2E — Fall 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

City to tackle deer overpopulation

Earlier this week, 
Ann Arbor City Council 
introduced its 2018 deer 
management plan to the 
public. The city aims to 
eliminate up to 250 deer 
from Jan. 8 to Jan. 31 in 
the third year of its four-
year deer management 
program. This is a large 
increase from winter 2017, 
when the city aimed to 
eliminate up to 100 deer.
Furthermore, the 
plan states that up to 26 
deer will be nonlethally 
sterilized between Jan. 
2 and 7. Last year they 
planned to sterilize up to 
60 deer and sterilized 54.
The program began out 
of resident complaints 
about deer harming their 
properties.
Like last year, the 
lethal portion of the plan 
will be carried out by 
sharpshooters through 
the city’s contractor, 
White Buffalo Inc. It will 
comply with the Michigan 
Department of Natural 
Resources research permit. 
During the elimination, 
select public parks and 
private properties will 
be closed from 3 p.m. to 
midnight Jan. 8 through 
Jan. 31. The Nichols 
Arboretum is expected to 
be closed on Jan 9, 16, 19 
and 23; however, it must 
first be approved by the 
University of Michigan.
Additionally, other 
University and Concordia 
University properties will 
potentially be shut down 
Jan. 8 through Jan. 31, 
pending authorization. 
In previous years, the 
University has agreed to 
allow the cull to take place 
on University property.
According to the 
implementation plan 
released by the city, the 
sharpshooting may only 
occur from a parked 
vehicle, and shooting on 

the city-selected private 
property will not occur 
without the owner’s 
consent.
The city will post signs 
regarding the closure in 
parks and nature areas 
that will be affected by 
the program at least 24 
hours before the three-
week process begins. 
Residents living adjacent 
to any of these areas will 
be notified via postcard by 
the end of the month. They 
will also use social media 
and other new outlets to 
inform residents of the 
sterilization program.
This is the second year 

the plan includes the 
sterilization of deer, which 
will also carried out by 
White Buffalo. The process 
involves darting the female 
deer, temporarily removing 
them from the area, 
surgically sterilizing them 
and returning them to the 
park. The process will take 
approximately an hour per 
deer, and is not expected to 
disturb residents.
The city is in need for 
volunteers to aid in the 
sterilization, an effort 
that will save many deer. 
The volunteers assist in 
tasks such as monitoring 
vitals during the surgery 
and returning the deer to 
their original location. 

There will be two shifts 
of volunteers throughout 
the nights, and they will 
work six to seven hours 
per shift, with the first 
beginning at 4 p.m. and the 
second ending at 5 a.m., 
from Jan. 2 to Jan 5 or 6. 
Each volunteer will be 
required to work at least 
two shifts, and food will be 
provided.
Christopher Dick, 
ecology and evolutionary 
biology professor, 
discussed the importance 
of the cull at a recent 
community council 
meeting.
“If we are able to reduce 
Ann Arbor’s urban deer 
population to a more 
sustainable level — by 
sustainable, I mean a deer 
abundance that permits 
natural forest regeneration 
— this will have an 
immediate positive impact 
on our natural areas,” Dick 
said. “The herd reduction 
will help to stave the 
spread of ticks that carry 
diseases such as Lyme 
disease. Black-legged ticks 
and Lyme disease have 
recently been documented 
in Washtenaw County.”
Despite the city saying 
the deer cull is necessary, 
the implementation of 
this program has been a 
controversial topic in the 
community for many years.
Among those against the 
cull is LSA senior Aaron 
Brodkey, president of the 
Michigan Animal Respect 
Society. He told The Daily 
earlier this year that he felt 
it was wrong for humans to 
intervene in nature. 
“Personally, I just think 
it’s maybe wrong or rash 
to make this decision,” 
Brodkey said in January. 
“I feel like we’re taking 
it into our own hands 
and playing God in this 
position and saying, ‘Hey, 
we need to massacre 100 
deer for who knows what 
reason?’”

Ann Arbor police chief 
to transfer to Colorado 
ski town 

After 
25 
years 
with 
the 
Ann 
Arbor 
Police 
Department — the last 
two as the head of the 
department 
— 
Police 
Chief Jim Baird will be 
relocating to Breckenridge, 
Colo., according to the 
Summit Daily of Summit 
County, 
Colo. 
Howard 
Lazarus, Ann Arbor city 
administrator announced 
Baird’s retirement from 
the AAPD Tuesday at the 
City 
Council 
meeting, 
though 
not 
where 
he 
would be relocating. 
“I will leave it up to 
him to share as he deems 
appropriate 
what 
life’s 
next great adventure is, 
but we will be preparing 
for an orderly turnover 
and transition,” Lazarus 
said. “We all wish the 
chief well as he chases 
what lies around the curb 
and the trail.”
Baird, 
who 
currently 
lives in Stockbridge, will 
officially step down on 
March 24, at which point 
Robert 
Pfannes, 
AAPD 
deputy police chief, will 
take over as interim chief. 
Baird will begin the job in 
Breckenridge on April 23.
Breckenridge, a town 
known for its ski resorts, 
has 
a 
population 
of 
approximately 
5,000, 
much smaller than Ann 
Arbor’s population of about 

