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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-163 CCR1 adoption: Member Kay Lasman introduced the following resolution and moved its RESOLUTION NO. --2003-163 RESOLUTION APPROVING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DEER MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE WHEREAS, the City of Brooklyn Center is an urban community with very little appropriate habitat for deer; and WHEREAS, high deer populations continue to pose a risk to human safety due to auto-deer accidents, cause destruction of landscaping and yard plantings, and further disrupt the already altered ecosystem of the City; and WHEREAS, the density of deer in Brooklyn Center far exceeds the recommended norm of twenty deer per square mile of habitat area; and WHEREAS, natural habitat for deer in Brooklyn Center and in surrounding areas is being continuously reduced; and WHEREAS, the City Council's goal is to create an acceptable environmental balance that will facilitate the peaceful co-existence of citizens and wildlife; and WHEREAS, the City Council has solicited and received recommendations from a citizens task force established to assess current conditions and provided recommendations to the City regarding a Long-Term Deer Management Plan. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center does accept the report and approve the recommendations contained within the Report of the 2003 Deer Population Management Task Force. October 27, 2003 Date ATTEST- City Clerk Mayor The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Kathleen Carmody and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof Myrna Kragness, Kathleen Carmody, Kay Lasman, Diane Niesen, and Bob Peppe; and the following voted against the same: none; whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted. RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 REPORT OF THE 2003 DEER POPULATION MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE City of Brooklyn Center October 2003 RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 TABLE OF CONTENTS Deer Task Force Members and Responsibilities Page 3 Introduction Page 4 History and Conclusions of Deer Management Task Force in Brooklyn Center Page 4-5 Long-Term Deer Population Management Plan Page 5 2003-2004 Deer Management Implementation Plan Page 6 Education and Other Non-lethal Initiatives for Improved Human-Deer Coexistence Page 7 Requirements for Organizations Wishing to Implement Public Archery Hunts Page 7-8 Archery Hunt Guidelines for Public Property Page 8-10 Data Collected to Determine If and Where Deer Should be Harvested in 2003-2004 Page 10-11 Acknowledgements and Appendix Page 12 RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 DEER TASK FORCE MEMBERS Janice Baertchy Jeff Gelhar Bob Gross Todd Hanson Vic Henry Art Lenius George Olzenak Tim Peterson Tom Quist Russ Terwey RESPONSIBILITIES To advise City staff and provide citizen input as it prepares a Long-Term Deer Management Plan for consideration by the City Council. To that end, members have reviewed data (population count, deer-vehicle accidents, population control programs of other communities), current and recommended educational tools, reviewed and considered all non-lethal and lethal management methods, to provide meaningful input and recommended actions. The members of the 2003 Brooklyn Center Deer Task Force acknowledge that we are not wildlife specialists, traffic engineers, mathematicians, or politicians, but rather citizens who have come together to address an important matter facing our community. We recommend this plan after researching options for deer management, considering documented evidence, gathering information about other communities in comparable situations, receiving advice from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other wildlife professionals, listening to the opinions and experience of fellow citizens, and exploring our perceptions of the kind of plan likely to be both accepted by and effective for the community. We believe it is unlikely that every component of any deer management plan would be accepted by every member of the Task Force or every resident of Brooklyn Center. This plan is a compromise, the product of our attempt to understand, and respects many different voices. City of Brooklyn Center Advisors Dave Peterson Curt Lund Kevin Benner Curt Boganey Department of Natural Resource Advisors Bryan Lueth City of Brooklyn Park Representative Lee Folstad RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 INTRODUCTION The members of the 2003 Brooklyn Center Deer Task Force agree that deer management within the city limits is a necessary duty of the City to maintain the health of the herd, to prevent irreparable damage to plant and animal life in the ecosystems of the natural areas in the City, to protect citizen safety and welfare, and to prevent major deer damage to public and private property. Because managing deer-human-ecosystem interaction is an ongoing process, each year the City must gather information and evaluate the outcomes of the implementation of the long- term plan. We value the presence of deer in the city limits and are recommending a number of ways to encourage citizens to become better educated about ways to coexist with deer. We do not recommend total elimination of deer in the city limits, but it is clear that the presence of high numbers of deer in areas in the city limits may endanger human lives because of deer-vehicle accidents, cause destruction of landscaping and yard plantings, and further disrupt already altered ecosystems. Natural habitat for many types of wildlife in Brooklyn Center and in surrounding areas is being continuously reduced as previously rural land is developed for housing and commercial purposes. In a natural setting, the size. of a deer population depends on food sources, predators, hunting, and wildlife