BOUNTIFUL -- The deer population in this city will be reduced between now and the end of the year.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the city formally entered into a memorandum of understanding Tuesday night to reduce the population of deer within the city limits by Dec. 31.
Costs for the effort will be shared equally between the city and state agency.
The accord puts the city council on record as declaring the overpopulation of deer within city limits as a public problem.
A DWR spokesman estimated the population of deer as being about 500 within the city limits, while estimates from city officials suggest it is as high as 3,000.
This will be the first active effort by the city and state to reduce the deer population within the city since 1995-96, said City Manager Tom Hardy.
Hardy said the program is intended to manage the deer population, not wipe it out.
"We are not proposing to eliminate deer within the city limits of Bountiful," Hardy said.
He called the agreement a modest proposal that takes a humane approach to management of the deer issue, taking into consideration people, property and deer.
The agreement is for one year, but can be extended by mutual agreement of the two parties.
The memorandum was approved by a 3-0 vote.
As part of the agreement, the city and state will each provide one individual for one day every two weeks through December to work to "lethally remove nuisance deer" within city limits.
Hardy said the deer will be culled by a marksman from the DWR using a "suppressed weapon," with a policeman accompanying him, twice a month through the end of the year.
The city is required to provide a map and contact list of cooperating landowners through a landowner registration program that identifies people willing to allow access to their property for deer removal.
The memorandum also ensures that officials will inspect registered private properties before any culling effort to address potential public safety concerns.
Hardy said people who provide access to the deer will have to sign a form providing permission.
He stressed that the program is intended to safely cull the deer as quietly and efficiently as possible.
"We won't go on property without permission, and our method won't sound like World War III," Hardy said.
Meat from deer killed will be donated to feed the hungry and homeless through the local chapter of Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry.
Kelly Bingham, program coordinator for FHFH, said the chapter will pick up costs of processing the meat.
Early indications are that the culling effort has received mixed reviews.
A city questionnaire sent out in November asked residents if they wanted to take steps to control the population, and then asked about the viability of possible options such as hiring a sharpshooter, using archers or trapping and relocating the deer.
Hardy said approximately 3,600 responses were received, with 60 percent of those responding asking the city to leave the deer alone.
That same survey showed people were even less supportive of the idea of letting a marksman access their property in an attempt to curb the population.
A subsequent public hearing on the issue in January showed people were split as to how to handle the issue.
DWR numbers show that deer calls within the city have slowly grown since 2006, with a spike of 224 calls in 2008 as a result of harsh winter conditions.
Those same DWR numbers show that 74 deer were killed in the city last year, with a spike of 94 deer fatalities in 2008.
This year, the DWR reports 42 deer fatalities in the city from January through July.
Rutnbuck
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the city formally entered into a memorandum of understanding Tuesday night to reduce the population of deer within the city limits by Dec. 31.
Costs for the effort will be shared equally between the city and state agency.
The accord puts the city council on record as declaring the overpopulation of deer within city limits as a public problem.
A DWR spokesman estimated the population of deer as being about 500 within the city limits, while estimates from city officials suggest it is as high as 3,000.
This will be the first active effort by the city and state to reduce the deer population within the city since 1995-96, said City Manager Tom Hardy.
Hardy said the program is intended to manage the deer population, not wipe it out.
"We are not proposing to eliminate deer within the city limits of Bountiful," Hardy said.
He called the agreement a modest proposal that takes a humane approach to management of the deer issue, taking into consideration people, property and deer.
The agreement is for one year, but can be extended by mutual agreement of the two parties.
The memorandum was approved by a 3-0 vote.
As part of the agreement, the city and state will each provide one individual for one day every two weeks through December to work to "lethally remove nuisance deer" within city limits.
Hardy said the deer will be culled by a marksman from the DWR using a "suppressed weapon," with a policeman accompanying him, twice a month through the end of the year.
The city is required to provide a map and contact list of cooperating landowners through a landowner registration program that identifies people willing to allow access to their property for deer removal.
The memorandum also ensures that officials will inspect registered private properties before any culling effort to address potential public safety concerns.
Hardy said people who provide access to the deer will have to sign a form providing permission.
He stressed that the program is intended to safely cull the deer as quietly and efficiently as possible.
"We won't go on property without permission, and our method won't sound like World War III," Hardy said.
Meat from deer killed will be donated to feed the hungry and homeless through the local chapter of Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry.
Kelly Bingham, program coordinator for FHFH, said the chapter will pick up costs of processing the meat.
Early indications are that the culling effort has received mixed reviews.
A city questionnaire sent out in November asked residents if they wanted to take steps to control the population, and then asked about the viability of possible options such as hiring a sharpshooter, using archers or trapping and relocating the deer.
Hardy said approximately 3,600 responses were received, with 60 percent of those responding asking the city to leave the deer alone.
That same survey showed people were even less supportive of the idea of letting a marksman access their property in an attempt to curb the population.
A subsequent public hearing on the issue in January showed people were split as to how to handle the issue.
DWR numbers show that deer calls within the city have slowly grown since 2006, with a spike of 224 calls in 2008 as a result of harsh winter conditions.
Those same DWR numbers show that 74 deer were killed in the city last year, with a spike of 94 deer fatalities in 2008.
This year, the DWR reports 42 deer fatalities in the city from January through July.
Rutnbuck
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