The Farmington Hills City Council will hold a special meeting Monday, March 24, to hear from experts about the area’s deer overpopulation.
The community is invited to the meeting at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 31555 W. 11 Mile Road.
Experts from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, University of Michigan and city staff will give a presentation that will include data on car-deer crashes, environmental impacts of deer overpopulation and best practices and costs for managing urban deer populations.
The presentation will also review success stories from other Michigan communities and organizations that are working to manage deer overpopulation, as well as share a draft resolution for action across the region, according to a release from the city.
The community is invited to attend, but there will not be an opportunity for public comment, the release said. The council will not take any action on deer overpopulation at the meeting.
In an effort to control the deer population, the council enacted a feeding ban in 2017. Mayor Theresa Rich, who was a councilwoman at the time, said last year that, “We crossed our fingers and hoped it would work. It didn’t.”
She said last year that few citations had been issued.
An aerial survey of Farmington and Farmington Hills in February 2021 found 729 deer, according to a presentation to the council at the time. That was almost double the 370 deer counted in March 2019.
Oakland County has ranked first or second among Michigan’s 83 counties for the number of car-deer crashes from 2021-2023, according to the Michigan State Police. Totals are not available for 2024.
Oakland recorded 2,125 such crashes last year, second only to Kent County in west Michigan, which had 2,171.
In 2021, Oakland topped all Michigan counties, recording 1,853 incidents, MSP said.
Oakland County communities seeking regional solution to deer overpopulation
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