Community leaders selected lethal actions to manage deer population size including regulations to create and encourage hunting opportunity in the community, managed private and public land hunts, and deer culls with vetted volunteers. Meridian Township’s long-term management goal was to reduce the number of deer to a healthy population while treating the animals humanely and maintaining safety of the public, safety of hunters, and ecology of parks and land preserves. The community was also involved in the process through unsolicited comments on action alternatives, formal public comment periods, public comment meetings, and resident surveys.
Staff consulted various local sources such as wildlife agencies, stakeholder groups, research reports and papers, other deer management plans, and university faculty to determine the cost, feasibility, and acceptability of action alternatives for management plans in the Township. Staff did not have any previous background or training on deer or wildlife management. The Board directed staff to create a deer management plan and be facilitators. The Township Board began its first decision-making process in 2011.
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