HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc5 6 08deerharvest 1
City Council Date: 5/06/08 CONSENT Item: Motion ITEM: Consider approving a request from Washington County Parks Division to conduct a deer harvest in Lake Elmo Park Reserve and in Sunfish Lake Park in November of 2008. REQUESTED BY: Peter Mott, Park Manager Washington County Parks SUBMITTED BY: Carol Kriegler, Project Assistant REVIEWED BY: Parks Commission Susan Hoyt, City Administrator Mike Bouthliet, Park Superintendent _______________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED: The city council is being asked to approve a deer harvest in Lake Elmo Park Reserve and in Sunfish Lake Park in November 2008 for 100 deer to reduce the deer population to 15 to 25 deer per square mile. This has been a 15 year on-going partnership between the county and the city to control this population. The proposed gun hunt will be conducted by lottery. The County is requesting approval to conduct a deer harvest, with assistance of the DNR, in the two parks over two weekends in November (November 8-9, and 15 & 16). The harvest will be conducted by a shotgun with hunters being selected by random drawing. A number of precautions will be in place to ensure that potential park visitors will not enter the parks during the hunt, including extensive signing of park entrances and boundaries. The Parks Commission reviewed the proposal and discussed it with park representatives and approved the deer harvest. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Deer populations have been growing steadily in Washington County and throughout the Metropolitan area for the last 30 years. In order to keep deer populations in balance with available habitat, collective efforts between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources,
metropolitan cities, park agencies, sportsmen's organizations, and private citizens have been developed and implemented. The Washington County Parks Division, with assistance from the MN DNR, recommends the use of a “special hunt” to manage deer populations within the Lake Elmo Park Reserve and adjacent Sunfish Lake Park. MN DNR wildlife managers estimate that upwards of 200 deer are in the
park areas based on a 2008 aerial count of 153 and the assumption that 30% of the actual deer population is missed through aerial surveys. A population of this size causes significant damage to trees and shrubs in the parks due to browsing and also poses a traffic hazard as deer cross nearby highways. A controlled hunt in the parks should remove significant numbers of deer from
the parks, while also dispersing deer into areas where they may be harvested by other hunters, thereby increasing the overall effectiveness of the harvest.
The goal of the harvest is to reduce the deer herd to 15-25 deer per square mile in the parks. The Lake Elmo Parks Commission requested a cap of deer harvested, and the County has proposed that no more than 100 deer will be harvested between the two parks.
The Parks Commission voted unanimously in support of approving the proposed deer harvest.
2
RECOMMENDATION Approve the Request from Washington County to conduct a deer harvest in Sunfish Lake Park on November 8 & 9 and 15 & 16. MOTION FOR CONSIDERATION
Move to approve the request from Washington County Parks in conjunction with DNR to conduct a deer harvest in Sunfish Lake Park on November 8 and 9 and November 15 and 16. ATTACHMENTS 1 Washington County Parks Division, 2008 Proposed Shotgun Deer Management Plan 2 Washington County Parks Division, Lake Elmo Park Reserve Deer Harvest