2019-5-7_PR_Comm_Min - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

5) ROSEVILLE DEER POPULATION REPORT A history of the deer population in Roseville was provided by staff: In 2017 and 2018/2019 Roseville partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on deer reduction programs. Both years, 20 deer were removed from various locations in Roseville (2017: Owasso Hills Park, Leaf Compost Site, Ladyslipper Park, Harriet Alexander Nature Canter; 2018/2019: Reservoir Woods Park and Owasso Hills Park). The deer habitat in Roseville per the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource (DNR) criteria has been assessed at .77 acres. This amount of habitat can support 15-19 deer. The Commission reviewed the deer population maps created from the Ramsey County flyovers and the 2018 and Q1 2019 deer feedback maps from residents. It was noted that the majority of calls and feedback hascome from the Central Park, Reservoir Woods, Villa Park and Owasso Hills neighborhoods. These are the same locations that Ramsey County observed the majority of the deer during the flyovers. Commissioner Stoner stated that he feels removing 20 deer for two additional continuous years would help to bring the population under control. The Commission discussed the reduction numbers and what the optimal reduction amount would be for future efforts. They noted that they are not experts and that they would look to the USDA and DNR to help recommend a reasonable reduction number to get the population under control. In addition, they discussed that an ongoing maintenance program would be necessary to maintain the reduced population. Staff confirmed that the USDA suggested removing 30-40 deer in one year to help bring the population closer to the optimal habitat number and then continue with smaller yearly maintenance reductions. Commissioner Brown noted the healthiness of the herd appears to be increasing based on the deer disposition logs from the USDA. 3