Franklin Lakes, N.J., Votes Nov. 3 on Bow Deer Cull With No Plan Yet

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. — Franklin Lakes, N.J., voters will be asked Nov. 3 whether the borough should “consider” a bow-and-arrow deer cull every year for three years. But the borough says no deer management plan has been written yet. Even a “yes” vote would not start a hunt by itself.

In an Oct. 19 update to residents, the borough said a cull “would only happen if a decision is made by the Mayor and Council to move forward” and a deer management plan “is approved by New Jersey Fish & Wildlife.” It called its description of how a hunt might work “illustrative only,” because the specifics would come from “a Borough deer management plan that has not yet been prepared (much less approved).”

What’s on the ballot

The question is printed on the Bergen County Clerk’s sample ballot for Franklin Lakes in English, Spanish and Korean. It reads:

“Should the Borough consider conducting a deer cull by bow and arrow annually for three years for the purpose of managing the deer population?”

The interpretive statement under it says the program would use “controlled bow and arrow hunting by professional bow hunters,” which it calls a technique approved by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It sums up both sides: supporters say deer management may reduce vehicle collisions, damage to plants and harm to local ecosystems, and opponents say lethal methods are “unnecessary or objectionable” and nonlethal alternatives should be used. It ends: “This public referendum is non-binding.”

The Mayor and Council approved the resolution asking the county clerk to put the question on the ballot at their July 7 meeting, according to a July 9 borough notice. The borough says the council is “seeking to ascertain the sentiment” of voters and “is not advocating for or against deer management.”

What would come after a yes

The borough’s Oct. 19 notice lists steps, based on information from the United Bowhunters of New Jersey, that it says would come before any hunt. The council would decide to go ahead based on an approved plan, and a contract would be signed. Residents would be asked whether they want their property included. Any borough land that could be hunted would be identified, along with places to stay away from.

According to that notice, the bowhunting group would pick qualified members who pass a proficiency test given by senior safety officers. The hunters would shoot only from elevated positions and would be told to take only antlerless deer at first. The notice says hunters “would bait the animals,” that homeowners who allow hunting on their land must approve the hunters, and that the group would hold property owners and the borough harmless from liability and carry insurance. The group’s own slides, posted by the borough, say it is self-insured with a $5 million liability policy.

Neither the ballot nor the borough notices Bergen TV reviewed on Oct. 23 (July 9, Aug. 27, Sept. 18 and Oct. 19) put a price on a cull for the borough. In slides from the borough’s Sept. 17 education session, Raritan Valley Community College professor Jay F. Kelly listed rough costs of $30 to $100 per deer for “management hunting” and $200 to $300 per deer for sharpshooters. The bowhunting group’s slides call its cull hunts “the most affordable and effective option.”

How many deer

A survey by Raritan Valley Community College’s Center for Environmental Studies, dated May 17, 2026, and posted on the borough’s site, counted 613 deer across 9.88 square miles of Franklin Lakes. That works out to 62 deer per square mile. The college flew thermal-camera drones at night across 12 northwest Bergen County towns from Dec. 22, 2025, to April 3, 2026, and counted 4,463 deer, an average of 59 per square mile. Upper Saddle River was highest at 89, and Glen Rock was lowest at 40.

The study calls about 10 deer per square mile “the optimal target” for biodiversity. It says winter counts are the year’s low point and that summer densities are likely 50% to 100% higher. Kelly’s slides put deer-vehicle collisions in New Jersey at 15,000 to 30,000 a year and vehicle damage claims at $111 million a year, citing State Farm, NJ.com and the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. The slides and borough notices Bergen TV reviewed do not give a count of deer crashes in Franklin Lakes itself.

The other side

Doris Lin of the Animal Protection League of New Jersey also presented at the Sept. 17 session, along with Brian Schumm, a senior biologist with New Jersey Fish & Wildlife. Lin’s slides call hunting “a failed experiment” and urge towns to “focus on managing conflict, not deer numbers.” They list nonlethal steps such as deer-resistant plants, reflectors, lighting, lower speeds, signs and wildlife crossings. They also cite a Clifton, Ohio, group that raised $95,000 over three years, sterilized 91% of adult female deer and lowered the herd by 19%.

NJ.com reported Friday that a resident’s online petition against the cull had gathered 280 signatures since Oct. 14, and that the Animal Protection League and Save New Jersey Deer have posted opposition on social media. NJ.com also quoted borough Business Administrator Greg Hart: “Deer have caused many vehicle accidents and damage to residents’ vegetation,” adding that “the mayor and council are not advocating for or against this referendum.”

Open questions

• How large a “yes” margin, if any, would lead the council to write a plan?
• What a cull would cost the borough, and who would pay.
• Which borough-owned properties, if any, would be hunted, and how many homeowners would sign up.
• Whether the council would also weigh the nonlethal options opponents have raised.

How to vote

Early in-person voting runs Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1, at Bergen County’s nine early voting sites. The closest to Franklin Lakes is the Wyckoff Public Library at 200 Woodland Ave. Vote-by-mail applications are due to the county clerk Oct. 27. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the borough.

The Sept. 17 session was recorded. The audio and all the presentations are linked in the borough’s notices below.

The ballot question is nonbinding. No deer cull has been approved in Franklin Lakes.

More Bergen TV coverage: Franklin Lakes ‘Flipping NJ’ investor pleads guilty to fraud, bribery; Glen Rock, N.J., council picks Jill Orlich as mayor; and Mahwah, N.J., data center ban won’t cover Crossroads site.

Sources

• Bergen County Clerk, official sample ballot, Franklin Lakes, Nov. 3, 2026 (PDF)
• Borough of Franklin Lakes, Sample Ballot and Deer Management Referendum Question and Election Information
• Borough notice, Oct. 19, 2026: Deer Management Referendum on November 3 Ballot
• Borough notice, July 9, 2026: council approves ballot resolution July 7
• Borough notice, Aug. 27, 2026: education session scheduled
• Raritan Valley Community College, deer surveys in northwest Bergen County, May 17, 2026 (PDF)
• Jay F. Kelly, Ph.D., Sept. 17, 2026 slides (PDF); Animal Protection League of New Jersey slides (PDF); United Bowhunters of New Jersey slides (PDF)
• NJ.com, Oct. 23, 2026 (petition and Hart quote)