management practices. Inside the city limits, deer have an abundant supply of food and no natural predators. Starvation and disease as yet has had little effect on the deer population. After reviewing the results of the most recent deer population survey, having found many complaints of deer damage in zones under City jurisdiction throughout the last year, and reviewing data, we concluded that harvesting of deer is necessary within the Brooklyn Center corporate limits for the winter of 2003-2004. We also agree the City should pursue a number of other non-lethal methods discussed in subsequent sections of this report. HISTORY AND CONCLUSIONS OF DEER MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE IN BROOKLYN CENTER In response to citizen complaints in 2003, the City Council authorized the establishment of a Deer Management Task Force to recommend a management plan. This Task Force includes volunteers with varying interests including, hunters, residents of areas heavily populated with deer, residents of areas not heavily populated with deer, Brooklyn Center Administrative staff, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center Police Department staff, and Minnesota DNR staff. After reviewing the size of the deer population, numbers of deer-vehicle accidents, the deer management plans of other communities, comments from citizens, and advice from the DNR, the Task Force is recommending a multi-component management plan. The plan consists of an education program and the harvesting of deer by bow hunting during regular season and if necessary over-bait with DNR special permits. RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 To arrive at consensus about harvesting methods, the Task Force considered the costs, legality, risks to humans, and humaneness of each method of harvesting. For deer management purposes, the most commonly accepted density of deer in an urban setting can sustain is 20 to 25 per square mile of habitat area. Based on recommendations from the DNR and review of management plans from other communities, we recommend a maximum target of 20 deer per square mile of habitat area in each of the three deer management areas established by the Task Force. LONG-TERM DEER POPULATION MANAGEMENT PLAN 1. The City of Brooklyn Center will develop an educational program that will provide residents with information on deer habits and guidelines for limiting localized deer damage through the use of screening, alternative plantings, and other techniques. Educational materials will be distributed through a variety of methods including public informational meetings, pamphlets, City Web Site, newspaper articles, and City Newsletter. 2. In order to prevent irreparable damage to the ecosystems in Brooklyn Center and to prevent significant injury or damage to persons or property, the City Council hereby sets the maximum deer population density to twenty (20) per square mile per City-designated management district. Actual numbers are to be collected via aerial count, 3. It is understood the adoption of this plan is consistent with the Minnesota DNR URBAN DEER POPULATION CONTROL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES dated April 10,2002, (exhibit attached) governing the conduct of deer population removal outside the normal hunting season. 4. The City will utilize bow hunters to reduce the number of deer in each management district to the goal of 15-20 deer per square mile. By the end of five years, the initial reduction period, it is projected that the deer population will be to a level that requires maintenance rather than aggressive reduction. The City will strongly encourage use of non-lethal methods to address deer damage but recognizes that harvesting of deer will be necessary to maintain the population goal. 5. Each Spring the City Manager or City Manager's designee will review educational material, deer population numbers (current and projected) per an annual aerial survey, browse survey if appropriate, deer population management options, and recommend methods and deer harvest targets for the upcoming season. 6. The City Manager's recommendations must be approved by the City Council following public hearing prior to initiation of City management plans. Annual plans approved by the Council will be forwarded to the Department of Natural Resources. RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 2003-2004 DEER MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN It is the recommendation of the 2003 Brooklyn Center Deer Task Force that the City Council. of Brooklyn Center resolve that the City Manager is authorized and directed to implement the Long-Term Deer Population Management Plan including the following elements in 2003-2004: The City will continue to assemble resources that provide residents with information on deer and offer guidelines for limiting localized deer damage through the use of repellents, screening, alternative plantings, and other techniques. Educational materials will be available at City Hall, the Public Library, on Channel 12, on the City Web Site (www.cityofbrooklyncenter.org), and City Newsletter. 2. The City will actively work with the DNR to fully understand and support their efforts to control the deer population for which the DNR is responsible and which affects the health, safety, and welfare of Brooklyn Center residents. 3. In accordance with the guidelines of this report, the City Manager will organize and implement a deer population reduction program in the Palmer Lake Park using bow hunters during the winter of 2003-2004. The Task Force concludes that both Urban Deer Management and Metro Bowhunter Resource Base are voluntary bow hunters, and represent the type of quality bow hunting organizations available for use by the City in this endeavor. Each of these organizations should be given consideration by the City for this purpose. 