Sioux Falls, SD (KELO-AM) Sioux Falls residents have expressed concerns to City officials regarding property damage and vehicle accidents as a result of deer living inside the city limits. The Sioux Falls Police Department is taking these concerns seriously and proposing a plan to reduce deer numbers while engaging the public for input.
As a result, a proposed deer management plan has been developed by both the Sioux Falls Police Department and the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks.
Before moving forward with any plan, officials want to give citizens a chance to provide input. A short survey is available at www.siouxfalls.org/deer-survey, and all Sioux Falls residents are welcome to submit their comments. Residents in the areas of Sioux Falls most impacted by deer will have a postcard mailed to them with information and the survey address.
Police Chief Doug Barthel says the goal is to receive as much imput as possible from the public to help develop a way to manage the deer population.
State Regional Wildlife Manager Julie DeJong is advising the city on it's deer management plan. She says the complaints have been coming from the areas below Interstate 29 and north of 57th along the city parks and the Big Sioux River.
Two public meetings will take place in September to give residents opportunities to provide input as well. The meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, September 10, 2014, from 7 to 9 p.m., and Wednesday, September 17, 2014, from 7 to 9 p.m. Both will be held at the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Outdoor Campus, 4500 South Oxbow Avenue.