Iowa City prepares to hear from residents to address growing deer population

Iowa City has a lot of deer. A number of people wrote to the city council sharing a similar message: they are creating problems in their yards and on roads.

Experts say the deer have reached their highest number in 20 years- and city staff have been trying to figure out what to do about it.

Since it was briefly discussed at a city council meeting in March, council members have been seemingly at a stand-still, making the decision to wait until Tuesday night, more than one month later, to allow the public ample time to attend a public input session to help address the growing problem.

Council members said they feel "trapped" by the Iowa DNR's Natural Resource Commission. The city council wants to hire a sharpshooter, but the commission suggested they can only do that for one year, if they agree on an urban deer hunt for four years after that.

The negotiations are frustrating the council, so they are using Tuesday night's meeting to look for feedback from the public, outside of the many e-mails and letters they have already received.

One of the residents that wrote a letter was Kathryn Patience, who has lived in Iowa City with her husband since 1991.

"We see fox, we see all kinds of lovely, lovely animals- but we have too many deer," Patience said.

Patience said she and her family enjoy seeing wildlife, but looking around their yard, it is obvious that deer have made their impression on the landscaping.

"Everyday- and they'll be herds of like six-eight of them," Patience said. "They love the hostas so they knock those down. They just walk through here, this is their little salad bar."

To Patience's own admission, to see her effort eaten away is frustrating.

"It's like at the end of it, I didn't get my cookie," Patience said. "I didn't get the flower, I didn't get the stuff."

However, not everyone in Iowa City thinks the deer are a nuisance.

"I love them, and I love animals," said Elke Nelson, who not only enjoys seeing the deer, but during the winter makes sure they do not go hungry. Nelson and her husband care for the animals both on their property- and the ones that visit behind it.

"We're privileged to have the deer here," Nelson said. "They are harmless to use, and eating a few hostas to me is trivial."

Nelson does not want any deer management plan; she says since homes have slowly taken away from wildlife, people should not feel the need to exterminate them.

"They were here before we here," Nelson said. "Do they have to be close to extinction before we wake up?"

The city council and many other Iowa City residents want the deer population reduced, much to Nelson's concern. But some believe the upcoming public input session is already arriving late.

"The time for discussion has passed," Patience said. "And it's time to actually do something."

The Iowa City City Council meeting begins at 7 P.M. Tuesday at Iowa City City Hall. The public hearing will take place during the council's session.