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Council sends deer-feeding ordinance back to Public Safety committee after questions on monitoring
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Summary
After residents pressed for a clear monitoring and enforcement plan, the International Falls City Council voted 3–1 to send the second-reading ordinance that would prohibit deer feeding back to the Public Safety committee for further study and data collection.
The City of International Falls council voted 3–1 to return a second-reading ordinance that would prohibit deer feeding to the Public Safety committee for additional study, after residents and councilors raised questions about how the city would monitor deer numbers and enforce the rule.
Resident Glenn Davis urged the council to proceed with the ordinance, saying it is intended to manage a growing deer problem that has attracted predators and raised safety concerns. “I live right by a daycare center and a wolf has been seen right in our neighborhood,” Davis said, urging timely action to mitigate the problem.
At the public-comment podium, Rhonda Benedict pressed city staff and councilors for a measurement plan: “How do you monitor how many deer are in town? Who’s doing it besides Mr. Wagner? If you haven’t counted the deer to begin with, how do you know if the ordinance is working?”
Police Chief Scott Worley offered statistics intended to give context: “Over the last three years, there’s been 22 car-versus-deer accidents reported, two poaching cases, two calls with dogs chasing deer and at least five injured deer,” he said, while acknowledging those numbers may undercount incidents because not every event is reported.
Councilors said the city lacks routine capacity to conduct continuous wildlife counts, and several members noted that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) told the city it will not assist until the city has an ordinance in place. Given the monitoring and enforcement gaps, Councilor Wagner moved to return the ordinance to the Public Safety committee so staff and that committee could develop data-collection, enforcement and safety plans; Councilor Holden seconded the motion, which passed 3–1.
The council’s next step is for the Public Safety committee to examine monitoring options, potential DNR collaboration, enforcement responsibilities for the police department and metrics the city could use to measure whether a feeding ban reduces local deer counts or incidents. No further ordinance language change was adopted at the meeting; the ordinance will return to council after committee review.
