2010 Deer Hunt Summary
Deer Surveys
Ramsey County Parks and Recreation Department conducts annual aerial deer surveys in selected parts of the county with support of local governments. The link below shows the area surveyed. Surveyors are flown by helicopter at 100 to 200 feet above the ground in the winter with good snow cover. The snow allows the brown deer to be seen on the white background. Not all deer are seen during the surveys, so any deer counts are considered the minimum number in the area. Surveying the highlighted areas takes between 12 and 15 hours per year.
2011 Aerial Deer Survey
Deer Management
Ramsey County Parks and Recreation Department deer management is a cooperative plan with municipalities where the parks are located. The Department currently works with the cities of Maplewood, Roseville, St. Paul, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights and White Bear Township. Deer population goals are set on an annual basis. When the aerial surveys show a population in excess of the goal, a deer reduction option is selected. Two types of reduction methods have been used: archery hunts and sharpshooters.
Archery Hunts
Archery hunts are found to be effective in controlling deer in areas where the majority of the deer population is found on the properties suitable for hunting. Archery is a very safe removal technique. Archery can be used under regular Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) seasons.
Ramsey County works exclusively with the Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB) to conduct special permit archery hunts to control deer populations in selected parks. Participants need to take the Bowhunter Safety Class, take an accuracy test, and sign the MBRB ethics pledge. There is an annual MBRB registration fee.
Selected archers need to attend a pre-hunt orientation. Archers get to hunt two 3-day hunts. Hunting is done from elevated stands. The first hunt period is antlerless only, the second hunt period is either antlered or antlerless. Archers get to keep their deer or they can donate the venison to local food shelves.
Ramsey County has been conducting special permit archery hunts since 2000. Nine different parks and open spaces have been used for the special permit hunts. Over the last seven years, over 550 deer have been harvested, of which over 85% have been antlerless.
2011 Archery Hunts
Deer Hunt Map
Sharpshooting
Ramsey County Parks has used contracted sharpshooters in conjunction with the cities of Maplewood and St. Paul to reduce the deer herd in the southeast corner of the county in areas where adequate archery. Sharpshooters can quickly remove large numbers of deer from areas within limited public land. All the venison from the removal was donated to local food shelves. Two hundred deer were removed by the sharpshooter.
Deer Abatement Program
There are a number of tools that homeowners can use to keep deer out of their yards. The following websites provide information on fences, repellents and other techniques.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
University of Wisconsin Madison
Deer/Car Collisions
One assessment used by Ramsey County to assess deer population levels is collecting deer/car collision information. The dead deer reports from Mn/DOT, Ramsey County Public Works and selected municipalities are used to develop a map. The map shows the location of dead deer over the last five years.
2010 Deer-Car Collisions
Other Useful Links:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB)
