Overpopulated deer along the lakeshore are degrading coastal sand dunes as they eat through understory plants.
“We have deer coming from further inland. We're surrounded by a lot of agriculture that does provide a food source for deer. So, when those deer come to our shore parks, they just don't have anywhere further to go. It really ends up impacting those parks.”
Nealy Molhoek is Coordinator of Natural Resources Management for Ottawa County Parks and Recreation, which has more than 4,500 acres of property open to hunting, some requiring special permits through the DNR’s Deer Management Assistance Program.
“We're trying to put back together a broken system. The deer population is artificially inflated. There shouldn't be this much here, they don't have national predators here, which they had in the past.”
Molhoek says managed hunt parks show less habitat damage and have fewer neighbor complaints than unmanaged ones.
“We're dealing with our deer problem, but we're also providing recreation to residents of Ottawa County. It’s parks and recreation,’ so we feel like it's a great way to be able to recreate in the parks, as there's not as much public land down here as there is up north.
It's kind of cool for them to be able to come down here in these parks that they know and love. And do us the service at the same time.”
Fifty special DNR permits are available.
Properties requiring a special permit for hunting include:
- Crockery Creek Natural Area
- Upper Macatawa Natural Area
- Stearns Creek South
- Stearns Creek North
- North Ottawa Dunes/Ottawa Sands
Hunters can apply online through the Ottawa County website through August.
Hunt start dates vary by park.
General hunting regulations, property maps, and lottery application details are available at miOttawa.org/hunting.
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