Granite Shoals deer harvesting program takes shape
A small herd of white-tailed deer roam the streets of Granite Shoals. The city has a massive deer population that could be brought under control when a deer management program kicks in during the upcoming fall hunting season. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
The city of Granite Shoals is just over five months from reigniting its white-tailed deer harvesting program after a five-year hiatus. The city has spent the past two years rebuilding its Wildlife Advisory Committee, conducting deer population surveys, and collaborating with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in preparation for tackling its swollen deer population.
According to the most recent surveys of wild deer, there is an estimated one animal for every 0.86 acres in the city, which far exceeds the TPWD healthy population ratio of 8-10 acres for every deer.
The overabundance of deer reportedly wreaks havoc on landscaping and vegetation and is responsible for about 50 percent of the reported vehicle collisions within city limits, according to Police Chief John Ortis.
“Last year, I had two police vehicles damaged by deer,” he said. “Several years back, we did not have a single vehicle in our fleet that did not have deer damage.”
If everything goes according to plan, harvesters will be in hunting stands across the city, using archery equipment to dispatch deer under restricted conditions come late September or early October when the 2025-26 hunting season begins.
What is the Wildlife Advisory Committee?
The Granite Shoals Wildlife Advisory Committee is a collection of volunteer residents appointed by the City Council to help advise the city on wildlife management. It currently has 10 members and hosts a public meeting once a month or as needed.
The group was formed in 2014 specifically to address the issue of deer overpopulation in the city. Residents were surveyed in 2015 for their thoughts on the issue and town halls were held in the following years to get more feedback.
After the public outreach campaign, the committee developed an archery harvesting program alongside TPWD to allow for the killing of deer within city limits under special restrictions and special Managed Lands Deer Program tags. This process began during the 2016-17 white-tailed deer hunting season and continued through the 2018-19 season.
During its active years, the committee and its harvesters reportedly killed 305 deer, logged 3,076 volunteer hours, and collected 5,998 pounds of venison, which was either kept by the harvesters or donated to those in need.
The committee and harvesting program lost steam and ceased in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and waning interest in the challenging work of shooting, moving, and processing animals under restrictive conditions.
The project was revitalized in 2023 by a new batch of concerned residents.
What is the harvest program?
The white-tailed deer harvest program was developed by the Wildlife Advisory Committee alongside TPWD as a solution to the overabundant deer population within Granite Shoals city limits. Volunteer harvesters will spend the hunting season killing deer at designated sites throughout the city in an effort to reduce the population.
“We’re just trying to do what it takes to have a healthy deer population as opposed to a maximum deer population,” said Wildlife Advisory Committee Chairman Peter Hutnick.
The harvesting will be done under strict conditions, with volunteers posting up in 10-15 sites in the city using a tree stand or a tripod stand with a deer feeder nearby and a backstop placed within a planned shot path behind the feeder. Harvesters can only use archery equipment and are only permitted to take shots at 20 yards or less.
The harvest sites will be on a mix of city-owned property and volunteered private property. Residents in homes within 75 yards of a harvest site will be contacted and informed about the program prior to it starting. If a wounded animal crosses property lines, the committee and the city will request permission to retrieve or pursue the deer.
The harvesting will be done through the TPWD’s Managed Lands Deer Program, which allows landowners to harvest deer on a property to support healthy habitat and wildlife conservation. This program takes place outside of normal hunting regulations, with the issuance of a specific number of MLDP tags to an MLDP project rather than the standard five tags issued to a hunter per hunting season.
To join the MLDP program, Granite Shoals had to conduct three full years of population surveys, which were submitted to TPWD to better understand the city’s deer population.
The city began its surveys in 2023, did another in 2024, and will complete its final surveys in August, just prior to the start of white-tailed deer archery season in late September or early October.
According to the most recent surveys, volunteers counted 2,027 deer over three days of surveys in 2024 on the same 1,737 acres. This is by far the greatest number of deer surveyed since the city program began. The next highest number surveyed was 1,551 animals in 2023, and the lowest was 778 animals in 2015.
The exact number of MLDP tags that will be issued is yet to be determined, but Wildlife Advisory Committee Chair Hutnick said that, based on the current number, it could be as high as 700.
Learn more about the harvesting program through the Wildlife Advisory Committee’s 2025 Deer Management Program presentation online.
To apply to be a harvester, visit the Granite Shoals Deer Harvesting Program webpage. Harvesters must be at least 18 years old, possess a Texas Hunting License and Bowhunter Education Certificate, and pass an archery accuracy test and a 15-question “shoot or don’t shoot” test. Harvesters do not have to be residents of Granite Shoals.
Shooting is only permitted for designated harvesters. All deer killed will be processed and distributed to harvesters who want the meat or kept in a city-owned walk-in cooler for distribution to those in need.
Under TPWD rules, white-tailed deer cannot be transported from one place to another due to the risk of spreading disease across Texas deer herds. The animals cannot be captured, kept alive, and moved.
Are there really that many deer?
Longtime Granite Shoals leaders Mayor Ron Munos and Mayor Pro-tem Steve Hougen both acknowledged the large number of deer in the city.
“We have a severe deer overpopulation, and I think (the Wildlife Advisory Committee) has a well-thought-out plan to address it,” Munos said. “Just living in Granite Shoals, you drive around and see deer everywhere. We hear complaints of, ‘I can’t have a garden,’ and you see dead deer on the side of the road. It’s an issue we felt it was time to address.”
Hougen, who was part of the original Wildlife Advisory Committee in 2018, echoed Munos’ sentiments.
“(The deer management program) is a response to the demand that something be done about the deer,” he said. “All options have been considered, and this is by far the most inexpensive and efficient method.”
TPWD Senior Biologist Evan McCoy supports Munos, Hougen, and the Wildlife Advisory Committee’s assessments.
“I’ve worked with very few places that have that level of density,” said McCoy, referring to the 0.86-acres-per-deer ratio in Granite Shoals. “Even when you get to a deer per 3 acres, you see habitat degradation and you’re left with the low-quality plants. And if that’s what they’re eating, they’re probably getting less nutrition than they probably should. And in a city or urban area, there is probably far less of that natural vegetation.”
McCoy explained that land has a carrying capacity for supporting wildlife, and if that capacity is overburdened, it can lead to habitat destruction, such as the destruction of landscaping in Granite Shoals, conflicts with humans, and malnourished animals.
“We’re already in a part of the state with the highest deer density,” he said. “There is a carrying capacity; your land can only support so many deer. You do have a point where you have too many (deer) and it’s causing safety issues for people and maybe an annoyance, but also, at the same time, the health of that deer herd can be lowered.”
McCoy also recommended that residents avoid feeding deer, which can artificially boost the population.
“I really would discourage people from feeding, which I know is hard to do,” he said. “It will require the cooperation of the entire community to help resolve the problem.”