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Deer advisory panel reports 109 vehicle collisions in 2024; committee urges outreach, aerial count
Summary
The Deer Management Advisory Committee told Rochester Hills City Council it recorded 109 reported deer-vehicle collisions in 2024, recommended renewed outreach for fall awareness and a winter aerial population count, and advised pausing a spring seminar in 2026 after falling attendance.
The Deer Management Advisory Committee told the Rochester Hills City Council on Oct. 6 that it recorded 109 reported deer-vehicle collisions in 2024 and is recommending stepped-up resident outreach and a winter aerial deer count.
The committee’s chair, Deb Barnow, gave the annual report and presented data showing this year’s reported collisions. “We registered, and this is a reported, collisions, 109 collisions this year,” Barnow said. She told council that 47 of those collisions occurred in the high months of October through December and that most incidents did not involve injury.
The committee said aerial surveys — the city’s typical winter method for estimating deer numbers — showed 152 deer in the most recent complete count and that staff observed an additional increase of roughly 30 deer in 2025. Barnow said weather prevented a count the previous winter and recommended conducting the aerial count in January 2026, weather permitting.
Why it matters: deer-vehicle collisions are concentrated in predictable months and at recurring locations, posing public-safety and property risks. The committee’s recommendations are aimed at reducing collisions through resident awareness and targeted sign deployment.
Council and committee recommendations and next steps
Barnow and staff recommended a set of continuing, low-cost measures: a renewed fall outreach campaign designating October as “deer awareness month,” rotating changeable message signs in known hot spots from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, distributing a previously created deer brochure with water bills on the committee’s regular biennial schedule, and continuing outreach to new drivers through high-school communications.
The committee also recommended pausing the in-person “gardening with deer” seminar in 2026 because attendance had declined to about 20–25 people in recent years and online resources are readily available; the seminar may resume in 2027. Barnow described continuing invasive-species control, stewardship work and rotating outreach materials as “consistent with what they’ve been in the past year.”
Council response and context
President Diehl thanked the committee, asked questions about the relationship between population estimates and collisions, and noted that the relatively stable collision numbers despite population fluctuations could reflect effective signage and outreach. Vice President Carlock and other council members thanked committee volunteers for the outreach to new drivers. Councilmember Blair asked whether the city coordinates with neighboring communities; staff said Rochester Hills participates in a regional deer coalition and shares information with nearby municipalities.
The committee noted recurring collision hot spots on Rochester, Avon and Adams roads and said the parks and natural resources department will continue to deploy caution signs in those areas. Barnow thanked parks staff and volunteers for data collection and outreach.
Ending
No formal council action was taken on the report itself; the presentation was informational and the committee’s recommendations will guide Parks and Natural Resources outreach and monitoring plans going into the winter.
