“You can reduce the tick population over time,” Sonja Christensen, deer and moose project leader for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, told a gathering of about 75 people at the Trailside Museum. “It’s up to the town. We are not mandating what you should do.”

Christensen, a biologist, said it would be ideal to reduce the number of deer in the area from about 25 per square mile to fewer than 10.

Barbara Roth-Schechter, the health board chairwoman in Dover, told residents that the bow-hunting program last year in her community was successful in reducing the number of deer and the chances of an outbreak of Lyme disease.

“We have to do something about Lyme disease, and controlling deer population is part of this effort,” Roth-Schechter said.

She said her town allowed archers to hunt deer on several town-owned parcels and private properties with the permission of homeowners.

Denise Swenson, who organized the meeting, said she was alarmed to find out in an informational survey she took that there were 18 cases of Lyme disease among 30 households in her neighborhood.

“It’s extraordinary the number of people we have,” said Swenson, who along with her husband has twice been diagnosed with the debilitating ailment.

Christensen said there is no simple solution for getting rid of ticks, which have a two-year life cycle.

“There is a lot of forest and deer habitat out there,” she said.

Christensen said there is a deer management program in place in Massachusetts. Hunting season is from mid October to the end of December.

Communities, however, can restrict deer hunting through local bylaws, she said.

Milton Selectmen Chairwoman Marion McEttrick said the state Department of Conservation and Recreation would play a major role in reducing the deer population in the area since the agency controls the 750-acre Neponset River Reservation and the 7,000-acre Blue Hill Reservation. Deer hunting is banned on those reservations.

Dennis Tatz may be reached at dtatz@ledger.com.