We do not profess to know the best route forward to deal with the impacts of an excess – if indeed there is an excess – of deer in Arlington.
But we have been around long enough to know that the multi-year process of “community engagement” that has preceded upcoming decision-making at the county manager and County Board level largely has been a charade.
The fix was in from the start: The relevant county staff determined that blasting away at Bambi using trained sharpshooters to cull the herd was its preferred outcome, and never wavered despite significant sentiment against it in a county-driven survey of residents.
(Wonder what went wrong in the creation of that survey – typically, Arlington leaders are far better at crafting them to get the exact results they desire.)
Staff has managed to line up community groups (with the notable exception of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, which has balked) and advisory commissions to back its recommendations. Members of the Park and Recreation Commission were even guffawing at a recent meeting about the lopsided nature of the support – until someone shushed fellow members, noting that the pesky media might be snooping around online (as we were), and that such chortling over dead deer wouldn’t look good if aired in public (and it didn’t).
As the issue moves to final action, Arlington County Board members have the ability to ask tough questions and make sure this is a policy they REALLY want to move forward with.
Those County Board members typically talk a good game, then rubber-stamp whatever is put in front of them. We’ll see if they do better this time out.