A Rochester suburb that includes acres and acres of park and woodland is a natural place for a booming deer population. Irondequoit is also a town with 50,000 residents. And the deer, though graceful and beautiful creatures, can wreak havoc. 

The town’s annual bow hunt is underway. Proponents say it’s a necessary tool to keep the deer population in check. 

Few towns have as many deer in such a concentrated area as Irondequoit. With water on three sides of the town and the city of Rochester on the fourth, town officials say it creates problems.

“The deer that are in this town have nowhere to go,” said Lt. Joe Coon of the Irondequoit Police Department, which oversees the bow hunt. “So what they do is they reproduce and reproducing [and] so on and the numbers increase.”

Which Coon says leads to concerns over Lyme disease and other health issues for the animals, not to mention dozens of car-deer accidents in the town each year.

“I’m typically on first platoon, which is the evening shift,” said Heidi Zimmer, an officer assigned to the bow hunt unit. “So I see a lot of deer at night. And unfortunately, there's a lot of motor vehicle accidents. So that's another reason why the program is so efficient and works well for the community.”

Since 1996, Irondequoit has run a program each fall to control the deer population. Bow hunters are allowed to go in and hunt town properties, or properties where the owners agree to allow hunting. There are strict guidelines.

“What we do is we run them through a proficiency program so that they have to show that they're proficient with their bow and arrow,” said Coon. “If they don't pass that entrance qualifier, then they're not permitted to participate.”

Irondequoit’s bow hunting program runs now through early December, from sunrise through noon, Monday through Friday. There is no hunting on days when there’s no school. Between 80 and 90 bow hunters are signed up. No more than 30 are allowed to hunt on any given day, and they have to let police know when they’re in the woods and when they’ve shot, or shot at a deer.

“The officer that's working the program for the day, they'll go out and they'll assist the hunters and ensure that they track the deer and find it,” said Zimmer.

Hunters must also follow all DEC rules and guidelines for hunting.

Irondequoit police say they’ve had no incidents in the 27 years since the bow hunt started. Not everyone supports the hunt. In the past, people have petitioned the town to stop the hunt, including a change.org petition a few years ago.

But with a booming deer population and the issues that arise with it, officials say the bow hunt has been a success.

“Mostly appreciative,” said Coon of the reaction to the program. “Some people aren’t the biggest fans. But I think the benefits outweigh the risks. So it’s worth it.”