Urban Wildlife Management Task Force

Minutes ADLC Urban Wildlife Management Task Force Opportunity Volunteer Fire Hall April 24, 2024, 7:00 PM MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman Kurt Wyant, Commissioner Ed Beaudette, Chief Bill Sather, Fred Boyer, Rick Morse ABSENT Chris Marchion, Geroge Kortum, Chad Gochanour, Chuck Stokke MEMBERS OF THE PRESS James Rosien MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC Per sign in Sheet. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Wyant called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM APRIL 10, 2024 Motion passed unanimously to approve the minutes from April 10, 2024. OPENING COMMENTS Commissioner Beaudette announced the purpose of the meeting. The Ordinance that was adopted for the task force states that we specifically need to hold a meeting in Opportunity as it is one of three designated study areas. The consensus from previous meetings was that the deer aren’t quite an issue in the Opportunity area. INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTS FWP Commissioner Beaudette introduced Kirsty Jeager, FWP Biologist. Kirsty Jeager gave an overview of the town deer count that was conducted on Thursday morning, April 18th. The final count was 116 deer within the town proper; foothills were not included in this count. She discussed plans for another deer count to be conducted at night in order to get a more accurate number. Discussion was held about recent carcasses that were located around town; there were four in two weeks. The high mortality rate was discussed; during the spring there seems to be more animals struck by vehicles. It was mentioned that the mortality rate is higher in the spring due to poor nutrition in the winter. Kirsty Jeager mentioned the feeding issue in town, stating that this is very poor nutrition for the deer. Discussion was had about testing the animals and noting the condition of the animals that die in town; knowing if they are diseased or just in poor health would help determine how to address the deer population. Kirsty mentioned that the public feeding corn to the deer is detrimental to their health and making them appear diseased. She states that the deer being in such poor health inhibits their ability to fight off parasites and such that are affecting their skin and ability to shed properly. 1|Page Urban Wildlife Task Force Management Meeting Minutes April 24, 2024 Discussion was had in regard to culling the deer, especially the ones that seem to be full time residents. Kirsty advised that we address the feeding issue first; this would sit better with the community rather than just killing the deer. She states that if you take away their food source they will look elsewhere; this has been effective in some areas. Commissioner Beaudette questioned how long it would take for the deer to move elsewhere if we removed their feeding source. Kirsty stated that she has seen a difference within a few days; it is an effective method. She stated that we will never be rid of all the deer, they will still want to eat out of gardens and eat people’s flowers. Kirsty discussed following the process and that we must enforce the existing laws that are in place. Educating the public is important so they understand why we have these laws. Last resort would be to cull an overpopulated area or any deer with disease. Kirsty states CWD can be easily spread through deer congregating at these feeding sources; it spreads a lot faster than it would in a wild population. It was mentioned that the any deer that are culled, if not diseased, the meat is donated not wasted. PUBLIC COMMENT Vern Tuss – I don’t really see too much of a problem here in opportunity; I do see one bird feeder that seems to be filled for the deer. It is definitely not as big of an issue as it is in Goosetown. My concern as a sportsman is the health of the deer; it can’t be good for them to be eating grass that has been treated by TruGreen. I agree that we need to address the feeding of the deer first; I want the animals to be healthy. The number of deer in town depends on the season; during the rut there seemed to be quite a few more healthy bucks in town. We are on the right track; killing all of the deer is not right. Tom Gallagher – You have identified the problem which is the first step. People are still going to be upset with the deer for eating their flowers and gardens. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Commissioner Beaudette – Chief Sather, how will you address this with your department?  Chief Sather – We are definitely going to get it out in the paper letting people know the law and what the consequences are for violating that law. We will most likely give a warning the first time but issue citations for continued violations.  Commissioner Beaudette – Do you have an idea who the habitual offenders are?  Chief Sather – Yes, we know of quite a few. In fact, it was reported today that the deer follow an individual’s car home because they know this person will feed them. Fred Boyer – Suggested educating the public about deer deterring plants and shrubs. He also mentioned sprays that can be purchased.  James Rosien – I intend to have a story on that topic next week.  Fred Boyer – If you are going to have a garden, it’s not just going to be deer. Rabbits and raccoons are a problem as well. I am not sympathetic with anyone who builds a garden and does nothing to protect it. The racoons are in places that they just aren’t supposed to be.  Vern Tuss – Our town is not as poisonous as it once was.  Fred Boyer – Their hides aren’t worth anything, so people aren’t trapping them like they used to either.  Vern Tuss – The town is way greener than it was in the 1980’s. Rick Morse – The deer that get hit by cars, do they get tested for CWD or any other diseases?  Kirsty Jeager – My intention is to opportunistically get a sample of all dead deer or elk ; I did not find that many this winter.  Bill Sather – We get the calls on them quite a bit, we could just let you know.  Kirsty Jeager – They could just remove the head from the carcass and drop it off at my house as well, whatever is the easiest. 2|Page Urban Wildlife Task Force Management Meeting Minutes April 24, 2024 Commissioner Beaudette – This has been a very informative meeting. It seems that we really don’t need to focus much attention on Opportunity. Kirsty Jeager discussed the aerial studies that take place and the elk population in the triangle; there is a population of 524 elk. She stated that she is working with ARCO to figure out how to get more harvests out of there; we are discussing adding additional guides. This may only benefit the youth and handicap hunters, but we would see more animals being harvested from that area. Kirsty mentions an established population of 50-80 pronghorn in the triangle; potentially we could see some harvesting of the pronghorns. She stated that the deer in Opportunity area seem to be on the edge of town where they should be, and they are mostly whitetails. Discussion was had regarding the local bear population. It was mentioned that they don’t do a formal survey for bears; harvest data is reviewed for age structure and the male to female ratio of what is harvested. Kirsty states that based on the harvest numbers it’s a fairly stable population. Discussion was had in regard to options for funding bearproof trash containers and getting those put in at Washoe Park and throughout town. The emphasis is to start with businesses and larger dumpsters then over time have the community follow suit. Limiting attractants for the bears was also discussed, especially in Washoe Park. It was suggested that in the past allowing dogs to run around town deterred the deer population. It was also mentioned that in past years we did not have vegetation to attract the animals. Discussion was had in regard to the population of mountain lions in the area; Kirsty mentions not seeing too many around Anaconda. She states that if you receive reports of dead deer or domestic animals then you most likely have a cat situation. NEXT MEETING DATE Discussion took place regarding the location and time of the next meeting. It was determined that the next meeting will be held May 9, 2024, at 6:00 PM with a tentative location of the Saddle Club. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 7:52 PM 3|Page Urban Wildlife Task Force Management Meeting Minutes April 24, 2024