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Wildwood council authorizes post-call drone survey as part of 2026 deer-management planning
Summary
Council directed staff to include a drone‑based thermal survey of the deer population in the FY2026 work plan to be conducted after the next calling/culling season, and to coordinate the survey with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the contractor White Buffalo. The council also reviewed the 2026 operational plan for targeted removals in
Wildwood — The City Council on Oct. 27 authorized planning and funding steps to use aerial thermal surveys to measure deer density as part of the city’s continuing deer-management program.
City staff reviewed the deer-management fund (created in 2023) and the White Buffalo operational budget proposed for 2026. Staff described the 2026 intent to focus removals in the SE1 region (approximately 100 deer targeted) and supplemental removals in NE1 and NE2 (approximately 50 deer each), with test results and venison donations screened per vet and Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) protocols.
Several council members and staff discussed the limitations of prior counting methods and the potential for thermal drone surveys to provide more reliable population estimates, particularly in heavily vegetated parcels where nighttime spotlighting and distance sampling can miss animals. Council members emphasized that a drone survey’s utility depends on timing and methodology; members agreed that the most informative comparison would pair a drone count with the manual distance-sampling exercise the city performs during a calling/culling period.
After discussion of vendor costs and timing, the council approved a motion to fund a post-call drone-based thermal survey as a FY2026 work item and directed staff to develop a scope and procurement plan. Staff indicated preliminary cost estimates in the range of $20,000–$40,000 and said MDC would provide references and potential vendor contacts.
Council members asked staff to schedule public information sessions for residents and to coordinate any outreach with hunting and archery stakeholders; members also asked that data from any drone survey be compared to the manual counts used during previous operations to validate results. The council said the department should return to the council with a vendor scope, procurement plan and exact cost estimates before entering into any contract.
