White deer, military mysteries at former Seneca Army Depot to open to tourists

Democrat and Chronicle

The wildlife and military mysteries locked inside the former Seneca Army Depot will be open for discovery once again starting in the fall.

An operating agreement between Seneca White Deer Inc. and Deer Haven Park LLC, the depot’s new owner, has been reached and a full-scale, year-round program of bus tours will resume starting in October, when a welcome center is also expected to open, SWD has announced.

Tours were last conducted in 2012 and all sold out.

Resumption of the tours is a major first step toward the creation of a permanent eco-tourism attraction at the depot, which was built on approximately 10,000 acres in 1941.

“The white deer are a real treasure and to make them accessible to the public is a dream come true,’’ SWD President Dennis Money said.

Former Seneca Army Depot is home to herd of rare white deer. Their fate was in peril until businessman Earl Martin purchased remaining 7,000 acres and entered partnership with nonprofit Seneca White Deer, Inc. Eco-tourism plans are now in full swing.

Surrounded by 24 miles of chain-link fence, the depot teems with wildlife, headlined by the world’s largest herd of white deer. While the deer have been described as “ghostly,’’ so is the existence of abandoned military installations that housed ordinance to fight four wars, including the Cold War.

Within the depot’s boundaries also lie a former Indian village and cemetery with the remains of Revolutionary War soldiers and the 1983 women’s encampment where the world watched thousands protest the purported housing of nuclear weapons.

The white deer were first spotted at the depot in 1949.

They are not albino, but rather a natural variation of brown-colored deer. They are "leucistic,'' meaning they lack pigmentation in the hair. Given protection from hunters and predators by the depot’s fencing, the white deer population has grown and survived for 75 years.

However, the animals' fate has been in peril ever since the Army decommissioned the depot in 2000 and announced plans that all personnel would leave by 2016.

With the Army’s lessening presence, wildlife management and maintenance of the protective fence all but stopped. An aerial survey conducted in February 2016 revealed that the white deer population had dwindled from 200 animals to around 75.

The depot was sold four months later to Earl Martin, owner of Seneca Iron Works, which makes equipment for the dairy industry. His successful $900,000 bid for the depot's remaining 7,000 acres included components for job creation but to also preserve the white deer.

White deer and fawn captured on a trail camera in the former Seneca Army Depot. Habitat improvement work over the past year by new depot land owner Earl Martin has had noticeable effect on white deer survival.

A year ago, Martin took immediate steps to “stop the bleeding,’’ as he called it, repairing broken fence and then improving nutritional habitat for the deer and other wildlife by planting food crops and selectively mowing grasses.

Numerous white fawns have been spotted the past two birthing seasons and one was captured on a trail camera recently.

“I believe the survival of the white deer will depend on the success of these tours,’’ Martin said. “It’s great to have Seneca White Deer on board for the tours. They have an excellent track record and a real commitment to the deer.”

SWD has fought for the white deer’s survival and the economic potential of a wildlife park in the Finger Lakes for 20 years.

“We’re extremely happy,’’ Money said. “Earl seems excited and is supportive of everything we’re trying to do. He’ll be paid money for our rights to be there but at the same time he’s spending a lot of money to enhance habitat for the deer, maintaining the fence, improving the roads and paying the taxes. He’s got a lot invested. We’ve come a long way in the last year and I’m very optimistic things will go forward positively.’’

Under their working agreement, SWD can conduct tours on the entire 7,000 acres with exclusive rights to about 3,000 acres in the north end of the depot lying in the town of Varick, Seneca Couty. This allows for the full experience of wildlife watching and learning about the military history contained in the depot, including the presence of 519 munitions “igloos’’ and dummy buildings erected to fool Soviet spy satellites.

“We’ve found that the military component to be just as important to people,’’ Money said.

Tours are envisioned for all four seasons and will include bikes and horse-drawn wagons. A starting date has not been established but when announced, people can sign up online through SWD’s website.

Earl Martin, of Deer Haven, LLC and Dennis Money, president of Seneca White Deer, Inc., have announced operational agreement that will open up the former Seneca Army Depot, home to herd of rare white deer and abandoned military installations, to the public starting in the fall of 2017.

Ground will break soon on the welcome center, to be located not far from a former guard house entrance off Route 96A. It will be a 30-by-50 building and include a museum, educational space and afood court. Local wines and craft beers will be available. SWD will be hiring staff and training volunteers in the coming months. Funds already raised over the years plus a new fundraising drive will be used to finance the project.

Ideas for the eco-park are endless, Money said, including the potential to offer overnight stays in a munitions igloo to be called “Bed and Bunker.’’

“The important thing is that we’re on the ground and we’ve accomplished our mission,’’ Money said. “Earl and Seneca County are behind us and we feel very confident that we can make this into a positive economic and environmental benefit to the Finger Lakes.’’

Martin is still addressing assessment issues regarding his purchase of the depot but is moving ahead as planned for the commercial development of the depot’s south end. A $13 million expansion of his company is expected to add 200 jobs.

LROTH@Gannett.com