Bloomington City Council to debate plan to kill deer
After years of discussing the heavy deer population, city officials say they can’t waste any more time before taking action.
An ordinance that would allow professional sharpshooting at the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve will be considered by the Bloomington City Council during its meeting at 7:30 tonight at City Hall in the council chambers. There will not be a final vote tonight.
The legislation is being brought forward by council member Dave Rollo, who says the need to control the deer population at Griffy Lake is “very urgent” because the abundance of deer surrounding Griffy has been causing a reduction of white-footed mice and removing native plants and trees, significantly harming the biodiversity of the 1,200-acre woodland.
Using sharpshooting to reduce the number of deer was recommended by the Bloomington-Monroe County Deer Task Force in its report, which the council adopted in December 2012. The 11-member group, including Rollo, worked for two years on the 200-page report, which included lethal and nonlethal methods of culling the deer herd. Other recommendations to solve the urban deer problem within the city were also included in the report, but Rollo said he chose to act on this first because of the immediate need.
“In Griffy, there really currently is no means to cap or reduce the population,” Rollo said. “What’s happening there is an ecological catastrophe.”
The ordinance would amend city code to add another exception to allow the discharge of a firearm within city limits. This exception would apply to professional sharpshooters hired by the city’s Board of Park Commissioners and approved for the necessary permits from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. It does not allow the general public to discharge firearms around Griffy Lake.
Roll said the potential dangers have been considered, and he’s confident the method is safe and effective. Shooting likely will occur in late night or early morning hours to minimize the risk, and will take place at a distance from residences in the area. The ordinance requires it not occur within 100 yards of a home.
“This is serious. We will need proper security,” Rollo said. “But we’re talking about professionals who have done this many times before.”
It’s unknown when the sharpshooting would begin. It depends on when the professionals are hired and the right time of the season to do so, Rollo said.
Two of the questions Rollo said he has frequently heard when discussing the plan are whether the venison can be donated to a food bank and why contraceptives can’t be used as an alternative solution.
He said it’s undecided now whether the harvested deer could go to a food bank, but it’s something he’d like to see happen.
“I think it would be a wonderful thing if this high- quality protein could be used by people in need,” Rollo said. “Ideally, I would say that would be the preference.”
As for the contraceptive suggestion, Rollo said that has been researched and debated enough. The DNR won’t allow it, and even if it was an endorsed method, Rollo said the city doesn’t have time to experiment with it at Griffy Lake because it could take years to have an effect.
“Unfortunately, we have to keep revisiting that,” Rollo said. “They’re well- meaning people, and they don’t like to see deer killed, but we’ve been through that many, many times.”
He said the proposal has garnered mixed reviews, but several letters of support have been sent to the council, including from the Board of Park Commissioners, the city Parks and Recreation Department’s Environmental Resources Advisory Council, the Commission on Sustainability, Monroe County’s Identify and Reduce Invasive Species and nearly 90 scientists and professors with the department of biology at Indiana University.
“When people are presented with the facts and the data … people understand the need for this,” Rollo said.
