Deer hunting season is a month away and the plan for Wilton hunting locations was unanimously approved by the Board of Selectmen on Aug. 4.
With hunting taking place at most of the same locations as last year, and beginning on Monday, Sept. 15 at most locations, the only change this year will be no hunting taking place at Sackett Preserve.
“It won’t have a dramatic impact on what we do,” Deer Management Committee Chair Mike Russnok told the DMC at its June meeting.
“It’s a combination of town and surrounding land trust parcels,” Russnok said. “It’s a big parcel but we haven’t gotten a lot out of it … Last year we didn’t get any deer. The year before we got two.”
Because of what he referred to as the area’s intermittent “productivity,” Russnok said they’ve similarly made the decision in the past to pause hunting there for a season.
With the DMC having unanimously endorsed the 2025-2026 Hunt Plan, Russnok appeared before the BOS on Aug. 4 to briefly share details about it and get approval.
“It is something we do every year at this time,” First Selectman Toni Boucher said of what is referred to as a controlled deer hunt.
The DMC operates under the auspices of the Conservation Commission.
“As you know, this program is put in place to reduce the deer population in town,” Russnok told the BOS. “The deer population is linked to a combination of factors, including car accidents and tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease. Reducing the number of deer can help adjust these risks, as well as the overall health of our forests.”
He said that Wilton works closely with South Norwalk Electric and Water (SNEW) and the Wilton Land Trust, with hunts taking place on some of their respective land, as well as with the Wilton Police Department, which plays a hand in making sure the hunters are licensed and operating safely.
“Happy to report there were no injuries or safety incidents,” Russnok said of last year’s hunt, with the state still finalizing the numbers.
In 2023, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection‘s Bureau of Natural Resources/Wildlife Division, there was a total of 9,966 deer killed in Connecticut, 110 of which were in Wilton.
According to the DEEP statistics for 2023, of those 110 deer, Wilton saw 76 deer deaths by archery, 20 by shotgun or rifle, 10 by muzzleloader, three by cropkill and one via roadkill.
According to 2023 statistics, Lebanon had the most deer deaths with 189, Ashford had 176, Mansfield had 158, Newtown had 155, Thompson had 154, Coventry had 150, Stafford had 146, North Stonington had 145, and Killingly had 135.
The only municipalities to report no deer deaths were Hartford and Westport, with New London and Windsor Locks each reporting one, and Bridgeport, New Britain and West Hartford each reporting two.
Russnok told the DMC in June that only one resident had reached out to Wilton’s Environmental Affairs Director Mike Conklin and asked that hunting not take place at the Vista Road Property, a 36-acre parcel west of Bald Hill Rd.
“We did get a request from a surrounding homeowner to not hunt that this year,” Russnok said, but Conklin denied the request.
“There’s a lot of land up there that we don’t hunt … so I think, talking with Mike, there’s just a lot of other space up there that could be used [by residents],” Russnok said.
Of the one resident who made the request, Russnok said, “He just doesn’t want hunting.”
Most of the 20 properties will be open for hunting starting Sept. 15, with two exceptions starting on Nov. 1. Hunting season will end on Jan. 31, 2026.
Four of the properties, including Vista Road, will prohibit hunting on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas.
Half of the properties are restricted to bow hunting only.
Russnok said it will be clear to any visitors that the hunt is underway, with orange signs and, he said, sometimes caution tape.
“Each year we post the plan and the surrounding neighbors are notified when it’s closed,” he said.
Selectman Ross Tartell confirmed that it will be clear to visitors not to enter the hunting areas.
“Historically the areas are very well marked,” he said.
The article states that Sackett Preserve will not be included in this year’s hunting grounds list. The 2025 Wilton Controlled Deer Hunt plan published at the end of the article does not list Sackett Preserve as a “property not part of the current year hunt plan.” Is Sackett Preserve definitively off the list of land parcels not available for deer hunting in 2025? Thank you for clarification.