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Last updated on Friday, August 4, 2017
(BLOOMINGTON) - The Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners is slated to make a recommendation Aug. 22 on what action should be taken to curb the white-tailed deer population at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve.
The Bloomington Parks and Recreation Environmental Resources Advisory Council has recommended a deer cull this winter.
A study this spring looked at vegetation populations of six species of plants - false Solomon's seal, jack-in-the-pulpit, recurved trillium, Solomon's Seal, sweet-cicely and white baneberry- the Department of Natural Resources use to determine deer management practices
According to data collected between April 28th and May 12th concluded those species shows population levels were lower at Griffy. If something is not done the nature preserve will see less abundance of various plant species, lower regeneration of plants and fewer tree and shrub seedlings.
The commission will look at several options including fencing, fertility control, sharpshooters and supplemental feeding and holding a hunt. But with a hunt the city would have to change a city code which only permits the hiring of a contractor to do sharpshooting as a way to curb the deer population.
In February 2015, professional deer herd management contractor White Buffalo, Inc., announced it canceled the deer cull. Sharpshooters from White Buffalo Inc. say the conditions were not right for an efficient deer cull. The company had been contracted to harvest 100 deer which would then be donated to local food banks.
Parks administrator Mick Renneisen says with such a bountiful amount of natural food, the deer weren't lured to the bait sites White Buffalo had set up.
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