Land Bank Hires Former Environmental Police Captain Dean Belanger As Venison Processing Manager

The Nantucket Land Bank on Monday announced the hiring of former Massachusetts Environmental Police Captain Dean Belanger as venison processing manager for its new deer donation program based out of a recently purchased food security hub on Boynton Lane.

“Mr. Belanger brings a wealth of experience and community connections to this role,” the Land Bank wrote in a press release.

Efforts to provide islanders in need with fresh venison have advanced quickly in recent months, with the Land Bank at the helm. Less than a month ago, the Land Bank announced the collaborative purchase with Nourish Nantucket of the Boynton Lane property, which will include a commercial facility for processing donated deer meat, as well as a permanent home for the Nantucket Food Pantry. Now, the Land Bank has a manager for the facility.

The Land Bank will accept and process venison through MassWildlife’s Hunters Share the Harvest program, which allows hunters to donate deer to approved processors for donation to those in need. Some activists have suggested that, once fully implemented, the program could create tens of thousands of meals each year, though the Land Bank has cautioned that its primary goal for the first season is not to maximize meals, but to build a foundation that can support the program for years to come.

“Establishing a venison processing facility on Nantucket ensures MassWildlife’s Hunters Share the Harvest program can thrive locally, aligning our shared mission of reducing the size of the deer herd and feeding the community,” the Land Bank stated in its announcement on Monday.

Belanger spent 28 years working in natural resources and wildlife law enforcement, including a stint as Nantucket’s environmental police officer from 2004-2009, before his retirement from the MEP this September.

The Land Bank is currently looking to hire seasonal staff to work as processors in the facility under Belanger’s supervision, on a part-time or on-call basis. The island is already in the midst of Massachusetts’ annual deer hunting season, meaning the facility can begin processing deer as soon as it is staffed and operational.

“Belanger and the Nantucket Land Bank are now working at full speed to equip the processing facility to open for whole-deer donation during this 2025 hunting season,” the Land Bank's press release stated. “With the growing deer population and heightened local concern, creating a local processing site will help manage herd size while supporting food distribution for residents in need. The Land Bank will inform the hunting community and public when the facility is open and ready to accept deer donations. We thank the community for their interest, excitement, and patience while we set processes in motion that will benefit the whole community.”

The Land Bank also confirmed in its press release that it will only be accepting whole deer donations this year, meaning hunters cannot donate part of a deer and receive the rest back.

Hunters who donate whole deer to Hunters Share the Harvest will receive a free antlerless deer tag from MassWildlife to incentivize additional hunting and reduce deer overpopulation.

Past efforts to process deer for the program have been limited by the lack of a dedicated commercial facility and staff. The Land Bank’s efforts could change that.

The butchery concept has recently been pushed by the ACK Deer Management Project, which has lobbied, ultimately successfully, for a commercial venison processing facility on Nantucket.