Washtenaw County

From Facebook, May 18, 2017, Abigal Way, Ann Arbor MI 48103
Holly just got home from her annual visit to the Vet. I was surprised to learn her blood work revealed a tick-borne disease other than Lyme disease: anaplasmosis. Ticks, a pox on you! It is on the rise here in tick country so, my dog-loving friends, I share this info. This is especially surprising since in the three years I have had Holly, to my knowledge I have never seen a tick on her! Little creeps. She is asymptomatic, so I just need to watch it for now.

11 city parks, Nichols Arboretum to close for Ann Arbor deer cull, MLive, Jan 6, 2016he Michigan Department of Natural Resources has approved the city’s proposal to have sharpshooters from White Buffalo Inc. come into the city for a second-annual deer cull, while for the first time conducting fertility control research on female deer in Ann Arbor by removing their ovaries.

City Announces 2017 Deer Management Program Details, Ann Arbor, Jan 6, 2017 City of Ann Arbor’s 2017 deer management program, which has three primary components:

• Sterilization (non-lethal) Plan — pneumatically darting deer in two areas, temporarily removing and surgically sterilizing deer and returning deer to area where they were found.
• Lethal Plan — sharpshooting and lethally removing up to 100 deer on public lands and a small number of large city-selected private parcels with appropriate consent.
• Educational Program and Public Rights-of-Way Improvements — providing educational materials to the community in late spring 2017 on how to live with deer, evaluating the city’s fencing ordinance and recommending improvements that can be made in the city’s rights-of-way, such as signage.

U-M to let city-hired shooters kill deer at Nichols Arboretum, North Campus, MLive, Nov 21, 2016The University of Michigan has agreed to partner with the city of Ann Arbor on efforts to reduce and control the local deer population. That includes allowing sharpshooters hired by the city to kill deer on university property in four general areas: in Nichols Arboretum; between the Huron River and the railroad tracks south of Fuller-Mitchell fields; south of Glazier Way and east of Fuller Road; and south of Hubbard and west of Huron Parkway.

Ann Arbor releases plan to kill 100 deer this winter, sterilize up to 60, MLive, Oct 15, 2016City Administrator Howard Lazarus laid out the city’s 2017 deer management strategy in an eight-page memo to the City Council on Friday, Oct. 14, indicating the goal is to kill 100 more deer using firearms this winter. Additionally, the city hopes to sterilize between 40 and 60 deer if practical and cost effective, the memo indicates.

Winter 2017 Deer Management Planning Efforts, City of Ann Arbor, Oct 14, 2016This memorandum provides an update and establishes expectations for the development of the City’s
upcoming Winter 2017 Deer Management Plan

City of Ann Arbor Deer Count Increases Over Previous Year, City of Ann Arbor, Feb 22, 2016The City of Ann Arbor completed an aerial survey of the
deer population on February 18, which resulted in 202 deer counted. The last survey conducted in March 2015, counted 168 deer.

Survey map

Results of:
• 2-10-15 Survey
• 3-16-15 Survey

The above map is a combination of 7 different maps showing and describing deer sightings, dead deer, deer accidents, deer damage, fawns seen, and incidentals, like coyotes, seen plus the two aerial surveys. We have created a new map for 2016. To report information for this new map, please contact deerannarbor@gmail.com. Provide good location coordinates and description of what you are reporting.

• U-M Biologist Says Ann Arbor’s Deer Cull Is Necessary, WEMU, Jan 14, 2016
  He says losing too much vegetation will harm other wildlife and put the ecological health of Ann Arbor at risk.
• U-M biologists support Ann Arbor deer cull, Michigan News, Jan 14, 2016
  A University of Michigan evolutionary biologist says he and many of his U-M colleagues support the city of Ann Arbor’s plans to kill up to 100 deer this winter, calling the cull “a positive step toward ecological sustainability.”
  
  U-M botanists have long noted declines in native plants that deer favor, Dick said. In a 2015 study, an ecological team surveyed browsing impacts in Ann Arbor’s Bird Hills Nature Area and found browsing damage in 80 percent of the tree saplings.
• Federal judge rejects motion to halt deer cull in light of pending lawsuit, Michigan Daily, Jan 13 2016
  A legal motion aiming to halt the city’s deer cull was shot down by a federal judge after a court hearing Monday afternoon.
• Judge says Ann Arbor’s deer shoot can go ahead, for now, NPR, Jan 11, 2016
  The hearing did not go well for the plaintiff’s attorney, Barry Powers. Judge Tarnow repeatedly criticized Powers, saying he hadn’t prepared, done his research, listened to the other side – nor did he convince the court, Judge Tarnow said, that anyone’s lives or federal rights were in imminent danger.

