New plan for state's 'urban deer'

GAINESVILLE - White-tailed deer don't just live in the north Georgia wilderness. They live in the cities and towns... with their ever-growing human population. And, the state has a new plan for controlling them.

Regional Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist Kevin Lowrey says deer were here before people and homes were here and they still search for food... and there's plenty of it in neighborhood yards and gardens in Gainesville and other places.

Lowrey said DNR's new Urban Deer Management plan recommends hunting as the best method for controlling deer in urban areas.

Gainesville's deer are attracted to plants and shrubs, and that's what homeowners here complain about the most, according to City Marshall Debbie Jones, who has even spotted the four-legged critters downtown.

The state's management plan includes planting vegetation deer don't like to eat; Jones said not all residents want to see them killed.

Late fall and early winter are the critical times of the year for motorists to watch for deer on North Georgia roads, according to Lowrey. That's because its mating season and deer are on the move. Lowrey says statewide there are around 40,000 deer-vehicle collisions every year.

Jones said she knows of at least one building-versus-deer collision that occurred in the heart of Gainesville, recalling the confused deer that wandered into Roosevelt Square last year. She said it ran into the side of the glass windows that line the side of the Joint Administration Building that fronts the Georgia Mountains Center across Roosevelt Square. The deer, as it turned out, was not injured seriously, and did not break any window panes.

You can read more about the new Urban Deer Management Plan with a blog available at www.georgiaurbandeerplan.com. There, you can read the entire plan, post comments and review responses to frequently asked questions.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/12/225719