advanced a contract on Monday with the Chester Valley Deer Management Association to conduct archery deer hunting on township-owned properties, while directing that the agreement be strengthened with incident reporting, monthly harvest data, and detailed hunting plans for each site.
The board voted to authorize the township manager to sign the contract subject to review and approval by the solicitor. Township Manager Laurie Getz said a draft contract had been circulated to board members ahead of their August 10 meeting.
The program targets township-owned parcels and would use tree stands, ground blinds, and baiting where permitted. Steve Grabuski, president of the Chester Valley Deer Management Association, told the board the hunting season for wildlife management units begins September 19 and said he wanted to begin planning access, parking, and stand locations.
Schuylkill Township supervisors began discussing deer management earlier this year. Grabuski appeared before the board in April and said his organization has worked with municipalities, land conservancies, homeowners associations, and private landowners since 2005 to manage deer populations and related environmental impacts.
Grabuski also explained in April that the organization provides its services at no cost and uses insured, experienced hunters who undergo background checks and specialized training. Current partners include Tredyffrin and Upper Merion townships, the Open Land Conservancy, and Willistown Conservation Trust.
Property Plans and Access
On Monday, Grabuski said he had walked three township-owned properties – Valley Park, Sedgley Farms, and the Pickering Preserve – and outlined preliminary plans. He recommended against archery hunting at Valley Park for now, saying access there has grown complicated after nearby private residents declined to allow entry across their land.
"I just think that it's a wise decision for now not to move forward with it," he said, adding that the group could not effectively hunt the site without access from adjacent landowners.
He described Sedgley Farms, located at 930 Valley Forge Road, as a huntable property with four potential stand locations and likely two feeders. For the Pickering Preserve area near the Phoenixville YMCA, Grabuski said a nearby property owner had agreed to provide access through her property to reach the township land.
Supervisor Danielle Jouenne raised concern about hunting near the YMCA, where daycare and after-school programs operate. She said her worry was not the hunters' conduct but the possibility of a wounded deer running toward the property. She suggested an exclusionary no-hunt zone along the YMCA border, and Board Chair Bob Cooney described a similar buffer arrangement used years earlier.
Reporting and Safety Provisions
Jouenne said the draft contract was well prepared but needed clarification in several areas. She asked for an incident reporting provision covering situations such as an injured hunter or a wounded deer crossing onto private property, and recommended that insurance requirements survive the termination of the contract. Grabuski said the association's insurance runs from September 1 through August 31.
Jouenne also asked that the suspension-of-activity section allow the township to pause hunting to investigate incidents, respond to complaints, or evaluate compliance with the agreement.
On reporting, Grabuski agreed to provide monthly updates by email. He said he would supply harvest totals by township property, noting whether each deer was a doe or a buck, along with a separate total for any other properties hunted by the group within the township. He agreed to report which hunters were on each property and whether they were successful, but said tracking exact hours was not practical.
Hunting Plans and Signage
Supervisors discussed whether property-specific details should be written into the contract or handled as a referenced hunting plan reviewed annually. Jouenne said the agreement should reference a mutually approved plan for each property, showing stand locations, exclusion zones, parking, access points, and bait station locations, rather than embedding those details in the contract itself.
The board indicated the hunting plans could be approved at the discretion of township staff, with Cooney assisting based on his knowledge of the properties.
Grabuski also raised the idea of posting the properties against trespassing. He recommended signs reading that hunting is not permitted without township approval, placed roughly every 50 yards along roads and boundaries.
Solicitor Mike Crotty said baiting and feeding are addressed in the draft and permitted only to the extent allowed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The board approved the motion to authorize the contract subject to the solicitor's review and the added provisions.
