OUR TURN: Community consensus is best approach for deer management

During a recent discussion involving the Granite Shoals City Council and state wildlife biologists about managing deer populations, two salient points emerged:

• Make sure there really is a deer problem.

• Build community consensus before doing anything else.

You think Texans argue about high school football? Wait until someone at City Hall says it’s time to get rid of the deer.

If most of the community isn’t on board with this concept, it’s the kind of issue that can tear a town apart. The same situation has happened in other cities where perfectly peaceful neighbors have turned into feuding Hatfields and McCoys over whether to remove deer herds.

In some cases, removal or eradication is justified. In communities across Texas, deer have been forced by human encroachment, drought and other factors to move into suburban settings, where they eat plants, destroy flower beds and pose hazards on the road.

On the other hand, deer — except during rutting — are peaceful, gentle herbivores whose appearance in a community can add to a sense of peace and relaxation.

There is an inclusive, responsible approach to find out how the community really feels about the deer herds in Granite Shoals.

The council should begin taking steps to form a representative wildlife committee made up of residents and city officials.

This group, reflecting the voices of the community, can be the first step in building widespread acceptance on how to handle the deer — no matter what final decision is offered.

Committee members can talk to their neighbors, solicit input from the business community, investigate various programs and provide feedback to the council before any decisions are made.

One of the most successful urban programs is in Lakeway, where officials have a feeding ban, public education and use trap, transport and processing. But Granite Shoals residents and officials have to decide what approach is right for them.

A wildlife committee can offer an effective urban-suburban management plan that includes:

• Public education

• Creating a consensus in the community

• A ban on feeding the deer

Councilman Slayton Marks is already advocating the feeding ban. But if the council passes such an ordinance, it will need to have teeth to be effective. Some enforcement with real penalties will be necessary, and that means the Police Department will have to issue citations backed by heavy fines.

Otherwise, there’s no reason to stop feeding the deer unless a real deterrent is in place.

Is that what the people of Granite Shoals want?

The council would be wise to organize the wildlife committee and find out.