Archived Story

FWP to release assessment on urban deer population
Posted on July 25
By the Associated Press

HELENA - The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is expected to issue its final environmental assessment Friday for a plan to cull mule deer in Helena - clearing the way for police officers to trap and kill 50 of the animals in the coming months.

No timeline for the work has been set, but an earlier decision by the FWP Commission means the city could cull the population any time between Aug. 15 and March 15.

A study conducted in December 2006 projected that Helena could be home to more than 700 deer by now, with an estimated population of 1,800 animals by 2010. FWP and Helena police have responded to increasing numbers of complaints of aggressive deer, property damage and vehicle collisions with the animals in the past several years.

City officials originally asked to kill up to 350 deer in town to reduce the herd's size. But FWP commissioners rejected the plan and agreed to allow the city to remove 50 does and bucks in a pilot project.
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