Avon Lake 10 Year Deer Management Plan Approved By Committee

AVON LAKE, OH — Deer may be a pleasant sight to see when walking through the woods, but for the people of Avon Lake they have become a menace. In order to solve the nuisance, Avon Lake's Environmental Committee approved the Ohio Wildlife Division’s 10-year deer management program Wednesday.

The city has been suffering from problems associated with excessive deer populations over the years, such as overgrazing of natural resources, significant damage to farms and gardens and increased deer accident reports from the police department. Program documents also show an increase in deer populations from an estimated 15,000 in 1930 to over 750,000 in 2011.

The city’s solution over the past year has been to hire sharpshooters through the US Department of Agriculture, which have been successful. These hired hands have killed 85 deer since last March, as well as an extra 14 by archers on private property.

The plan calls for continuing to use these shooters over the next 10 years to keep numbers down. The city will also encourage citizens with continuous damage to their property to get permits through the city to kill deer on private property with archery equipment.

The plan must still be approved by the City Council, which meets next on April 25. If approved, the plan could give “open season” a whole new meaning for the next decade.

[Photo credit: Martin Svedén]