July 20, 2017 – West Bend, WI – There will be a recommendation before the West Bend Common Council on Monday concerning the Deer Management Assistance Program.
During a meeting in November 2016 the Deer Management Assistant Program reviewed whether to issue special permits to allow bow hunting to trim the deer herd in local parks as neighbors asked city officials to help manage the deer in the city.
According to Park and Rec director Craig Hoeppner the Park and Rec staff did an old-fashioned deer drive and the count was 28 deer at Lac Lawrann, Ridge Run Park had 41 deer, Regner had 9 and Silverbrook Parkway had 18.
In March, Lac Lawrann voted unanimously that it be a test and sample site for a controlled hunt.
The Park & Recreation Commission voted unanimously at its June 29 meeting to forward the following recommendations to the Common Council regarding deer management in city parks.
Primary recommendation is to take no action at this time, for the following reasons: Public Safety, costs to the City of West Bend, DNR has stated this is not a big problem overall and recent hunts in similar communities have had limited success and effectiveness.
Secondary recommendation, if the Common Council feels there is a deer problem in West Bend that needs to be addressed, it is strongly recommended to start with a test pilot program at Lac Lawrann Conservancy only. The test would be done in the winter, during weekdays and under controlled circumstances.
Monday’s Common Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.
On a side note: What option do you think city officials should pursue?
I visit many of the parks, in our area, for personal recreation, parties, etc. It is rare that I see any deer while in these parks.
One consideration should be addressed: Humans are continuing to destroy the animals’ “natural” habitat. It would seem that we should be finding ways for these animals to live, and flourish naturally. They, many times, have ways of controlling their own population without human interference.
Another consideration: There may be a possibility that a few of the people who would get involved in the possible proposed program could abuse it to the extent that it could cause personal injury to others, irreparable damage to the parks and possible adjacent properties, and costs to the city and county that wouldn’t normally be accounted for. It is not clear to me what “controlled circumstances” in regard to this means. However, we can look at what is often done in other regulated recreational activities and locations to observe how even these activities can become problematic.
My personal preference is the “Primary Recommendation.”