07-24-2013 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL JULY 24, 2013 Administrator also indicated that if a large number of deer are taken in the first hunting weekend, the City has the right to call off additional hunts. Blesener noted that the materials submitted by Rocky Waite from the MN DNR agree with staffs research that woodlands, wetlands, and croplands in the Metro Area creates deer habitat capable of sustaining breeding populations of 20 or more deer per square mile. The City Administrator pointed out that these same numbers were indicated in previous presentations made by John Moriarity who at the time was with Ramsey County Parks. Blesener indicated that based on this information it is his opinion that a deer population of 20 to 25 deer was sustainable for Little Canada. Rocky Waite disputed the interpretation of the MN DNR document and felt that it says that 20 deer are sustainable per square mile of urban area. The Council disagreed with this interpretation and stated that the City's position is that 20 deer are sustainable per square mile of natural habitat factoring out developed areas, roads, sidewalks, etc. There was also discussion about City staffs citation of deer management information from other states, with the City Administrator noting that these citations were relative to white- tailed deer, which is the species that Little Canada has been dealing with. Waite felt that there were sub - species involved, and that the information utilized from other states was not relevant. Waite took issue with the winter deer count information noting that during the winter deer yard up into herds. Waite asked what the summer deer count is. It was pointed out that counts must be done during the winter when the leaves are off the trees and there is snow on the ground. Waite stated that he took issue with hunting within the St. John's Cemetery, and did not feel it proper to do so. He also noted that there were no deer counted on the west side of the freeway, and suggested that the City implement the same deer control plan that has been in place on the west side of the freeway to the east side of the freeway. Blesener asked Boss if she has noticed any deer on the west side of the freeway. Boss replied that she saw some in the spring, but none recently. The Administrator indicated that the City has received requests for deer control on the west side of the freeway. Again, Waite noted that there were no deer counted on the west side of the freeway during the 2013 aerial survey. The Administrator noted that there are two primary methods of deer control, one being bowhunting and the other traffic accidents. He noted that the County's aerial deer counts of the northeast part of the City have shown 18 deer in Little Canada in 2000, 81 deer in 2010, 69 deer in 2011, 11