11/05/2012 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • City of Lino Lakes Whitetail Deer Management Review October, 2012 Introduction: This whitetail deer management review was conducted on behalf of the City of Lino Lakes and is intended to help determine whether or not increased deer management strategies of the current whitetail deer population are necessary and /or feasible in Lino Lakes. With public safety in mind, management of high deer populations can help prevent an increase in vehicle /deer collisions. Additionally, high deer populations can adversely affect vegetation in landscaped yards, croplands and natural areas. For this review, Lino Lakes Police Department vehicle v. deer collision statistics were analyzed, existing deer population estimates from around the area were acquired, deer management strategies used by Anoka and Ramsey County Parks Departments were reviewed and considerations for those strategies relative to their implementation in the City of Lino Lakes were reviewed. Population Analysis: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has divided the entire State into deer hunting zones. Each deer hunting zone has a numeric identifier assigned to it which is used by both the DNR and hunters in establishing hunting restrictions throughout the state. Restrictions from one hunting zone to the next can vary for a variety of reasons. The hunting zone numbers are also used for tracking deer registration and research/data development. Geographically, most of the City of Lino Lakes is included in DNR zone 601 (All property south of County Rd. 14). Currently, the DNR does not count or estimate the whitetail deer population in zone 601 which, consequently, makes it difficult to compare our population to that of neighboring communities. The northern approximately 1/3 of Lino Lakes (north of County Rd. 14) is considered hunting zone 236. For 2012, the DNR estimated an average of 14 -18 deer per square mile in zone 236. MN DNR Forest Wildlife Habitat Team Supervisor, Bryan Lueth, explained that the DNR doesn't manage Deer Permit Area 601 the same as the rest of the State because they cannot use traditional hunting management strategies (ie: firearm hunting) to any degree to manage that population due to the various weapons discharge ordinances. However, he explained that many local governments within zone 601 continue to manage their own deer populations, such as North Oaks and Ramsey County Parks. The DNR has a policy which essentially puts some ownership of any existing deer problem on any "local government unit which precludes hunting through weapons discharge or other ordinances ". In our case, Lino Lakes ordinance limits deer hunting to archery only. Therefore, the DNR puts the "responsibility for deer population management substantially on the [City of Lino Lakes]" (Urban Deer Population Control Policy, MN