Iron Mountain recruits local hunters to cull deer population

IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WLUC) - Right now, buck and doe alike can be seen in residential areas across Iron Mountain, damaging landscaping and interfering with traffic.

Iron Mountain resident Gary Feira says the deer population has gotten out of control.

“Yea, there’s deer all over, in fact; there’s too many deer,” said Feira. “Deer run through the yard all the time and to me that’s not healthy for a deer population, they need to be more wild. They eat flowers and everything.”

Iron Mountain Clerk Treasurer Isaac Micheau helped organize a solution to the problem: a city-wide deer hunt from October 1st till December 31st. He consulted with experienced hunters and homeowners to divide forested areas within the city into zones for bow hunters. The land must be five or more acres in size with permission from every property owner within the zone.

Micheau says to qualify for the program, hunters must prove they can work safely.

“You have to pass an accuracy test and use either a traditional bow or a crossbow,” said Micheau. “All the hunting is done from an elevated tree stand; a minimum of twelve feet tall so you’re always shooting downward for safety.”

He asks residents to not feed deer within the city and hopes homeowners can collaborate to add more land to the program.

“Residents that have appropriate amounts of land, or two or three residents that work together to have an appropriate amount of land, they could become part of the program and utilize their property to help solve the problem,” said Micheau.

So far, the city says hunters have gotten almost fifty deer with more expected by the end of the season.

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