The City Manager of Ann Arbor Has Committed to Presenting a Deer Management Plan by The

Dear ,

The City Manager of Ann Arbor has committed to presenting a deer management plan by the end of this month. Since you are a (member of) (candidate for) (Ann Arbor City Council) (The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners), Washtenaw Citizens for Ecological Balance (WC4EB) would like to draw your attention to the problem of deer overpopulation in our city and county. Particularly in Ann Arbor, this is an emotional issue, and WC4EB offers scientific rationale for deer management through research data available on our website.

White-tailed deer are overabundant because they are the most fertile large mammal on the continent, and we eliminated their natural predators long ago. Our suburban and ex-urban dwellings and lots, with our landscaped trees, shrubs, and flowers, provide a rich diet and natural cover. As a result, deer are causing significant damage not just to yards and gardens but also our natural environments—to woods and forests, parks and natural areas. Many people have curtailed their gardening and landscaping activities due to the deer.

A deer’s typical diet of 3,000 pounds of food per year consumes a lot of shrubs (cover for nesting and migrating birds) and flowers (for breeding and feeding butterflies and insects) – disturbing the entire food chain. Native plants, such as trillium, are disappearing from our woodlands, being replaced by invasive species carried in by deer. In addition to these ecological issues, this out-of-balance deer population causes accidents on our roads and has a role in the breeding cycle of the ticks that cause the serious health threat of Lyme disease.

What triggered the request for a deer management proposal was the anger and frustration of constituents who are looking fully at the ecological issues we are facing, not just destruction of our property.

Taking responsible measures to manage the deer population in our city and region supports nature, the environment, and public health. Our web site has links to resources that provide more details about the deer problem and potential solutions. There are scientific studies about the problem and information about how other cities and counties have dealt with the unnatural proliferation of deer.

We hope that the City Administrator presents a plan that will address the over-abundance of deer now, with concrete steps to reduce the population that are effective and affordable. What we don't need is more study, more herd counting, or more delay to wait for new methods to be tested. We expect the plan that Ann Arbor’s City Administrator presents will be coordinated with the county and with the relevant state and federal agencies, and that together we can solve this problem.

WC4EB are happy to talk to you further about this important issue. Please contact them at:

Basic Facts:

The deer population has an exponential growth curve.

Control options are:

-Immuno-contraception – Has 5 years left in a clinical trial to prove efficacyin a free-moving population. Drug is EPA controlled. Not approved in MI. Meat from treated animals is not fit for human consumption. Cost: $1000+ per deer

-Trapping and release – High percentage of fatalities and injuries due to captivity stress; and where do you release them?

-Culling – Use of controlled hunting to reduce population. Nearby, Jackson, MI is currently culling its deer. Meat can be donated to food pantries.

-Fencing – 10 foot fencing, which is required to be effective, is banned in Ann Arbor.

Respectfully,

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