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The public will have the opportunity to provide input regarding proposed deer reduction efforts at tonight's 7 p.m. city council meeting.
Jeff Grose, co-chair for the Warsaw deer task force, said the task force is requesting feedback from city council members and Kosciusko residents in reference to its report and recommendations for controlling deer population.
The task force's report and recommendations were published in Friday's Times-Union.
The report and recommendations also were distributed to city council members at its Oct. 2 meeting.
The task force has been meeting for the past nine months researching methods for controlling deer population near Spring Hill subdivision.
The task force has identified a deer nuisance zone within the city limits, including the entire area around Spring Hill, Kosciusko Community Hospital and U.S. 30.
The task force is recommending the city council pass a resolution that will identify the nuisance zone near Spring Hill and pass an ordinance that would allow for trained and approved archers, under the direction of Mayor Ernie WIggins and a nuisance management committee, to hunt in the declared nuisance zone.
The task force will ask the city council to approve the recommendations at its Nov. 6 meeting.
The task force has been meeting since January with Spring Hill residents and Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials identifying areas and residential neighborhoods in Warsaw that appear to have high deer counts, studying various ways to manage deer, learning how other cities and towns have managed deer, and communicating and interacting with residents to obtain input and suggestions.
Recent results of a survey conducted to assess Spring Hill residents' support for reducing deer overpopulation in the area indicate support for proposed deer reduction efforts.
The deer task force distributed 67 surveys to Spring Hill residents in July regarding their experiences with deer overpopulation.
A meeting was held Sept. 28 where task force members presented a Power Point slideshow highlighting the task force's mission, survey finding and recommendations for controlling deer population.
Out of the 67 surveys distributed, 51 were returned to the deer task force. Of those surveyed, 87 percent considered deer population to be a nuisance and 77 percent showed support for a lethal force deer reduction effort.
Two petitions were distributed to Spring Hill residents during the Sept. 28 meeting, one supporting the task force's recommendations and another petition for those against the proposal.
Grose and Wiggins said they have each received a few petitions from Spring Hill residents and said petitions are still being accepted.
They said the signed petitions will be given to city council members before the council's Nov. 6 meeting to provide them with guidance and information before being asked to approve the proposed deer reduction efforts.
