Four solutions exist
As deer numbers increase in the Coosawattee River Resort neighborhood, residents face an animal overpopulation crisis.
Nature’s pointy-headed forest horses may be beautiful, but when they get overpopulated, they can damage the environment and pose dangers to people.
“It’s something that we’ve been aware of for a while and have been talking with the resort about for quite a few years,” Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Regional Wildlife Biologist Emily Rapach said.
People have called the DNR about deer overpopulation in Coosawattee.
In the neighborhood, roadkill deer are a common sight.
Antlered animal overpopulation in neighborhoods is a common problem.
“The high amount of human deer conflict we hear about in Coosawattee River Resort is not uncommon throughout the state of Georgia and even throughout the U.S.,” she said.
But high deer numbers don’t mean the creatures have been squeezed out of nature and into residential neighborhoods by expanding real estate.
In fact, deer prefer residential neighborhoods.
“There’s typically no hunting pressure on them, there tends to be a lack of predators and then you oftentimes get either supplemental feeding or landscaping providing an endless buffet,” Rapach said.
While getting the deer into the neighborhood is easy, getting them out can be much more difficult.
“We’re getting more and more reports of people having issues with deer in neighborhoods and urban environments,” she said.
It’s impossible to determine exactly how bad the overpopulation of a wild animal population has become, she said. But several benchmarks provide indicators that overpopulation has become a problem.
The first indicator is the biological carrying capacity. After enough deer live in one place, they start to suffer disease, parasites and reduced fertility.
“When we reach the biological carrying capacity, you’ll see reduced body condition,” Rapach said.
The second indicator is ecological carrying capacity. At this point, so many deer are present that they consume plant life and harm the landscape. This damage to plants can lead to erosion as well.
“They’re taking away resources for our other native species like birds and small mammals.
The final indicator is social carrying capacity. When an area reaches this point, there will be higher levels of conflicts with people. Deer-related car accidents, deer eating garden plants and deer acting tame are common in this stage.
“There has been stuff that suggests Coosawattee has a high amount of deer,” she said.
The neighborhood likely has four options, she said.
The first option is to educate people in the neighborhood to stop feeding the deer.
The second option is to pass a local ordinance banning feeding the deer.
Without less food, they might move on to other areas.
Given that deer can’t read, an effective ban on feeding deer will have to ban other animal feeders too.
The third option is to request sharpshooters from the DNR to thin the herd.
In neighborhoods, it’s easy to hit a home or vehicle with a rifle if you’re not careful.
These expert marksmen can use a rifle accurately and make sure to hit deer.
The fourth option is to open the neighborhood for archery hunting. An arrow has far less energy than a bullet and travels a shorter distance. While it can kill a deer, it can’t go through a wall like a bullet can.
“People can consider what’s right for their community and what their goals are for trying to manage their deer,” Rapach said.
If Coosawattee doesn’t choose one of these solutions, it can just let the deer be.
But no matter what way authorities choose, handling deer can leave some people disappointed.
“Some people love having deer in their yard,” she said. “Other people pour a ton of money into their landscaping and would rather not have deer.”
The Times Courier called the Coosawattee River Resort Home Owners Association for comment, but they didn’t reply by press time.