4. The City will make a concerted effort to encourage our neighboring municipalities of Brooklyn Park, Crystal, and Fridley to support the Brooklyn Center efforts to control the deer population. The Task Force recognizes the Brooklyn Center deer herd migrates through out the region and population control success will be limited without support from surrounding jurisdictions. 5. The City will continue to compile data for deer management, including but not limited to information about vehicle-deer accidents, citizen comments, browse surveys, and an aerial deer count. 6. The City Manager will evaluate the effectiveness of this Deer Management Plan during the summer of 2004. A report with the findings of this evaluation will be filed with the City Council following this review. Approved by the Deer Task Force on October 16, 2003. Approved by the Brooklyn Center City Council on October 27, 2003 . 6 RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 EDUCATION AND OTHER NON-LETHAL INITIATIVES FOR IMPROVED HUMAN- DEER COEXISTENCE The City should undertake a number of steps toward non-lethal management: • Develop a brochure explaining Brooklyn Center's approach to deer management and emphasizing methods to help residents devise strategies for living with deer. • Publish the Deer Management Plan for public dissemination. • Utilize the City's Web Site, City Newsletter, and the Sun Post for disseminating information regarding timely deer-related issues (traffic, plantings, etc.). • Publicize the City's no deer feeding ordinance (Chapter 1, Section 200). • Share information with neighboring communities. REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZATIONS WISHING TO IMPLEMENT PUBLIC ARCHERY HUNTS A group or organization that is interested in managing the implementation of an archery hunt on public property as part of the Brooklyn Center Deer Management Program must demonstrate to the City that it meets the following criteria: 1. Must be registered as non-profit organization. 2. May not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in the admission or access to membership and the related activities. 3. Have access to or arrangements with archery range(s) for the purpose of providing proficiency testing to interested group participants. 4. Provide shooting proficiency certificates or other tracking mechanism to those who successfully complete the proficiency test. 5. Require proof from hunter applicants of completion of a bow hunter education course. The course must be recognized by the International- Bowhunter Education Association. 6. Provide orientation meeting for each hunt location in coordination with City staff to review special hunt provisions and site information. 7. Provide an application form for potential hunters that includes name, address, phone number, bow hunter education certification, years of bow hunting experience, an ethics pledge, and an agreement statement to comply with all special provisions of the hunt. RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 8. Provide a hunt coordinator for each hunt to check hunters or alternates and to ensure compliance with hunt provisions. May also collect hunter surveys and/or issue City permits, if provided by the City. 9. Provide City with summary of hunt results within 60 days of hunt completion. Results will include the number of deer removed by participants by date, number of shots taken, number of deer wounded and not retrieved, documentation of any incidents with non-hunters or landowners, gender and age of deer, and any other information requested by the City. 10. The management group would be responsible for ensuring that all hunt participants meet the minimum requirements outlined by the City Public Hunt Guidelines. 11. Starting in 2004, bow hunter groups must notify the City by June 1 of interest to implement a deer management hunt on public land and provide verification that they can and will meet all of the above requirements. ARCHERY HUNT GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC PROPERTY 1. Retrieval of deer that cross onto property other than which permission was granted, must be completed in conjunction with a Police Officer, State Conservation Officer, or other official designated by the City of Brooklyn Center; 2. All hunt participants must successfully complete an approved Bowhunter Education Class; 3. All hunt participants must attend a hunter orientation class provided by the City or the approved hunting organization(s) identified by the City; 4. All hunters must review and sign a liability release for any risk or injury they incur as a result of hunting in a City park; 5. Hunters will be provided parking permits which must be visible from the outside of their vehicles at all times while hunting; 6. All hunters will be assigned a permit in order to participate in the hunt; 7. Police personnel will be utilized as needed to insure a safe hunt and assist with any law enforcement issues. A briefing will be scheduled with the Police Department to facilitate their role in the hunt activities; 8. All participants must attend proficiency training and pass the proficiency test provided by the MBRB, Urban Management, or other approved organization; 9. Participants will be selected through the approved hunting organization's application and selection process for metro hunts; RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 10. The City will post the huntable areas of the parks with signs and/or flagging so that hunters can easily identify hunt boundaries; 11. The City will notify park users via signs at all designated entry points into the park the times for which the park will be closed for these hunts; 12. The City will notify City landowners with one-quarter mile of the park or public land via a letter and general news release regarding the times for which the park will be closed and the details of the hunts that are planned in that park; 13. In public parks with wide spread recreational use (Palmer Lake Park), the hunt guidelines will be as follows: • Both weekends and weekdays may be utilized. The park will be closed to the public between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on days of the hunt. • Any deer that need to be removed will be removed between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. so that the park can be reopened to the public by Noon. • The number of hunts will be determined by the number of deer targeted for removal during the season. 