Wildwood committee approves modified cull plan; residents and scientist spar over herd numbers

The Administration and Public Works Committee on Oct. 14 voted to proceed with a revised deer-removal program run by contractor White Buffalo, directing staff to refine boundaries and final numbers before a final implementation step. Committee members said they wanted firm, verifiable counts and clearer plans for how meat would be processed and distributed.

The action followed more than an hour of public comment in which residents and hunters urged different outcomes. "The way that it's being done concerns me a little bit," resident Richard Behnam told the panel, saying he feared the program prioritized rapid removal over population management. Tom Mitchell, another resident, told the committee his hunting observations suggested "there has been an overkill" in some management areas and urged a more conservation-minded approach.

City Administrator Lee and a wildlife scientist, Dr. Rambo, answered questions about the program's methods and data. Lee told the committee the city was relying on transect surveys and field counts and that staff would re-examine the study boundaries and the numeric targets before signing contract work orders. Dr. Rambo pressed for careful interpretation of public claims and defended the contractor's field methods, saying the contractor's marksmen use equipment and ammunition designed to ensure rapid, humane kills; "they drop like puppets with their strings cut," he said, describing the contractor's training and the instantaneous nature of properly executed shots.

Committee members sought a compromise: advance the program to ensure public safety on state and county roads while requiring staff to return to the full council with refined, auditable counts and a defined plan for how carcasses will be processed and shared. A motion to "proceed with the proposal from White Buffalo after staff finalizes boundary and density numbers," as recorded in committee discussion, passed with one member recorded as opposed.

What happens next: staff will finalize the area maps and target-density figure (the committee asked staff to examine 30' 35 deer per square mile as a working range instead of the previously used 40), confirm how many properties volunteer land access, and return to council with a revised contract figure and an operational plan that clarifies carcass processing and distribution. The committee also signaled interest in additional town-hall meetings and targeted outreach to hunters and processing businesses to expand local participation in maintenance efforts.

The committee's vote does not immediately change operations; staff emphasized the next step is to firm up the numbers and return them to the full council for any contract authorization or spending approvals.