Deer in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor is a challenging situation for deer managers. The City is nearly built out, and the predominant development pattern is single-family homes surrounded by wooded corridors with no hunting and no non-human predators. This development pattern creates excellent deer habitat. The directive set by the City included improving forest health/regeneration in natural areas, a reduction in deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs), achieving a 75% satisfaction level among residents, and gathering data to inform future management decisions. The primary objective in Year 4 (2019/2020) was to assess the complementary effect of lethal management in larger wooded areas proximate to sterilization efforts that occurred in dense suburban neighborhoods.
Sterilization study areas were in the south (bounded by Nichols Arboretum and Huron Hills Golf Course and Huron Parkway Nature Area), north (bordered by Cedar Bend Nature Area and Leslie Park Golf Course), and east (bounded by Plymouth Rd., US-23, Concordia University, and Narrow Gauge Way Park). While sterilization efforts were conducted during the first three years of the program, no sterilization efforts were conducted as part of the efforts in Year 4 due to permit restrictions
City of Ann Arbor Deer Management Program Evaluation, Rev. 05/28/2019, May 2019Respondents expressed widely varied sentiments toward the deer population in general. Approximately 29 percent of respondents city-wide said they felt “Mostly positive” toward the deer population, compared to 19 percent who answered “Mostly negative” and 31 percent who answered, “Both positive and negative.” Nearly half (44 to 45 percent) of all 3+ year residents city-wide indicated that deer / vehicle accidents, damage from over-browsing, and an increase in the deer population have been a “serious problem” over the last 3 years, one-fourth or fewer (25 percent or less) said any of these were “not at all a problem.”
The City of Ann Arbor has published the Ann Arbor Deer Map, covering data crashes from 2011 on, counts from 2015 on.
Interview with Bernie Banet of Washtenaw Citizens for Ecological Balance.
Topic: The Increasing Number of White-tailed deer in Southern Lower Michigan
The Green Room
Interview with Randy Baker of Naturalist Endeavors
Topic: White-Tailed Deer Impact Michigan Ecosystem
The Green Room
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