Deer Management Options Expected at Tonight's Safety Meeting

We'll find out tonight whether Solon city officials think killing deer is the best way to control the herd.

Officials have said all along that managing Solon's deer will require both lethal and non-lethal options. It's the lethal options that are the sticking point for many residents and deer advocates, who are pushing for humane ways to deal with the deer population.

The administration is expected to present options for a comprehensive deer management plan to the safety committee at tonight's meeting, which is at 6 p.m. in City Hall.

Public Works Commissioner Jim Stanek has said he plans to give city council a buffet of options to choose from.

City officials say the key for them is safety. Between 1994 and 2009, city officials have recorded 1,781 car accidents involving deer, an average of 111 each year.

City officials had controlled deer numbers with a sharpshooting program – culling hundreds of deer and donating the meat to hunger shelters – but after the program was canceled in 2009 for budget reasons, the size of the deer herd rebounded.

City officials counted nearly 700 deer in 2010 and expect there to be more than 1,000 by the end of this year – even more than before the sharpshooting program began.

As a result, city officials expect about 100 deer-car accidents this year, a nearly 50 percent increase over 2010.

The deer issue came up again after city officials contemplated a crossbow-only hunting program as a test to see how it would work. That prompted protests from residents and deer advocates. 

City council eventually scrapped the program, but set the May deadline for options on a comprehensive plan.

Opponents aren't giving up without a fight. They are gathering petitions in hopes of a ballot measure that would ban deer hunting in Solon.

Stay tuned to Solon Patch for complete coverage of tonight's meeting.

We will be tweeting live from the meeting, so if you can't make it, follow along on Twitter.

And if you want to read some background on the deer issue, here's our previous articles: