Another chapter in the Invermere deer saga

Once again, Invermere’s deer population was a topic of discussion on the table at the last District of Invermere council meeting, July 13, 2010.

In answer to a letter sent by the office of Mayor Gerry Taft to the Hon. Barry Penner, BC’s Minister of Environment, regarding the “deer situation” in Invermere, a response was received July 9, 2010 from the minister’s office.

The letter, signed by Dave Dunbar, Regional Manager of Environmental Stewardship and Parks and Protected Areas, says in part -

“Good quality habitat in residential areas, combined with protection from hunters and predators, have allowed populations of deer to thrive in urban environments. Deer populations on crown land are usually regulated by natural predation and human hunting; however management of deer within urban environments is extremely complex due to the mosaic of human land uses and social pressures. Therefore, management of urban deer requires close co-operation between the municipalities and the Ministry of Environment.”

Mr. Dunbar mentioned the Urban Ungulate Conflict Analysis for BC report ( http://media.columbiavalley.com/docs/2010/06/deer-report.pdf ). The report is a comprehensive document, outlining problems and offering suggestions for British Columbia communities to consider in dealing with their own specific situations.

He also recommends that all communities introduce and enforce “no deer feeding” bylaws and went on to mention Kimberley and Sparwood as two communities that are now enforcing theirs. In answer to a query from Councilor Brydon, Mr. Chris Prosser, Chief Adminstrative Officer for the District of Invermere, informed Council that Invermere has no such bylaw in place at this time but that deer feeding has been discouraged in the past.

Another recommendation of Mr. Dunbar is to survey community residents to determine their willingness to accept various options of managing urban deer. Also, he suggests an “Urban Deer Management Committee” could be created to develop an urban deer management plan for our community.

Mr. Dunbar concluded that if the ministry had time, they would be willing to work towards co-operatively implementing the consensus strategy resulting from the conclusions drawn by the committee.

Councilor Campsall suggested that the District needed “a wildlife management policy and this [the deer issue] would be a good place to start.”

Mayor Taft agreed with Councilor Campsall and continued by saying “I really believe that the [deer] issue was overblown, and to say that writing a letter to the Minister of the Environment with concerns over urbanized deer in town is the same as saying that Invermere Council wants to slaughter the deer is not fair.

“…over the time since this has happened, there has been a lot of anger and emotion and a lot of it has not necessarily been based on a real issue but more just a perception of an issue,” he said. “I think the reality of this is that council brought up some concerns from some citizens over the number of deer and the potential for aggression, but ultimately, this isn’t necessarily really a council issue –- it’s a community issue and I as a council member and no one else on the council are necessarily the best-suited people to be making wildlife management decisions… There is science behind it and there are people who perhaps have more time and more interest to look at all the options.”

Mr. Taft said that he thought the idea of Council’s setting up a deer management committee who will look at all the options and make some concrete suggestions is perhaps the best road to go down.

Mayor Taft concluded by saying, “Hopefully this dispels any fears out there that there is a deer-killing conspiracy with the District of Invermere. Because,” he said ” I can assure you there is not.”