East Lansing ends 2022 deer cull; 79 deer removed from city parks
EAST LANSING — The city of East Lansing has ended its deer cull operation in city parks after 79 deer were killed and removed over the past four weeks.
With the completion of the operations, city parks will no longer be closed on intermittent weekday nights, according to a city news release.
United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services biologists "highly trained" in firearm use killed deer on four separate nights in East Lansing’s parks under a cooperative service agreement with the city and a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
The park closures and deer removal operations started Jan. 3 and were planned through March 31 at Abbot Road Park, Burcham Park, Patriarche Park, Harrison Meadows Park, White Park, and at the city aquatic center and softball complex.
“These removal operations were conducted to address deer overpopulation in the East Lansing community, which has resulted in a variety of deer-human conflicts, including a current average of more than 40 deer-vehicle accidents per year, public health concerns, a disruption to the ecological balance of natural areas and damage to landscaping,” city officials said Tuesday in a press release.
The deer killed in East Lansing’s parks this month will yield about 2,400 pounds of venison, which is being donated to the Greater Lansing Food Bank. The venison processing has been donated by the nonprofit Michigan Sportsman Against Hunger.
This was the second year East Lansing conducted deer removal in designated park areas to address deer overpopulation. The previous year 65 deer were removed from parks with the help of USDA Wildlife Services, according to city data.
The decision to cull East Lansing’s deer population over the past two winters took years of community input, research and consideration, according to the news release.
“The City intends to measure the outcomes of this removal by continuing to gather feedback from residents and monitor deer herds and deer-vehicle accidents,” the release states.
People can find out more about East Lansing's deer removal operations on its website.
Contact Bryce Airgood at 517-267-0448 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing ends 2022 deer cull, 79 deer removed from city parks
