Manchester Monitoring Deer Population

At Monday night's Manchester Board of Aldermen meeting, Mayor David Willson said he recently met with the Missouri Department of Conservation to discuss the city's deer population.

"At this time, it's something to think about, but right now it is not an issue," Willson explained of the current situation.

Manchester Director of Public Works Bob Ruck and Alderman Michael Clement attended the Oct. 13 meeting with Willson. Willson said they are just making sure they understand the current situation and what, as a city, they need to monitor.

"The Missouri Department of Conservation does not see us having a problem now, but we could down the road," Willson said of the meeting. He said the deer population is being looked into because the city has received call from residents concerned about the animals eating their plants. Willson said that at this point there is no safety issue.

Most of the deer are coming from nearby , Willson and Ruck said. That park is under the jurisdiction of St. Louis County which does not allow any type of deer management inside its parks. It's an issue Town and Country is dealing with as well, with deer coming from the same location. The park is locatd between Town and Country and Manchester.

Ruck tells Patch they plan to meet with Town and Country Police Captain Gary Hoelzer, who researched and developed , in an effort to better understand the issue.

"The other problem we have is people are feeding the deer," Willson explained. "Some people think it's cute and other people don't think it's very cute."

"We don't have anything that prohibits it," Ruck added.

Willson said the city has not conducted a study on its deer population so the exact deer numbers are not known. However, city leaders are meeting with those who are more familiar with deer population issues in an effort to be prepared.

"We are monitoring what could happen," Willson tells Patch.

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