“The deer are so hungry they are migrating into city neighborhoods where they come into contact with cars and people. Management is necessary.”
Using a 20 animals per square mile DNR formula Grand Haven Forest Management Subcommittee member Jean Madden says they city’s 200 acres of forest can only support a half dozen deer.
“The biological carrying capacity for deer in grand haven is between 6 and 7”
Which council member Karen Lowe thinks is a small number.
“I am supportive of a much more aggressive management of that population, I just don’t know if I’ve totally bought into the target of 6 to 7 deer.”
And Forest Management Subcommittee member Jim Mathews agrees reducing the deer to a half dozen may be unrealistic.
“We don’t need to get to 6 or 7. We have to come up with a number. How much will the city tolerate.”
The hungry deer are wiping out native plant species, carrying ticks that cause Lyme Disease and colliding with cars. The subcommittee recommends using a drone to count the deer and hiring professionals to regularly harvest the herd.
“There are real threats to human health.”
