Deer in the yard? No problem, say Mendon residents in survey
October 15th, 2015 Posted in OpinionBy Jordan Floyd
MENDON – Despite some complaints about deer in Mendon neighborhoods, a new survey finds that most residents have no deer problems and don’t see a need to do anything about the animals in town.
Mendon residents not worried about wandering deer. (Jordan Floyd photo)
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conducted a survey in Mendon on whether residents consider deer to be in an issue. The DWR’s Darren Debloois told the city council last week that nearly 60 percent of residents believe nothing should be done to reduce the number of deer in Mendon.
In August, the Utah Wildlife Board adopted a policy giving communities more discretion over deer removal in urban areas, which spurred the Mendon survey.
Residents answered 10 questions in the survey and the city received about 125 total responses. Overall, the survey suggests that deer are not a problem for most residents.
“I’m really surprised by the results,” Mayor Ed Buist said.
Fifty-six percent of those who took the survey either disagreed or strongly disagreed there are too many deer inside city limits, compared to 27 percent who either agreed or strongly agreed. Much of the same sentiment was shown in further questions about problems with deer confrontations, damages caused by deer, and vehicle collisions with deer.
City Clerk Teena Young noted that the returned surveys included several comments saying the residents hadn’t even seen many deer around town.
“We want to do things on an owner-by-owner basis,” Buist said. “I think that’s fair and would alleviate the problems on the outskirts of town.”
Although the results were seemingly conclusive, the city council expressed concerns for residents on the more rural parts of town, noting two specific individuals who had previously experienced problems with deer.
The council gave Debloois the two individual’s names. Debloois said the division contact them to help remedy their problems.
“Over 100 residents were surveyed – that should give us a good look at the city,” Jon Hardmen said. “We’re going with our feeling.”
TP
Tags: Darren DeBloois, Deer, Ed Buist, Utah DIvision of WIldlife Resources
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