After more than a year looking for solutions to Westport and Dartmouth’s deer overpopulation problem, one of the founders of a group formed to address the issue said this week that while there have been some successes, there is a long way to go before balance is restored in the local ecosystem:

“We’re not making a dent,” Our Herd’s Amy Thurber said.

The group, which seeks to work with farmers, hunters, land owners and the state to help develop effective strategies to control the deer population in these towns, will meet at the Westport Grange next Thursday, May 30, to give an update on progress to date.

Over-population is clearly an issue here.

While state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists say a healthy forest can support between six and 18 deer per square mile, the numbers are much higher here — a study at the the Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary counted 56 per square mile. As a result, farmers are losing cash crops, homeowners valuable gardens, and accidents between deer and cars are at an all time high.

Getting to the heart of the issue has taken time, Thurber said, but has not yet yielded lasting results. While speaking with state officials about loosening hunting regulations that would allow more of the deer population to be culled, Thurber said Our Herd is also focusing on “alternative” ways to make an impact, including fencing and other partial solutions.

“Fencing is really huge,” she said. “So things like that, excluding deer from plantings, things that can empower people, are important.”

Strategies also include repellants, the sowing of native and non-native plants resistant to deer, and even psychology — how to outsmart them.

Thurber and other members of Our Herd have also appeared before state boards and talked to legislators about the issue. While the state has guidelines and regulations for keeping populations in check, she said regs are difficult to navigate in some cases, and in the end, some make it difficult to have a significant impact. For instance, she said, the shotgun hunting season is only 12 days long, running in early December each year, and hunting is not allowed on Sundays.

“Something as simple as expanding the season to Sundays would double the chance for (some) hunters to get deer,” she said, as many can only get on weekends and currently are limited to just one day a week.

She said talks with the state have not been fruitless, and Rep. Paul Schmid in particular has been “very supportive” of Our Herd’s goals. In meetings with the state, she said, “we tried to make it very evident that we support what they are doing but hope to see some changes.”

At the May 30 meeting, Thurber will speak on ways to prevent deer damage in yards, gardens, farmlands and wooded lots. There will also be updates from last year’s hunting season, and Our Herd will discuss numbers and their implications.

Information and literature from Mass Fisheries and Wildlife will also be distributed, and Thurber hopes the meeting will also give those affected a way to connect and work together.

“It’s a really serious issue and yet, there are so many roadblocks in front of us,” she said. “They’re not enemy number one; they’re a part of our natural habitat. But they’re out of balance.”

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Westport Grange, 931 Main Road. It is free to attend.