MEDINA – Sights are set on the local deer population, but no triggers will be pulled.
From a numbers standpoint, Parks Director Jansen Wehrley says it is unclear whether the volume of deer in the city has grown, declined or leveled since 2012, the first time a visual deer study was conducted.
City-documented complaints of deer damage on residential properties, however, have remained consistent. They’re especially prevalent in Ward 2, northeast quadrant, which holds the heavily-wooded Reagan and Huffman-Cunningham parks.
“There are individuals who feel we have a deer problem, but I can tell you we don’t have the numbers to support that,” Wehrley said. “Moving forward into next year, we should have data that’s comparable.”
Medina Police report deer-related vehicle accidents on city roadways so far in 2016, 13, could surpass 2015’s total, 15, with less than five weeks remaining.
There were 23 in 2014 and 12 in 2013. None were fatal.
Wehrley’s department is overseeing the city’s non-lethal deer management process, which was approved in spring by Medina City Council’s special legislation committee. The current consensus among councilmen is to pursue tactics alternative to hunting, like monitoring and collecting data.
Property owners are also being discouraged from feeding deer through reminders on their municipal utility bills, though, technically, there is no city ordinance that prohibits feeding.
In 2015, council briefly flirted with implementing controlled bow hunting to reduce the deer population. It was something voters approved overwhelmingly in nearby North Royalton and Strongsville earlier this year. In October, 100 deer were culled in Royalton, a figure officials there were pleased with, as deer-involved nuisance calls and auto accidents fell slightly, according to The North Royalton Post.
Medina’s plan includes a number of ways residents can get advice and assistance from the city in humanely deterring the large plant-eating mammals. Annual visual deer studies that take place every fall are also ongoing, though one was not conducted in 2015, Wehrley said.
“Did (the deer population) increase? Yes. But did we increase the number of locations to watch? Yes,” Wehrley said of the studies. “It’s not an entirely accurate representation because we can’t access all of the city’s areas.”
The most recent studies took place in all four city wards for two days in October and two days in November at various sections of city parks, general open space and school properties. Crews have also been “spotlighting” overnight and early morning in the woods and along public walking trails to illuminate and identify the amount of bucks and does.
“We’re trying to manage our concerns and complaints on a local level with trying to communicate to property owners how to best manage it,” Wehrley said, “at the same time, collecting important data necessary to see if we have an increase in the population. We don’t have a baseline yet.”
Wehrley typically visits with complaining residents personally to help identify what humane methods can be used to prevent deer damage, which is often in gardens and landscaping.
“We select the best method to implement in your yard, whether it be scare tactics, scent repellents,” he said, adding high-frequency sound devices, sprinklers and fencing as options. “I think we’re doing it responsibly. I don’t think we’re anywhere close to going to a vote (for hunting).”
Ward 3 City Councilman Mark Kolesar spoke out against controlled hunts when the issue was brought up in 2015. His ward, the southeast quadrant, sees the second fewest deer complaints, Wehrley said.
“The city and its residents need to exhaust all other options before we decide to kill these majestic animals,” Kolesar previously told The Post. “We have a lot of homework to do before culling should ever go on the ballot.”
Residents can assist in the management process by taking a survey on the city’s website, www.medinaoh.org, as well as receive tips.
Issues can be reported to the parks department at 330-721-6950.