05-11-2026 - Agenda Packet City Council - Work Session

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Deer Management Talking Points Over the last several years staff has looked into the deer populations concerns in and around Orono. We routinely get 2-3 concerns a year related to damage to vegetation and car/deer collisions and occasionally related to large amount of deer grouped together. First of all, this is a very difficult issue to address in a suburban/rural area with large areas of wetlands, woods and other natural areas that attract and hold deer. There are also very limited predators in the area. Orono currently allows bow hunting on 5 acres+ lots (adjoining properties can be combined to get the 5-acre minimum). In 2024 the city issued 37 permits; however, we do not follow up with the permit holders to see if they took a deer. Currently we charge $25.00 for the application. We have discussed to raising this to a higher amount ($225-$250) per application, but refund the permit holder all but $25 if they take a doe. Generally speaking, most bow hunters in the area are hunting for bucks and generally pass on the does. We have allowed Three River to expand their bow hunting into the area of Orono that is a part of Baker Park. However, it was disappointing to hear that on average only 5 deer are taken during the bow hunt in ALL of Baker Park. We also discussed allowing a bow hunt in Noerenberg Gardens, however the recommended number of hunters allowed would be less than 5 in the park. The city did approve Three Rivers to conduct a deer survey for the City of Orono, a small area was able to be completed in 2026 which resulted in a count of 30 deer in the surveyed area. The areas surveyed was in the North east part of Orono. Here is the link to this year's Aerial Deer Survev Public Dashboard and Aerial Deer Public Viewing for Citv Review data. Some other option that can be discussed is bring in sharpshooter, but this program has many negative concerns that the city and council would need to address with the public. Program would also need funding to set up the program for the shooting, disposal (processing deer and delivery to butchers). Deer can't be shot and left, they need to be disposed of. Another option would be to allow bow hunting in city park property. In 2023 city staff meet with Three Rivers Park District staff to review their deer management plans. The bottom line is that there are not many options for deer management in a suburban/rural area. 4