Program Documents
Planning and Permitting
Educational and Outreach Materials
Maps
Program and Research Results
2019 Program Completed Safely
On Monday, January 21, 2019 the City of Ann Arbor reopened all parks
and nature areas as a result of safely completing the 2019 deer management
program, including culling and sterilization activities, which were undertaken
via a special research permit issued by the MDNR.
Program activities
included:
Sterilization (non-lethal)
— From Nov. 25-28, 2018, White Buffalo sterilized six female deer
from two zones in Wards 1 and 2. All sterilized female deer were
fitted with numbered ear tags, and one mature doe in each group was radio
collared to facilitate future program efforts. Success within these areas
is achieved by the capture and sterilization of more than 95% of female
deer identified in the target zones. To date, White Buffalo has sterilized
78 female deer in these zones. The permit allowed for up to 80 to be
sterilized.
Lethal — From Jan. 2 to 20, White Buffalo sharpshooters lethally removed 112 deer from
designated parks and nature areas, University of Michigan and Concordia
properties and city-selected private parcels with owner consent. All
culling operations were completed safely.
The city continues
to invest in the collection of data to monitor the impacts of deer management
efforts and to provide accurate information for public policy discussion on
local deer management activities. Data collection includes:
These data points will assist staff in completing a
final deer management 2019 summary report which is estimated to be completed by
July.
Background
On Nov. 8, City Council approved a resolution to contract with White Buffalo, Inc. for combined surgical sterilization and sharpshooting management services for the City of Ann Arbor's 2019 deer management program, which was the fourth year of a four-year City Council approved deer management plan.
