Decorah Park-Rec Board votes to ban deer hunting in city parks

Saying that the city's current deer population reduction program has been rushed together too quickly, members of the Decorah Parks & Recreation Board voted 5-0 Wednesday morning to recommend to the Decorah City Council that any deer hunting program not include city parks.

The vote came during an hour and a half meeting Wednesday morning at City Hall at which several members of the public testified.

Decorah resident Deborah Ladhrop expressed her concerns about safety issues.  "Don't assume accidents don't happen," she told Park Board members.  She questioned how the public would know that an archer had set up to hunt in a city park.  She added that children and teens especially might not be aware of the potential hazards of archers shooting at deer in city parks.

Decorah resident Mike Vermace, a bow hunter, recommended not using city parks for the deer population reduction program, questioning how safe the mix of hunters and mountain bikers in parks would be.

Decorah resident Randy Fulton questioned whether city parks would be the most effective places for deer hunting, noting that most deer in Decorah live on private property behind UPS, near Pleasant Hill, around Phelps Cemetery, along Dry Run and on Luther College property.  "I don't think (the deer hunt) would change much," he told the board.

Park Board members agreed with the testimony.  Board member Shirley Vermace, who made the motion to ban hunting from city parks, said "This is a rushed program."  She said no information had been gathered yet about the number of deer within the city limits and concluded, "There's no way to know if (the hunting) has been effective."

The Decorah City Council will vote Monday night on a deer population reduction program.  Members of the public will be allowed to speak before the city council votes.