(WXYZ) — Up through November 11, leaders in several Oakland County communities are asking for the public's input; about deer.
This time of year in Michigan it's hard to miss them. But increasingly in Oakland County, deer have created somewhat of a concern for local leaders.
From high numbers of car crashes to concerns over interactions with pets, and destroyed backyard gardens — leaders like assistant city manager for Farmington Hills Joe Valentine feel this problem needs to be address from multiple fronts.
"The issue been there for a while, close to a decade or longer in several communities in the area and everybody’s been struggling with how to address the issue," he said. "We concurred that we need to establish a coalition to look at really how to address this on a regional basis, because it’s really a regional issue.”
Enter the Oakland County Community Deer Coalition, a group formed less than a year ago. This group, comprised of different cities and townships in the county, allows communities to work together to find a fix.
Step one in this approach, which the DNR told Action News is unique, is asking residents to complete a short online survey.
The DNR's deer, elk, and moose specialist said getting multiple communities at the table is essential to addressing this problem in the right way.
The survey takes about two minutes and asks how often one sees deer and if there are any concerns.
“Toddy we saw six," Ana Lawrence said while walking in Heritage Park. "There have been times when we’ve been here when we’ve seen many more. Twelve, fifteen.”
Lawrence loves seeing the deer and has even developed a protective relationship to the ones in her backyard. But even she said it's been a pain for her garden
“They like to eat our plants,” Lawrence said.
And her adult kids and grandchild have had to deal with deer on the roads.
“They’ve all been hit by deer, or deer have run into their cars. My grandson has had a deer hit his car," she said.
You expect to see deer all over places like Heritage Park, but anecdotally, people tell us they're seeing them in more populated areas.
Archery season for deer in Michigan starts Oct. 1., but the issue of overpopulation won’t be solved in a single season.
A few years back the season was extended for the tri-county area of Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland to last through Jan. 31 (rest of the state runs through Jan. 1). However the DNR said the extended season hasn't put much of a dent in this problem.
“The deer don’t stay within the boundaries of the communities,” Valentine said.
That means one community can’t solve this alone, which is the with the help of SEMCOG the coalition is hoping to move the dial by working together.
"Oakland county Michigan has had the highest among car-deer crashes, consecutively for the last several years,” Valentine said, pointing out that this is a safety issue.
Too many deer also adds to concerns over Lyme disease, but killing more deer isn't the answer for all.
“Not everybody is in favor of killing deer," West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Steve Kaplan said. "It might be considered inhumane by much of the population."
Other approaches like repellents and fencing have proven ineffective, Valentine said. And private sharpshooting is not only controversial, but it's expensive.
Kaplan too is asking his residents to fill out the survey, as are several Oakland County leaders.
Once the coalition hears from people about their biggest concerns, they will start the hefty task of finding a solution that works for multiple communities.
To fill out the survey, click here.