120,000. However, due to 
the town’s large tourism 
industry, thousands more 
can flow in on short notice 
–– circumstances Baird 
compared 
to 
football 
games at the University of 
Michigan.
“From what I’m hearing, 
on Breckenridge’s busiest 
days, the town will swell 
up 
to 
30,000 
people,” 
Baird told the Summit 
Daily. “For a home game, 
the University of Michigan 
Stadium in Ann Arbor 
holds over three times 
that. So that difference in 
scale will be significant.”
Baird’s 
departure 
comes 
as 
the 
city 
is 
considering the creation 
of a police review board 
that would review and 
potentially 
investigate 
complaints 
against 
the 
department. In a 2016 
memo to City Council, 
Baird 
said 
he 
would 
oppose implementation of 
such a board unless it was 
recommended by a third-
party audit of the AAPD. 
In February 2017, the city 
hired the Chicago-based 
security 
firm, 
Hillard 
Heintze to conduct such 
an audit, though residents 
have been highly critical 
of the firm’s methods and 
its members’ long careers 
with 
law 
enforcement 
agencies.
Baird 
could 
not 
be 
reached for comment at the 
time of this publication.

ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily News Editor

The herd 
reduction will 
help to stave 
the spread 
of ticks that 
carry diseases 
such as Lyme 
disease.

Ann Arbor City Council kneels during pledge

The 
national 
spotlight 
placed on the debate over 
kneeling during the national 
anthem was brought Monday 
night to the Ann Arbor City 
Council, 
as 
four 
council 
members knelt during the 
Pledge of Allegiance.
Council 
members 
Jason 
Frenzel, Sumi Kailasapathy, 
Chip 
Smith 
and 
Chuck 
Warpehoski 
all 
knelt 
in 
silent 
protest 
during 
the 
Pledge of Allegiance, which 
is traditionally said prior to 
every City Council meeting.
Warpehoski 
announced 
his intention to kneel during 
the 
pledge 
prior 
to 
the 
council meeting in a post on 
his website. In that post, he 
compared kneeling during 
the pledge to kneeling during 
a football game for an injured 
player. 
“I can’t speak to what is in 
each person’s heart, but for 
me to ‘take a knee’ is an act of 
attention, of concern, and of 

respect. And it is in that spirit 
that I take a knee at tonight’s 
City 
Council 
meeting,” 
Warpehoski wrote.
In 
the 
portion 
of 
the 
council meeting designated 
for 
announcements 
from 
the 
council 
members, 
Kailasapathy explained why 
she joined Warpehoski in 
kneeling. 
“For 
me 
democracy 
is 
more than just symbolic, 
it’s 
actually 
holding 
up 
democratic 
practices,” 
Kailasapathy said. “I would 
want others to judge my 
patriotism by my actions 
when I uphold these values.”
Following the protests, the 
council members returned to 
their scheduled business. 
The most pressing issue was 
the vote on the approval of 
more funds for the third year 
of Ann Arbor’s controversial 
deer-culling 
efforts. 
The 
resolution 
on 
the 
table 
would approve an additional 
$110,000 to completely fund 
the estimated 2018 budget of 
$370,000 to be spent on the 

deer cull.
The program, which began 
in 2015, was designed to help 
deal with the overpopulation 
of deer in the Ann Arbor 
area. 
Eight 
Ann 
Arbor 
residents spoke in the public 
commentary about the deer 
cull. University of Michigan 
professor Christopher Dick 
spoke in support of the cull, 
saying it was necessary for 
the health of the deer and the 
forests they lived in.
“Culling 
the 
herd 
can 
actually 
help 
the 
dear 
by 
reducing 
the 
spread 
of 
deer 
diseases 
that 
may 
be 
exacerbated 
by 
overabundance,” Dick said. 
Other speakers, such as 
Ann Arbor resident Robert 
McGee, attempted to rebut 
the point that deer posed any 
extraordinary threat to the 
wildlife and forests of Ann 
Arbor, or to its citizens. 
Ann Arbor resident Sally 
Daniels went a step further 
and criticized the council for 
its past and current support 
of the deer cull.

“Council 
members 
have 
based their vote on their own 
limited experiences rather 
than the wishes of their 
constituents,” Daniels said. 
“A deer ran on top of council 
member Kailasapathy’s car. 
Will killing 558 more deer 
make her feel better?”
She concluded her remarks 
by saying, “everyone who 
votes for an increase in the 
cull tonight deserves to be 
voted off of City Council.”
In a vote of 10-1, the 
council voted in favor of the 
additional funds needed for 
the 2018 deer cull, with Mayor 
Christopher Taylor being the 
sole dissenting voice.
The 
council 
members 
also took time to vote on a 
resolution 
to 
decline 
pay 
increases in their salaries. 
The council rejected this 
resolution, 
accepting 
the 
pay increase. The council 
also declared the month of 
October Co-op Month in the 
city of Ann Arbor in honor of 
the work local co-ops do for 
the community.

Courtesy of Morgan Showen
Ann Arbor City Council members kneel during the pledge of allegiance at the City Council meeting October 16, 2017.

MORGAN SHOWEN
Daily Staff Reporter

ZOE BAXTER
Daily Staff Reporter

