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• • • DNR, Feb. 2007). If requested, the DNR will assist the City of Lino Lakes in developing population management plans within their restrictions (see DNR policy). The DNR prohibits any type of trapping and relocating of deer. Additionally, the DNR had no deer complaints from residents or farmers on file in Lino Lakes. In checking with Ramsey County Parks, I spoke with Natural Resources Manager, John Moriarty. Moriarty explained their deer counting tactics as well as their herd management strategies. Ramsey County utilizes an aircraft to count deer in specific publicly owned properties /parcels throughout their county. Based on herd numbers, Moriarty and his staff estimate safe and sustainable herd numbers for each parcel and then set target harvest numbers for each piece of property. Ramsey County utilizes an archery hunting organization called Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB) to selectively harvest target numbers of deer from their designated publicly owned properties. Moriarty said MBRB has worked very well for their needs. Unlike Lino Lakes, Ramsey County does not allow deer hunting by the general public on private or public property. Within ordinance restrictions, Lino Lakes allows archery deer hunting throughout most of the city which aids in deer population management. In attempting to gather deer harvest numbers by hunters from the DNR, I found the DNR does not track the number of hunter harvested deer registered by city (ie: deer harvested in Lino Lakes), rather, they track deer registrations by the zone number only. Within the City of Lino Lakes, the Anoka County Parks Department manages and conducts their own archery whitetail deer hunts in the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park. Each year, Anoka County Park staff conducts an aerial deer population survey. Anoka County also utilizes an aircraft for their deer population surveys. In March, the Anoka County Parks Department contracts an aircraft to fly a staff member over the various parks counting the number of deer seen in each park. Parks staff members then estimate the number of deer per square mile of park land. The March 2012 aerial survey of a four square mile area indicated an estimated deer population of 27.5 deer per square mile (110 deer counted). Anoka County Parks Natural Resource Specialist, Tim Sevcik, said their controlled archery hunts have been successful in reaching their target deer population goals. Annually, Anoka County Parks issue 75 archery permits to qualified hunters who are encouraged to take as many deer as the DNR will allow permits for. In 2011, the aerial deer count was 181 deer. During the fall hunt, 2011, hunters successfully harvested 43 deer. Assumptions: The data used in this review specific to Lino Lakes was vehicle v. deer collision reports (See collision map). Though these collision numbers and locations don't necessarily mean there's a higher than safe /sustainable deer population, it does help identify the areas of highest travel for deer throughout the City. For the sake of this review, it can only be assumed that a higher concentration of vehicle v. deer collisions in a specific location