14. No screw in tree steps or permanent stands will be allowed; 15. No open fires or alcoholic beverages will be allowed within the park boundaries during the hunt hours; 16. No animals, other than deer, may be hunted or shot; 17. No unauthorized vehicles shall be used to transport tagged deer from hunt sites to the parking area;. 18. All shots must be taken within 25 yards of the hunter; 19. There will be no entrails left on walking trails. Entrails must be properly disposed of; 20. All hunters must follow any directions issued by City staff found to be necessary to implement a safe and effective hunt; 21. The City will designate a hunter check-in/check-out station/location/process and a coordinator for each special hunt on public land. Hunters must physically present their harvested deer at this location to allow for the collection of biological data; 22. Hunters will not be allowed in any park between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. on any day; 23. Hunting stands must be put up and removed the same day during the hunting periods. A hunter may leave no stands, equipment, or other items on park property between hunting periods; RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 24. Harvested deer must be concealed in vehicle/trailer during transportation from the hunt location; 25. The number of hunters per site for parks that may be included in future special hunts would be determined by the Police Department and the bowhunting organization; 26. In addition to the above requirements, all participants must comply with all laws and regulations of the State of Minnesota governing hunting in general; 27. Any violation of hunt guidelines will result in the immediate revocation of a hunter's permit; 28. These provisions and the hunt locations will be reviewed annually and modified as needed to improve the effectiveness, safety, and efficiency of the program. DATA COLLECTED TO DETERMINE IF AND WHERE DEER SHOULD BE HARVESTED IN 2003-2004 ♦ Deer Habitat Based on aerial surveys and observation, City staff produced a map illustrating the deer habitat areas (exhibit attached) of the City. The total land area within these habitat areas is approximately 751 acres or 1.17 square miles. Using the standard of 20 deer per square mile of deer habitat area, it is assumed that Brooklyn Center can support a deer population of approximately 20-22 deer. Population Survey Results To estimate as accurately as possible the number of deer in the city limits, the City has conducted several counts via helicopter. 1995, 1998, 2002, Deer Counts (exhibit attached) The most recent and complete aerial survey conducted of Brooklyn Center was done in March of 2003. This survey identified sixty-five (65) deer in Brooklyn Center. Given the fact that herds have been known to increase as much as 25% per year, the actual number of deer in Brooklyn Center could easily exceed eighty (80) today. Based on the standard above the current number of deer in Brooklyn Center it may exceed the recommended maximum by sixty of more deer. Task Force members considered several factors as they determined whether deer should be harvested during winter 2003-2004, including deer population, data on deer-vehicle accidents; citizen complaints, and the prospect of limits on City funding. According to the aerial survey conducted in March of 2002, no area within Brooklyn Center's sole jurisdiction met the guideline of 20 deer per square mile of habitat area. 10 RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 Task Force members discussed the concern that their birth season had occurred since the count was conducted and, more than likely, more than 50 deer per square mile could inhabit some districts, but even with aerial counts, no one can determine exactly how many deer are inside the City limits or how many will survive and reproduce after each year's count. Survival variables include weather, traffic speed and volume, available forage, disease, reproductive rates, the success of harvesting activity by area, development of land, deer movement, and willingness of residents to allow deer to be harvested on their property. Traffic Safety Issues The City has a deer-vehicle accident data recording system. The Police Department now records every incident of dead deer found along the roadway and all accidents reported by drivers. Using this system, three accidents were recorded for 2002, even though all deer car collisions are not reported. Report from 1998 is attached. ♦ Budget A budget of $5,000 is recommended for a Deer Management Program for the winter of 2003-2004. The budget will be used to cover the following costs: Signs and Material $ 250 Mailing and Postage $ 250 Aerial Survey $ 500 Bait $1,000 Salaries and Wages $3,000 A budget of $5,000 is recommended for a Deer Management Program for the winter of 2004-2005. 11 RESOLUTION NO. 2003-163 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Kurt Lund Jenny Whiting Denise Hanson Larry Gillette - Three Rivers Park District John Moriarity - Ramsey County Natural Resources Urban Deer Management, Inc. Metro Bowhunters Resource Base EXHIBITS Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Urban Deer Population Control Policies and Procedures Sample of Deer Control Program in the Twin Cities Ariel Survey Results -1995, 1998, and 2002 Deer Traffic Counts Deer Management District Map Deer Habitat Map 2003 Deer Task Force Meeting Minutes 12