Kent County’s Powerful 8-Step Plan to Cut Deer Overpopulation

Kent County, Michigan, has an overpopulation of whitetail deer. There is an eight-step program just released to reduce the deer population over the next couple of years.

Kent County's Deer Population

Photo by Austin Clark on Unsplash

I have always said that the big deer live in town. In the forests and farmland that typically surround a major city, there are often a high number of deer living in the area. As they become more used to people and by not being hunted, they venture into neighborhoods to find food. It's easy for the population to get out of control since no one is harvesting them and predators are lacking

Photo by Barbara Burgess on Unsplash

I drive all around Grand Rapids and see deer in neighborhoods all the time. I'm often surprised how close to downtown I have spotted several deer. Kent County is number one in Michigan for vehicle deer collisions.

Kent County Takes Action With New 8-Part Deer Control Plan

Photo by Takafumi Yamashita on Unsplash

According to Kent County, after assessing the deer population and gathering input from the public, local townships, cities, villages, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and the Kent County Road Commission, with additional data analysis support from Grand Valley State University, they developed an eight-phase plan to reduce the county’s deer numbers.

Photo by Sydney Moore on Unsplash

Below are the eight steps to the plan, which you can take a deeper look at here.

Urban Archery Hunting
Localized Deer Reduction with a Focus on Ethical Utilization
Facilitating Hunter Recruitment and Access to Land
Increased Road Right-of-Way Mowing
Native Landscaping Planting
Establish and Enforce Ordinances to Ban Deer Feeding
Monitor Public Perception of Deer
Develop a Strategic Deer Management Plan

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There are a lot of deer in Kent County, but soon there will be more opportunities for hunters to be able to harvest as more areas will become available. Hunters be ready to apply when applications become available.

👇BELOW: The Highest Point in Kent County: Fisk Knob👇