Title
Resolution on Deer Management to Resume Funding for Vegetation Studies and Consider Resuming Funding for Regular Population Management
Body
Whereas, On August 17, 2015, City Council approved a resolution to Establish a Deer Management Program within the City of Ann Arbor for four years, implementing a lethal cull;
Whereas, The City contracted with White Buffalo to conduct the Deer Management Program;
Whereas, This program aimed to decrease the deer population in Ann Arbor in order to reduce deer-human negative interactions and support biological diversity in natural areas by not placing one species above another;
Whereas, Subsequently the City of Ann Arbor was granted a research permit from the Michigan Department of National Resources (MDNR) to incorporate sharpshooting and surgical sterilization into deer management operations through March 31, 2020;
Whereas, On December 13, 2018, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a bill that prohibits the MDNR from issuing deer sterilization permits until 2022;
Whereas, Surgical sterilization is a crucial tool for deer management in Ann Arbor because many deer woodland habitats lie in close proximity to densely developed neighborhoods, particularly in Wards 1 & 2;
Whereas, City Council approved funding in the FY20 and FY21 budget to continue deer management program operations;
Whereas, On November 18, 2019, City Council authorized a one-year extension of the Deer Management Program to complete the term of the MDNR research permit;
Whereas, Deer management correlates with a decrease in Deer Vehicle Crashes, which peaked at 90 (2.5%) in 2015 and had decreased to 50 (1.5%) by 2019;
Whereas, Deer management also correlates with a decline in deer browsing on red oak seedlings, although vegetation studies suggest that deer populations remain high enough to "potentially reduce forest regeneration and trillium populations, and to significantly decrease wildflowers that provide important resources for pollin...
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