ONONDAGA, N.Y. (AP) — A neighborhood near Syracuse is calling in sharpshooters to reduce the deer population.

The Onondaga County legislature has approved a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to bait and shoot deer on about 30 properties where owners have given permission.

Residents of the Winkworth neighborhood in the town of Onondaga have modeled their deer management program after similar efforts in the central New York villages of Fayetteville and Hamilton.

Fayetteville is using USDA sharpshooters to cull deer for the second year in a row. Last year, the shooters killed 89 deer there. Before that, Fayetteville estimated its deer population at 110 to 120 per square mile.

The Winkworth neighborhood has an estimated 80 deer per square mile.

The USDA sharpshooters can hunt through March 31.

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