• Ann Arbor Deer Feeding Ban

• Download the Ann Arbor Deer Management Project’s report to City Council- 1737 pages

  Recommendations for Deer Management in Ann Arbor Report – May 2015

• Proceedings of April 16th Deer Management Meeting

  Third and “Final” meeting of those with something to say about the issue of deer in Ann Arbor, Slausen Middle School

• Resolution Directing City Administrator to Evaluate Deer Management Options for Council Consideration,

  Ann Arbor, MI City Council, May 2014

Ann Arbor Deer Management Report 8-14-2014

Ann Arbor OKs $20K to Create Deer Plan

Read more in the August 18, 2014 Ann Arbor Chronicle at annarborchronicle.com/2014/08/18/ann-arbor-oks-20k-to-create-deer-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-324384

8/17/2015– Aug 17 City Council Meeting
7/13/2015– July 13 City Council Meeting
4/16/2015–April 16 Deer Management meeting

2/5/2015– View the video of the Feb 5th meeting.

8/18/2014- View the video of the meeting.

9/8/2014- Tracy Grogan’s comments is at 01:51:00–01:54:16 on the video of the Council meeting. He spoke in the Public Comment period at the end of the meeting.

Note:

the topic of deer control starts at minute 14:00 and goes through 25:50; the clip that captures the Council’s deer management resolution discussion and vote starts at 02:35:41 and ends at 02:50:30

 

• Deer impacts on vegetation and communities in the Leonard Preserve, Manchester, MI, Jacqueline Courteau, Ph.D., Sept 2015Presence of deer is correlated with significant reductions in plant species composition, abundance and flowering, with the potential to reduce populations of spring and fall wildflowers in both forests and grasslands, and to reduce oak recolonization in old fields. 13 out of 15 indicator species in forest and grassland plots were both more abundant and more likely to flower/fruit in areas protected from deer. Although species composition and abundance data alone do not demonstrate that deer has caused the declines, the combination of data on indicator species (including clear signs of deer browse damage) strengthens the case. Effects ripple to communities and tropic levels beyond plant populations, however, because the affected species provide key resources for a range of insect, small mammal, and bird species.
• Lyme Disease in Washtenaw: Frequently Asked Questions, EWashtenaw, 2015There were 13 confirmed cases in Washtenaw residents in 2013.
• Washtenaw Among Top Counties for Deer/Vehicle Crashes: ‘Don’t Veer for Deer,’ AAA Michigan Warns, Dexter Patch, Nov 12, 2014
• Arb and Botanical Gardens seeing ‘dramatic increase’ in damage to plants by deer, MLink, Sept 7, 2014
• Ann Arbor Government, Urban & Community Forest Management Plan, adopted June 2, 2014
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  other information

• Washtenaw County Parks and Recreations, Status Report: Deer Population Trends and Impacts in County Parks, February 2014, Shawn Severance, county naturalistThe deer population in Washtenaw County is elevated and increasing – The proposed DNR goal for Washtenaw County is 28 deer per square mile. Washtenaw County as a whole is currently 25% over the goal at 35 deer per square mile. The deer population in Washtenaw County has been steadily increasing over the last 15 years. Washtenaw County seems to be a magnet for deer due to a higher percentage of forested land than many of the adjacent Counties
• Report – 2011/2012 Deer Management Plan Implementation, Report to Board of Commissioners, HURON-CLINTON METROPOLITAN AUTHORITY, Meeting of September 13, 2012. It is the consensus of natural area managers that controlling excessive deer populations is critical to the long term health and viability of the native ecosystems that these animals are a component of. The management efforts the Metroparks established has had a direct impact on insuring that the parks’ high quality natural areas remain intact for future generations to enjoy.
• Deer Disease Discovered in Washtenaw County, The Patch, Oct 16, 2012More than 8,700 deer have been found dead across Michigan from Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease
• Deer Problem in Washtenaw County, AboutLearyJournalism, Dec 11,2011Jeff Plakke, Natural Areas Manager for the University of Michigan Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, says that ten-foot high fencing now protects the Gardens’ formal beds, an expensive solution that involved clearing for and installing the fence, and will require continuous monitoring and repair. Before that, Horticulture Manager Mike Palmer said, the deer devoured yews, perennials, and even whole plants like hens and chicks in the rock garden. In fact, the deer defied urban myths and stepped right up to the concrete porch to sneak into the perennial garden.
• Metroparks 2010 – 2011 Deer Management Plan Implementation Report, Meeting of Oct 11, 2011“This year, 2010, was the first time since 1993 that (Trout Lily and) Michigan Lily were observed in blossom. Deer seem to have a special affinity for members of the lily family, and this plant is no exception. We have been anticipating the return of this species ever since the deer culls began in 1999.”
• WORKSHEET FOR ESTABLISHING DEER POPULATION GOALS – DMU 081 2006- 2010, DRAFT, MI Department of Natural Resources, 2006?
• FENCE GUIDELINES AND ZONING COMPLIANCE APPLICATION, City of Ann Arbor

Deer Browse at the Leonard Preserve Sept 13, 2014
You can see the difference between fenced in area and that available to deer.

Write to city/county candidates:
August 5, 2014 State Primary – State, County, City & Township Candidates