Deer in Dalton crosshairs

A “wildlife management” workshop to discuss allowing deer hunting in Dalton Gardens is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday at Dalton Gardens City Hall.

The purpose is to discuss making “archery deer hunting standard operating procedure that provides guidelines and safety requirements to residents and hunters who wish to participate in deer hunting opportunities in Dalton Gardens.”

Some say the deer population has long been a problem and has grown to the point something must be done to reduce their numbers. They say deer are starving, being struck by vehicles, and getting caught in fences.

Others have said the deer are becoming more aggressive and are a threat to children.

Dalton Gardens resident Jamie Smith said hunting deer in the city is not the solution, and education should be the focus.

"If you start killing them you get more deer," she said.

Chances are, more than half of deer shot with an arrow don't die on the spot, Smith said. They probably would run away into a yard where children might be playing, or out in the road.

"This is dangerous," she said.

As currently proposed, all residential property hunting locations must be approved by the property owner and the city; hunters must be approved by the mayor and the Coeur d’Alene Bowmen; the mayor or his/her designee will assign hunters to specific properties where they will be permitted to hunt.

Smith said there is less than a 50% chance that a deer shot with an arrow will die on the spot. They will likely flee, injured, and could run into a yard where children might be playing, or out in the road where drivers may have to take evasive action.

Smith was concerned the current plan recommends that hunting be confined to areas of at least one acre, a reduction from three acres.

Hunters are also encouraged to hunt from an elevated stand.

Per the current proposal, the hunter will not: Shoot an arrow across a highway, roadway, sidewalk, bike path, walkway or beyond the approved area, to include within 500 feet of a school or shoot an arrow from within a motor vehicle.

Critics of the proposal worry that a hunter will miss and the arrow could fly toward a home or a person.

“People need to know about this. This is dangerous,” Smith said.

Under the proposal, deer hunters and property owners who agree to let them on their land must sign an agreement to "hold harmless the City of Dalton Gardens, its agents, officers, employees, representatives, and consultants from and against any and all damages, costs and expenses …"

The meeting will be conducted via teleconference and in person. To join the webinar, go to: bit.ly/3xmdo6j