GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two thousand miles of road stretch across Kent County, according to its road commission, and a deer carcass can be found on any one of them, including the S-curve.
"The deer don't know jurisdictional boundaries," said Jerry Byrne, maintenance director for the Kent County Road Commission. "We need to address it because those deer are going to continue to move."
On Tuesday, the Grand Rapids Public Safety Committee and Byrne presented on deer management in the city and county as the state's herd continues to grow, leading to an increase in deer-related car crashes and other nuisance complaints.
"We have the best of all worlds," said Byrne, referencing Kent County's varied urban, suburban and rural areas. "The downside [is] you need to find a balance."
The process of finding and fine-tuning that balance, Byrne says, will take time and patience.
In 2022, Kent County finished first in the state for deer-related car crashes (2,251), despite ranking fourth in population, according to a Michigan State Police (MSP) report.
In addition, the state recorded 58,984 deer-related crashes in 2022, a significant increase from the previous year (52,218), according to the data.
"This is a sensitive topic," said James Hurt, managing director of public services for the city of Grand Rapids. "We want to make sure we get it right."
Forming a task force with the county, area cities and townships, the Grand Rapids Public Safety Committee will work to piece together data on where deer live in the region and where their carcasses are picked up by the county road commission, also surveying residents on how to address the deer herd.
The increase in deer-related car crashes can partially be attributed to a steady decline in the state's annual deer harvest, which most recently dropped nearly 10% during the 2023–24 hunting season.
READ MORE: Deer harvest total drops in Michigan, DNR talks regulations with FOX 17
While solutions likely won't be implemented for more than a year, according to Hurt, they could include an extended deer season, funding for deer-processing centers, new incentives for hunters, and tweaks to local hunting restrictions.
"We're open to any solutions," Byrne said. "There's not going to be a one-size-fits-all, I can tell you that right now."
Based off a 2004 study of deer collisions in Kent County, Byrne says road signs aren't proven to make a difference. "Drive a two-mile stretch, stop and write down all the signs you saw," he said.
"Let us finish the study," Byrne continued. "Let us come to some strategies that we can push back out."
