Boardman Township officials have sent a letter to the Mill Creek MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young voicing concerns from residents about the planned deer hunt.

The letter comes after several meetings where neighbors voiced their concerns over the hunt in sections of Mill Creek MetroParks that reside in Boardman Township.  This also takes place before a preliminary injunction hearing Thursday morning where the park will defend it's hunting programs after a lawsuit was filed to stop the hunts

Among their concerns were:

  • Accuracy of the deer population count
  • Safety concerns of stray bullets or arrows fired near residential areas
  • Wounded deer running into traffic or neighborhoods
  • Hunters going onto private property
  • If the park explored other humane methods for controlling the deer population
  • Duration of the hunt being five months per year for the next 10 years
  • Allowing extremely young hunters to participate

According to the letter, township trustees said its their goal to share the concerns of those who live next to parts of the MetroParks and those who visit the park.

You can read the letter below:

 21 News reached out to Mill Creek Metroparks Natural Resources Manager for a response to these concerns but haven't heard back yet.

These hunts aren't uncommon in Ohio.

ODNR says 72 percent of park districts in the state manage deer in one way or another. 21 participate in hunting - during Ohio's hunting season.

  • Of those 21, 10 also participate in a "targeted deer removal" - that involves the sharpshooters.
  • There are only 9 park districts in Ohio that have NO program in place.

 

Park Districts - Program

Crawford County Park District - Hunt

Erie MetroParks - Hunt

Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District - Hunt

Sandusky County Park District - Hunt

Seneca County Park District - Hunt

Wood County Park District - Hunt

Ashtabula County Metropark District - Hunt

Medina County Park District - Hunt

Portage Park District - Hunt

Stark Parks - Hunt

Trumbull County Metro Parks - Hunt

Richland County Park District - Hunt

Geauga Park District - Hunt 

Columbus and Franklin County Metroparks - Hunt and Targeted deer removal

Metroparks of the Toledo Area - Targeted deer removal

Cleveland Metroparks - Hunt and Targeted deer removal

Metro Parks, Serving Summit County - Hunt and Targeted deer removal

Cincinnati Parks - Hunt and Targeted deer removal

Five Rivers MetroParks - Hunt and Targeted deer removal

Hamilton County Park District - Hunt and Targeted deer removal

Mill Creek Metro Parks - Hunt and Targeted deer removal (In progress of starting this season)

Lorain Metroparks - Collaborates on targeted deer removal with City of Avon Lake

Lake Metroparks - Collaborates on targeted deer removal with City of Mentor

 

At Toledo Metroparks the district uses the sharpshooters to manage deer numbers.

"We've seen such a huge rebound in sensitive plant populations since we began culling.  If there was any surprise it was how quickly we started to see improvements.", said Scott Carpenter with Toledo Metroparks. 

Carpenter says they've used sharpshooters since 2016 and have had no safety issues during that time.

"It's been done very safely and quietly and park visitors don't even know that it's been done.", Carpenter added.

They've also donated close to 10,000 pounds of deer meat local shelters each year as a result of their deer culls.