Community Example: Hendersonville, Tennessee

Key facts

High urban deer populations have led to extensive landscape depredation and increased deer-vehicle collisions.

Community Size: Large city (50,000 to 500,000 people)

Region: South

Plan established in 2015

Link(s): Hendersonville Deer Management Program, Hendersonville Could Extend Deer Hunting Season, Deer overpopulation a growing problem in Hendersonville, Hendersonville bans feeding deer

In 2015, Hendersonville, Tennessee (approximate population 55,000) decided to create a community-based program to address deer impacts. Hendersonville’s deer committee recommended a baiting and sharpshooting reduction of the deer herd in areas of highest deer populations with safety being of utmost importance, but lethal control was put on hold until the outcome of a recent ordinance banning feeding of deer can be assessed.

Location

Community Survey

Survey completed by a state agency representative

Phase 1: Problem Definition

Initial discussion about deer as a community issue

Which parties initiated the original discussion about the possibility of a local deer management program?

Individual residents who were having problems with deer

Issue Drivers

What deer-related concerns were the main drivers of the original discussion about need for local deer management?

Deer damage to gardens and plantings around homes; Deer-related vehicle accidents; Concern about Lyme or other tick-borne disease

Any particular impact/event that was a tipping point for your community’s decision to develop a deer management program?

Increase in deer damage to gardens and plantings around homes; Increase in deer-vehicle accidents, or a particular collision with human injuries

Gathering Information

What process was used to define the deer management problem(s) in the community?

Discussions were led by a person brought in specifically to serve the local deer committee as a process facilitator (led by an outside facilitator)

How did the community find a process facilitator when considering the process they would use?

Contacted a representative from the State wildlife agency.

What was the facilitator’s role?

Provide technical support and information

Special challenges

Describe any challenges the community faced in defining the deer and deer management problem.

Challenge:

Conflicting attitudes towards the presence of deer inside the city limits.

Community Response:

Decision was made to ban any deer attracting procedures such as the placing of feed for deer.

Challenge:

Opposition to any lethal control methods.

Community Response:

Decision to delay lethal methods of control until the the results of the "no feeding" ordinance is evaluated.

Given how your community identified your deer management problem, what would you or your community have done differently?

The committee recommended the baiting and sharpshooting reduction of the deer herd in areas of highest deer populations with safewty being of utmost importance.

Phase 2: Decision-Making

Structure of the decision-making process

In what year did the first decision-making phase begin?

2015

What parties initiated or convened the process?

Formal (elected or appointed) community leaders (e.g., town supervisor, town council)

What was the mechanism by which action alternative were selected in the community?

Executive decision by elected or appointed community leaders

Briefly summarize the decision-making process.

The deer committee made recommendations to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen who made the final decision.

In what ways did community members have opportunity(s) to provide input during the decision-making process?

Leaders or deer committee held public comment meetings

Did your community use a facilitator to help make decisions about deer management goals and actions?

Discussions about deer management goals and alternatives were facilitated by the chair or leader of the local deer committee

Where did the community find a process facilitator when defining their process?:

State wildlife agency

What was the facilitator’s role?

Provide technical support and information

What background or training did the facilitator have?

Thirty years of wildlife management experience with a doctoral degree in Environmental Science

Information Gathering

What information sources were consulted by the community group that made decisions about deer management action alternatives?

Content experts from wildlife agency, Research reports or papers, Deer management plans from other communities

How were different types of information used?

Content experts from wildlife agency:

To determine cost, To determine feasibility, To determine acceptability of action alternatives

Content experts from other organizations:

To determine cost, To determine feasibility

Community opinion presented by stakeholder groups:

To determine acceptability of action alternatives

Research reports or papers:

To determine feasibility

Deer management plans from other communities:

To determine acceptability of action alternatives

Other source (identified above):

Was not used

How did the group find/identify the content experts they consulted?

Contacted State and Federal agencies

Program Goals

What specific long-term goals were identified for this community’s deer management program?

Reduction of depredation and deer-vehicle collisions

When were goals for the community-based deer management identified?

During the process of selecting action alternatives

Selecting Management Actions

Special Challenges

Describe the two or three most important challenges the community faced during the decision-making phase.

Challenge:

Differing attitudes towards the presence of deer.

Community response to challenge:

City ordinance prohibiting feeding of deer.

Challenge:

Adverse reaction to lethal control.

Community response to challenge:

Lethal method delayed pending evaluation of "no feeding" ordinance.

Thinking back on your community’s decision-making process, what would you or your community have done differently, if anything?

Taken a more proactive approach.

Phase 3: Implementation

Key characteristics of the management program

Have any actions already been taken with respect to your deer management program?

"no feeding" ordinance

What is/was the annual budget for your community's deer management program?

3000.00

For how many years has the program been funded?

1.00

Did your community create any new positions to assist in implementing the deer management program?

None

What partners, if any, has the community engaged in to help implement the effort?

State wildlife management agency

Was venison donation a component of the implementation process?

Local food banks

Special challenges

Describe the most important challenges your community faced in implementing your deer management program

Challenge:

Limited desire to use ongoing lethal control.

Community response to challenge:

Pretend the problem doesn't exist.

Phase 4: Evaluation and Adaptation

The community's approach to outcome assessment

Did the community develop an assessment plan for measuring progress towards deer management goals?

Yes

What kinds of baseline information did your community collect before implementing the deer management program?

Deer population or deer density

Aerial surveys to estimate deer population or deer density

Damage to gardens and landscape plantings

Monitor Department of Natural Resources or Cooperative Extension reports of residential damage

Deer-vehicle collisions

Collecting police reports on number of deer-related vehicle accidents in community

Residents’ perceptions

Create a system that allows residents to report complaints, and monitor change in number and type of complaints submitted to the system, Resident surveys to assess residents’ perceived level of problems with deer and how tolerable those problems are

If an assessment plan was created, what indicators are used for measuring outcomes of management actions?

Deer population or deer density

Aerial surveys to estimate deer population or deer density

Damage to gardens and landscape plantings

Monitor Department of Natural Resources or Cooperative Extension reports of residential damage

Deer-vehicle collisions

Collecting police reports on number of deer-related vehicle accidents in community

Residents’ perceptions

Create a system that allows residents to report problems, and monitor change in number and type of complaints submitted to the system

Who is responsible for carrying out the assessment plan and monitoring the success of the deer management program?

Elected leader(s)

How program implementation has been adapted over time

What, if any, changes have been made to the deer management program since its initial implementation?

Change:

none

Special challenges at this phase

Describe any challenges your community faced in evaluating your deer management program.

Challenge:

Compiling citizen's input

Community response to the challenge:

create a website for reporting.

Assessment of program success overall

What would you or your community have done differently for the evaluation of its deer management program?

applied lethal control

Does the community consider its CBDM program to be successful in achieving its objectives? Why or why not?

Not significant time to evaluate.