The Salem City Council appears interested in cutting the size of the deer population in Bryan Memorial Park and the northwest side of the city but made no final decisions Wednesday night.
Animal Control Officer Dave Lusch says there are two possible ways to harvest some of the deer. The first would be an archery hunt that would be limited to about an eight-acre area in the Nature Trail area.
“We would have a qualifying shoot for any hunters interested. They would have to meet our criteria in qualifying then we would have a lottery to decide who would actually do the hunting to make it fair. And only allow so many hunters in. That hunt is also limited to does. No bucks will be taken during that time.”
He added, “another option which is used sometimes around bigger cities and they do it every year on a regular basis is the USDA Wildlife Services can come in and sharp shoot deer.”
Lusch says the deer meat would then be given to food pantries. He did not have any cost estimates of the service. Lusch was asked to bring back that information at the next meeting before a decision is made.
Councilman Jim Koehler who lives in the impacted area said it has only been the past two years the deer have become a problem in eating plants and becoming more aggressive. He agreed with several others who complained that something needed to be done.
