Pleasant Grove resident raises yard damage from deer; city says state wildlife agency limits local action
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Summary
A new Pleasant Grove resident told the council deer are damaging trees and yards in a neighborhood near Valley View Elementary. City staff said the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources largely controls wildlife management and the city’s options are limited.
At the meeting’s public-comment period, resident Rosemary Dodds told the council she and her husband, new to Pleasant Grove, have experienced repeated deer browsing that damaged newly planted trees and said obtaining replacement trees and protections would cost thousands of dollars per side of their yard.
Dodds described buying six trees that cost “an average of $200 to $400 per tree” and said deer repeatedly chewed or destroyed young trees despite temporary protective screening. “If we continue to do the work ourselves … we would be roughly $5,000 to $6,000 per side,” she told the council.
Council members and staff acknowledged the concern but said their ability to act is limited by state wildlife rules. A city official (Scott) told Dodds the issue is one encountered across the city and that staff would follow up, but another council member said the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources “really, really ties our hands as a city and as individuals.”
Council staff offered to meet with Dodds after the meeting to discuss possible short-term measures and to follow up on options where permitted by state wildlife regulations. No formal city action was taken at the meeting.