CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — If you're a Kent County resident with thoughts on the deer that totaled your Honda or chewed through your hydrangeas, the county wants to hear your opinion.
This week, the Kent County Deer Management Coalition will host a series of open houses on the progress of its program, seeking public input on how to handle a growing deer population in Michigan amid a statewide decline in hunters.
DEER MANAGEMENT OPEN HOUSE SERIES
Monday, June 2
Kent County North Campus
- 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
- 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 4
Walker City Hall
- 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Kent County Road Commission Southwest Complex
- 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The open houses will be staffed with representatives from the coalition, including Kent County, the Kent County Road Commission, Grand Valley State University and the Michigan DNR.
"This is your opportunity to get involved and tell us what you think," said Kent County Road Commission Managing Director Jerry Byrne. "We want to get the facts. We want to get it right."
In 2024, a deer in Kent County was more likely to die by way of a car than a hunter, according to Byrne, as the number of roadkill pickups surpassed the number of hunter harvested deer.
The side-of-the-road operation cost the road commission more than $200K last year, too, not to mention the financial burden bore by residents needing to fix or replace their cars, damaged or totaled in these deer-related collisions.
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"We get those phone calls and telling us, 'Hey, look, you don't need to study this more. I'll tell you what the problem is. I'll tell you what the fix is,'" Byrne said.
"That's one person's opinion," he said. "We have close to 700,000 people in this county, so one or two opinions doesn't cut it. We need to hear from a wider group of people."
In addition to the coalition's canvassing of public opinion through a countywide survey, a team of researchers from Grand Valley State University has conducted nightly deer data collection in recent months, attempting to determine the characteristics and densities of the county's deer population.
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"Deer have an impact on all of us," said Brody Glei, a graduate assistant at GVSU. "We have to learn, as society, to live with these deer and not try to live against them."
For those unable to attend an open house but still interested in offering their opinion, click here to fill out a short survey.
