Deer Management

White-tailed deer are part of the Metroparks experience. The goal of the deer management program is to sustain a healthy number of deer in balance with other plant and animal species.

Like invasive species removal, prescribed fires and other natural resources management techniques, park districts sometimes need to replicate nature where natural processes have been interrupted. In the case of deer, nature provided predators that kept the population in balance. When those predators were eliminated, the deer population grew to unnaturally large numbers.

Since 1970, Ohio’s deer population has grown from fewer than 20,000 animals to more than 700,000 today, with a lack of predators and suburban landscapes creating desirable living conditions.

Metroparks ongoing deer management program began in 2013. After years of monitoring, the park system instituted a lottery drawing to select qualified bow hunters to reduce the deer population in rural areas of Lucas County, primarily on land set aside for future parkland

In 2016, the park system added a new tool to manage deer: culling.

Culling is conducted under a permit issued by the Ohio Division of Wildlife. The operation uses professional marksmen, working at night when the parks are closed, to safely, humanely and effectively reduce the deer population. The meat is then donated to local food pantries and soup kitchens.

Visual and infrared surveys from aircraft confirm this overpopulation problem in the Metroparks. These surveys help guide our deer management decisions from year to year.