KENT COUNTY, Mich. — It's like a dating app, but for deer hunting.
This fall, private landowners in Kent County, including farmers, will be able to invite deer hunters to their property through Deer Connections, a new, online platform recently launched by the Kent County Deer Management Coalition.
Kent County routinely ranks first in the state for deer-related car crashes.
"Do you want to hunt with your car or do you want to see the deer ethically hunted and harvested?" Kent County Road Commission Director Jerry Byrne said. "It's a better idea to hunt deer and use their meat than to whack them with your car and deal with the damage while the deer suffers and goes to the dump."
Deer Connections is funded and supported by the Kent County Deer Management Coalition, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and National Deer Association, and follows the recommendations from the coalition's Grand Valley State University study to address deer-related car crashes and crop damage across the county.
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"I think it's a win-win all around," Michigan National Deer Association President Mike Ketelaar said.
A hunter, Ketelaar was one of the first to sign up for the program. He says it works, in a way, like Angie's List or Match.
At deerconnections.com, private landowners and hunters can create personal profiles. While landowners may dictate when, where and how they want hunters on their property, hunters tell their "story."
"Who are you? Why do you want access to this land?" Ketelaar said. "We have a responsibility. Hunter numbers are dwindling throughout the United States, and we need to be true stewards of the resource and hunt in a professional, ethical, responsible way."
Then, it's up to the landowners to view these hunter profiles and decide whether to invite them to have a conversation about harvesting deer on their property. If all goes well, the hunters will be permitted to hunt on it to help address the Kent County's overpopulated herd.
"The landowner is protected, the hunter is protected," Ketelaar said. "The hunters don't get to see which properties in Kent County are participants, so there's that real level discreteness as well."
The Michigan National Deer Association is also offering insurance to landowners that covers "hunting and related activities on their property involving hunters registered through Deer Connections," according to a release.
If hunters have already had their fill of venison for the season, the program can connect them with processors and food pantries.
"Help out the herd. Help out Kent County," Ketelaar said. "I think it's almost our civic and public duty in this situation to step forward and be a part of the solution."
The Kent County Road Commission will hold two open houses for those looking to learn more about Deer Connections.
- Thursday, Sept. 17
- 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
- Kent County Road Commission North Complex
- 11777 White Creek Ave. NE, Cedar Springs
- Friday, Sept. 18
- 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.
- Kent County Road Commission South Complex
- 4949 Tim Dougherty Drive SE, Grand Rapids
