Essex County DiVincenzo’s letter "Thank you for your support of deer management program" (11/19/09) reveals the truth that DiVincenzo is determined to turn South Mountain Reservation into an arboretum of plants by exterminating our deer. When will the town councils of Verona and West Orange stop voting with Essex County and use the safe science of GonaCona immunocontraception which was approved for use in January 2010 by the EPA - instead of poisoning our rivers and lakes with dangerous herbicides and Mercury and killing our deer with shotguns?

A Star-Ledger article (11/11/09), "Mercury levels high in fish in two lakes EPA: One of the bodies of water is in Essex," describes how Essex County and the town of Verona have been permitting residents to fish for Mercury-contaminated fish in Verona Lake in Verona Park since last spring. The signs from NJ Div. F&W stocking of the lake with trout are still hanging on the trees. A Star-Ledger article (11/11) verified the EPA’s findings of Mercury stating, "Mercury concentrations in fish exceeded recommended levels in 500 freshwater lakes and reservoirs tested across the nation, including two lakes in New Jersey, according to a four-year federal study released yesterday." One of the "two lakes in New Jersey" according to the article was, "Verona Lake in Essex County."

This is yet another example of Essex County’s environmental damage to residents and environment, while blaming the deer for plant destruction, when they should be blaming Essex County as the county sprays 500 gallons of the herbicide Roundup yearly in South Mountain Reservation. This year, they sprayed Roundup on plants along Cherry Lane in West Orange and Brookside Drive in Millburn - causing dangerous herbicide spill-off into the bordering Orange Reservoir and Rahway River.

A June 23 article in "Scientific American" stated, "One label requirement for Roundup is that it should not be used in or near freshwater (such as the Orange Reservoir and Rahway River) to protect amphibians and other wildlife." The article stated further danger to humans caused by "Roundup’s main ingredient glyphosate together with other inert ingredients amplified the toxic effect on human cells," causing Roundup to be cited as a "risk factor for people developing non-Hodgkins lymphoma."

The same EPA that found dangerous Mercury in Verona Lake’s fish in November approved the use of safe GonaCon immunocontraception in September of this year. Yet the Verona and West Orange town councils voted with Essex County this year in exterminating South Mountain, Eagle Rock and Hilltop’s deer using violent and dangerous shotguns and dangerous chemicals in waterways. GonaCona (using the safe science of one shot effective for 4 years to reduce deer populations) is under consideration for use by Morris County and Maryland. When will Essex County and the towns of Verona and West Orange vote for safe science over guns and chemical pollution?