Duane Hicks
“When you live in deer country, you’re going to see deer.”
While it may not be much consolation to local residents whose flowers, shrubs, and vegetables are being damaged by deer, the Ministry of Natural Resources says Fort Frances is a natural hotspot for white-tail activity and that the population probably won’t go down until Mother Nature decides.
Deer populations have a natural range of variation from highs to lows, and right now the historic cycle is at a high point, said MNR area supervisor Jeff Wiume, who, along with MNR management biologist Melissa Mosley, spoke to town council and a group of about 20 citizens at Monday night’s regular meeting at the Civic Centre.
Wiume said Fort Frances is located in “prime deer habitat—probably the best in Ontario” and that “it’s not surprising we have good deer herd in our district, and throughout the northwest region.”
“And again, it’s not surprising that, from time to time, we will see deer in town,” he added.
Mosley said deer were first reported in the Fort Frances District in the 1890s and since then, the population has expanded and contracted greatly.
According to 2007 stats based on deer seen by hunters, this area has the highest number of deer in Ontario.
She also pointed out a graph which showed the deer population greatly increased in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and then began a gentle decrease starting in 2003.
As well, the number of deer being harvested here has increased over that same period—and hasn’t dropped off.
Mosley explained there are a number of factors affecting deer population growth, including snow depth, hunting pressure, predators, food availability, habitat availability, road mortality, and disease and parasites.
She noted there’s no lack of food or habitat in the area, and there’s been no outbreaks of disease or parasites.
The prime factor is snow depth. Mosley said the last severe back-to-back winters were in 1995 and 1996, “which really knocked back our deer population.”
“After these two winters, the deer population was really brought down to a very low level and since then it’s been gradually increasing,” she noted.
“We haven’t had those back-to-back hard, cold winters with lots of snow since then.
“But if you look at last year, last year was really the first year we considered a severe winter,” she continued. “We’re anticipating last year probably had a bit of an impact on the deer population, it probably had an impact on fawn survival, over-winter survival.
“So we think that there are probably fewer deer out there this year compared to last, but to the extent it’s affected the population, we still have to wait and see.”
Mosley said another back-to-back cold winter probably would achieve a similar result to what those 1995-’96 cold winters did, later explaining that severity of winter mainly is gauged by snow depth, not temperature.
“If we saw the winters like we saw in 1995 and 1996, we probably wouldn’t be having this town meeting,” Wiume said.
Mosley said the main way which deer population is controlled is through hunting, and there’s been no shortage of deer hunting going on here.
The local MNR office distributed 1,600 deer tags for Wildlife Management Unit #10 (Fort Frances) this year, and 1,800 last year, and a few hundred in each of the WMUs surrounding Fort Frances.
As well, in 2004, the MNR introduced additional seals, which are like extra deer tags hunters can purchase if they so choose.
Since 2004, they have sold out each year here. This year, 1,800 were sold while last year, 2,000 were issued.
On a map indicating harvest density, Mosley noted this area has the second-highest density in the province.
As to why so many deer are coming into Fort Frances, Mosley said that not only is there a high population of deer, but these many deer naturally are going to go where they are safe and there is food.
There is a lack of predators close to developed areas, plenty of easily accessible food (i.e., agricultural fields, young forest types, cedar swamps, lawns and golf courses, and flower and vegetable gardens), ease of movement via trails, roads, paths, and yards (costing deer less energy in the winter and thus higher survival), and plenty of refuge areas (wooded areas in town and adjacent to the town).
Fort Frances also is located close to large deer wintering areas north and west of town.
As far as what can be done about the deer in town limits, Mosley said the town’s wildlife feeding ban “has been a real positive step.”
She also said repellents, noise, pets, and appropriate fencing are all measures residents can use, as is deer-resistant landscaping (deer aren’t fond of evergreens or thorny and prickly plants, although if hungry enough will make exceptions).
Wrapping trees and shrubs in winter, and spraying them with repellent, will help dissuade deer from browsing, added Mosley, saying there’s many deer repellent recipes available on the Internet.
Wiume, meanwhile, said the MNR is in the process of getting approved a cervid ecological management plan under which the MNR decides what and where it will manage white-tailed deer, elk, caribou, and moose populations, and the plan for the Fort Frances area will focus on white-tailed deer.
The plan currently is on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry as a decision item.
“It will give us direction on how we manage certain species, what their population directions are, and tools to get to an end objective,” he explained.
Public concerns
Having seen their flower beds, gardens, and landscaping ravaged by deer, many of those on hand for Monday night’s meeting wanted answers as to what can be done about the high deer population.
“We are all aware that the deer are a problem here. My question is what kind of solution can we come up with here?” asked resident Marie Anderson.
“I’d like to know what kind of solution can council and the biologists come up with where we are not paying the price to feed the deer. . . .
“They have changed their feeding habits and they are eating everything. They are eating things they never used to eat,” she noted.
“What we would like is a solution that works that doesn’t cost us an arm and a leg,” Anderson stressed.
“I am still looking for answers,” echoed Helen Crook, who was among several members of the Fort Frances Horticultural Society in attendance.
“I have been at my residence now for 40 years and until the past five years, I did not have a deer problem.
“We’re looking for help from the town . . . we really do need better bylaws, we need higher fences. We need some help,” she remarked.
“It’s causing us endless amounts of trouble. . . .
“We would like to work in co-operation with the town, but we don’t want to meet opposition when we set about trying to protect what we have carefully planted.
“I know that you do not want high fences, but sometimes a high fence is an absolutely necessary thing,” argued Crook, adding deer repellents only work for so long before the deer get used to them.
“We do want your help more than anything else,” Crook stressed. “Maybe you’ll have to draft some bylaws that will enable us to protect our properties.
“It’s very disconcerting to find out what you’re doing to protect yourself may not be in the best interest of the town because they feel people have the right to drive by and see your pretty lawn.
“But I’d rather see my pretty lawn without deer in it.”
In response, CAO Mark McCaig said there are “planning issues related to that [fences] that the town is trying to work through.”
Other residents said the deer have become too tame and even will lie down in their yards with their pets.
Some people felt deer seemed to have changed their diet, but Wiume said that’s not true—deer simply are opportunistic feeders.
As well, both Mosley and Wiume pointed out there is no shortage of food or habitat in the forest for deer here, and that they are not coming into town because they’re hungry but more because it is safe and accessible.
The topic of culling deer also came up, but Wiume said that’s not a solution here.
He conceded there are times and situations when the province will agree that culling is necessary, usually when irreversible, ecological damage is being done to the natural environment by deer.
Another option is deer removal authorization. This has been used in southern Ontario to protect small areas of land with high cash crop value, like a “u-pick” strawberry farm.
But neither of these cases apply here, noted Wiume, adding that culling is not to be taken lightly—and just as many people would oppose culling as support it.
Mayor Roy Avis said that since January, the town has had a wildlife feeding ban in place, and anyone who sees someone feeding the deer should report them.
McCaig noted the town will be taking a further look at how other municipalities have been handling their deer and what they have done to help educate the public.
