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