The posters above & below tell it all (click on them to make them larger & easier to read). All sorts of exciting things happening. It starts Friday evening, July 24, at 5pm and runs through the weekend. Special performances, dinners, and first ever “Around the World Cocktail Hours.” Spend some time in your business district this weekend.
By Beth Whelan, for the Clifton Deer Project
Here’s an exciting update about the collaboration between Clifton, the Cincinnati Parks and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to address our overabundance of white-tailed deer. We love our deer in Clifton and don’t want to harm them . . . we just wish there weren’t so many!
Too many deer devastates the eco-system and endangers drivers on our roads. For a healthy eco-system, experts say there should be 15-20 deer per square mile. Clifton is up to 50 per square mile in 2015. That’s a 30% increase over last year!
As Ben Pantoja reported in the Spring edition of the Chronicle, Cincinnati’s award-winning Parks, the ODNR and Clifton, are testing an innovative and lasting approach to overabundant deer: Cincinnati’s first non-lethal deer sterilization Pilot Program. On May 11, 2015, the ODNR issued a permit authorizing Dr. Anthony J. DeNicola, Ph.D., President of White Buffalo, Inc., to proceed with a 3-5 year pilot research program. White Buffalo is a non-profit research organization that conserves ecosystems through wildlife population control with an emphasis on wildlife management alternatives in non-traditional settings (http://www.whitebuffaloinc.org/). Over the past 22 years Dr. DeNicola has conducted contraceptive and sterilization projects, as well as sharpshooting programs throughout the United States.
How will the Sterilization Pilot Program work?
Easy – ovariectomies! Confused? An ovariectomy is the removal of a female deer’s ovaries. It’s similar to, but less invasive than, spay surgeries to sterilize dogs and cats. The “rapid ovariectomy” technique developed by the White Buffalo team takes place in the field and typically takes 20 minutes or less.
Surgical sterilization is routinely used to control population growth of domestic animals (i.e., dogs and cats) and at least 14 other species. It is recognized as safe and humane for use in deer by The Humane Society of the United States. Both The Humane Society and White Buffalo reports that the mortality rate is less than 1%. Plus, sterilized deer tend to be healthier and calmer than fertile deer — and they don’t attract bucks thereby reducing the chasing behavior that can result in dangerous deer-vehicle collisions.
Capture and sterilization happens at night when deer are most active and few people are in the parks. Female deer are lured to bait stations and darted with a tranquilizer. The team tracks the deer until they are unconscious then transports them to a temporary sterilization site where a licensed veterinarian performs the ovariectomy and injects long-acting antibiotics and pain medication. The lead veterinarian for the Program is Dr. Randy Junge, DVM, DACZM, who has 25 years of experience in zoo medicine and has performed approximately 60 deer sterilizations. Dr. Junge, who is currently VP of Animal Health at the Columbus Zoo, will perform the ovariectomies and train and supervise local veterinarians to also perform the procedure.
All sterilized deer are tagged. Plus, one mature doe in each matrilineal group will be radio-collared to make future capture easier, track migration rates and patterns and assess survival rates. Treated deer are returned to the area where they were captured (in locations with the lowest likelihood of human disturbance during recovery), administered a reversal agent and monitored for recovery complications. The entire process, from darting to release, takes approximately one hour per deer.
As a result of sterilization, the herd size is at first stabilized and then shrinks through attrition. Most communities experience a 10-20% annual reduction in the number of deer.
We need YOU to help make this Program a success in our community!
To be blunt, we need your BUCKS — not deer, we have plenty of those – but your pledges and cash donations. This Pilot Program will begin in the fall of 2015 so the time is now to make this program a success. There are many volunteer opportunities, including fundraising, neighborhood canvassing and field station volunteers. To learn more, to follow our progress, and to make a pledge/donation, please visit our website at www.cliftondeer.org or go directly to www.cliftondeer.org/donations/.
We and the deer THANK YOU!
Vintage All Star Baseball Game
Sat, Jul 11, 2:00 PM at University of Cincinnati. Watch an all star game played by 1860’s rules! Join us on Corey St entrance. Feel free to wear your vintage uniform. No entry fee. This event is part of the All Star Clifton Neighborhood series of events.
Wiffle Ball Home Run Derby
Sun, Jul 12, 2:00 PM in Burnet Woods. Take the cement slide down to Lower Trailside. Test your skills. See how far you can send a wiffle ball flying! Divisions for adults and kids. Prizes for the best distance. Brought to you by All Star Clifton and Cincinnati Neighborhood Games.
Clifton All Star Neighborhood Celebration
Tue, Jul 14, 5:00 PM. Catch the baseball game with your friends on the Clifton Plaza on Ludlow Avenue. Bring a chair or a blanket. The fun starts at 5pm with Jake Speed. We will have photo props with a baseball theme. We will have a raffle with merchant gift certificates. Food trucks, beverages and beer! You do not have to live in Clifton to attend this fun event.
The City administration has published the full list of streets to be rehabilitated during the 2015-2016 fiscal year which began on July 1st. Clifton has numerous streets that made the list. Work is expected to start very soon.
Bishop Street – Martin Luther King Jr. Dr to Glenmary Av
Brookline Avenue – Jefferson Avenue to Glenmary Av
Clinton Springs Lane – Vine Street to West Terminus
Cornell Place – Ludlow Av to North Terminus
Crestmont Avenue – East Terminus to Biddle Street
Gano Avenue – Howell Av to Ludlow Av
Glenmary Avenue – Vine St to Clifton Av
Lafayette Avenue – Ludlow Av to McAlpin Av
Rawson Woods Circle – Rawson Woods Ln to Rawson Woods Ln
Rawson Woods Lane – Middleton Av to West Terminus
Senator Place – East Terminus to Clifton Av
Shiloh Street – Telford St to Middleton Av
Wentworth Avenue – Bishop Av to Brookline Av
To see the full City wide program details click here.
Clifton was one of the original Red Bike stations when Cincy Red Bike launched in Cincinnati during September 2014. The Clifton station is located on Howell Avenue next to the Business District Parking lot.
Whether this station is your start or end point, or even just a waypoint on a set of errands you are running, you can connect easily to all points Uptown. There are stations around Uptown also so you can return your bike there, and get a new one when you are ready to travel again. In a short amount of time, you can also cycle from Clifton to a variety of other locations in the urban core: Findlay Market, Washington Park, Northside. Phase II stations are starting to be installed during June 2015 including nearby at Hoffner Park in Northside and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.
You can find nearby Red Bike stations as well as the status at any station by using the smart phone app for iPhone or Google Play.
Cincy Red Bike has a great website explaining the system & the bikes, and you can sign up for a membership as well.
You can put a Red Bike on the front of a Metro Bus in case you don’t want to ride uphill on your return back to Clifton. The Red Bikes come with integral cable locks, baskets, flashing front/rear lights, and fenders. Bring your own helmet for safety.
