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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, March 9, 2015 Page 7 Commissioner Newby responded that, while deer seemed to be driving the prob- lem, it had become apparent during the Commission's study to have a feeding ban only for deer; and based on their research in ordinances from other communities, it became easy to get around that restriction if limited to deer. Commissioner Newby noted that some residents attending their discussions had also expressed concern with turkey, geese and coyotes and other wildlife other than deer. Commissioner Stoner concurred, noting that with the exception of one communi- ty, they qualified their ordinance as a wildlife management program to address feeding in general and avoid potential enforcement issues if a violator stated their intent was to feed something other than deer, and deer inadvertently ate the food. Chair Holt advised that the Commission's recommendation was for a comprehen- sive wildlife plan, not just the feeding ordinance portion. Chair Holt noted that during the Commission's research and through considerable public engagement, they heard numerous comments from residents on other wildlife issues, even though deer was the focus. Therefore, Chair Holt advised that recommending a comprehensive wildlife plan made sense as part of the City's regulations. While she may agree in principle, Councilmember McGehee referenced the num- ber of e-mails received to-date, some of which were included in tonight's materi- als while others were received by her directly. Councilmember McGehee stated that she knew for a fact that natural habitat area creation and/or preservation were high on the interest list of residents when the Commission had done their resident survey. However, Councilmember McGehee noted that the City had actually re- duced natural areas, part of which could be removal of invasive plant species which was a good thing; however, it impacted areas of natural habitat, which may have also created some of the wildlife crowding issues being experienced. While it's fine to discuss ways to alleviate the community's problematic deer population, Councilmember McGehee opined that a large segment of the community's resi- dents valued wildlife and natural habitat and that it was important to keep that in mind. As for the deer herd, Councilmember McGehee noted that not all of the wildlife was specific to Roseville but migrated from and throughout other suburbs as well. Therefore, Councilmember McGehee opined that the surveys in Roseville may not actually be accurate on any given day, or define where the herd was actually living. In her review of the map provided in the packet, Councilmember McGe- hee noted the deer populations were occurring predominantly in Ramsey County natural areas and open space, as determined with fly-over surveys. Chair Holt concurred, adding another population near Lake Owasso. Councilmember McGehee acknowledged that this was also another natural area.