GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Residents at a Monday night city council meeting urged officials to confront what they say is an overpopulation of deer in the lakeside community, citing damage to native plants, private gardens and potential safety hazards.
“I’ve lived in Grand Haven for almost 40 years,” said Pat Johnson, a longtime resident who spoke with Fox 17 News. “Back then the dunes and forests were filled with native plants and it was rare to see a deer. That’s not the case anymore.”
WATCH: Residents urge Grand Haven council to address deer overpopulation
Johnson said the animals have become a constant presence. “Ten or 15 years ago, probably 15, deer started coming into the neighborhood at night,” she said. “When the neighborhood is packed with people … they’re out all day long, running into intersections.” She said she sprays Liquid Fence around her garden two or three times a week but the deer still get in and strip buds from plants such as hosta.
The concerns echo findings in a 2022 forest management plan approved by the city, which warned that Grand Haven’s forests face grave danger from invasive pathogens and deer overgrazing. A local group, Save Our Forests, presented to the council Monday after conducting deer counts earlier this year in Mulligan’s Hollow, Duncan Woods and Lake Forest Cemetery. The group found an estimated 123 to 167 deer within the city’s six-square-mile area.
“Most communities, including Grand Haven, would be well advised to look at it more as an honest assessment of what your deer issues are and what’s important to your community,” said Nick Kalejs of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He said communities should decide whether their priority is preserving plant diversity, limiting landscaping damage or addressing changes in deer behavior.
The city council did not take action Monday. Residents at the meeting urged the council to consider stronger enforcement and management steps. Johnson suggested ticketing people who feed deer in public spaces and said she supports a cull to reduce the population.
“It’s not like a brand-new thing — we just need to get on board with it,” she said.
