MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - At the September 17th Meridian Township Board Meeting, Parks and Land Management Coordinator Jane Greenway and Park Naturalist and Stewardship Coordinator Kelsey Dillon provided an update on the 2019 Deer Management Program.

The Deer Management Program was implemented in 2011 in an effort to reduce the overpopulation of deer within Meridian Township and land damage caused by deer.

This Deer Harvest is held during the regular archery season from October 1st through January 1st. This is the program's 9th year and there are 38 Meridian Township Deer Management Properties, on parks and land preserves, encompassing 2,300 acres with 82 hunters. There are also about 15 new hunters who joined this year's program.

Hunters must be approved by the Township and only qualified, competent and experienced hunters will be considered to access Township property and the program is only open to Township residents.

Meridian Township Clerk Brett Dreyfus asked Land Management Coordinator Jane Greenway about what safety measures are used for people who choose to utilize property while people are hunting. GPS trackers are placed on sites for hunters and archers to ensure they will not be on trails and in the range of others.

Hunters are also typically out from dawn to dusk and there are no records of any accidents.

When asked about Chronic Wasting Disease, Kelsey Dillon stated that 61,000 deer have been tested in Michigan and 10 were positive between Ingham and Clinton counties. However, the disease is currently more prevalent in counties such as Jackson, Kent, Eaton and Maccomb and resources are being utilized towards regulating the disease.

At the end of the presentation, Supervisor Ronald J. Styka suggested possible advertisements to inform the public that it is illegal to feed deer and that this is a possible factor for Chronic Waste Disease.

More information about the Deer Management Program can be found on Meridian Township's website.