No easy answers for controlling city’s deer population
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
If the Watford City City Council was hoping that a public hearing on what to do, if anything, with the city’s deer population would give them a definite indication of the public’s feelings, that didn’t happen on Monday, Feb. 5.
“We’ve had complaints from the public on the number of deer in the city limits,” stated Justin Voll, city mayor, before taking public comments. “There are some cities that have an archery season to control deer populations, but it may not be ideal to have a season in Watford City.”
For some Watford City residents, like Kay O’Connor, they’ve become accustomed to having deer wandering through their neighborhoods, munching on gardens and shrubs and done what they could to control the damage.
“The deer have a regular route in town,” stated O’Connor. “I’ve had to put up a six-foot fence to keep them out of my yard. And I’m concerned about them being hit by cars.”
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