A DOE AND young buck fawn graze in a yard on West D Street in Iron Mountain in 2019. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News file photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — A Hemlock Street resident Monday urged Iron Mountain officials to do more to curb the city’s nuisance deer herd but was told there’s no easy answer.

Jerry Reddinger, likely representing the sentiments of many residents, said the herd “is out of control.”

While not disputing that, Mayor Dale Alessandrini said eliminating deer within the city won’t accomplish much because more will arrive from Breitung Township.

City Manager Jordan Stanchina said a “holistic approach” is needed, including oversight from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and cooperation from neighboring municipalities. The problem, he added, isn’t unique to Iron Mountain.

“We need to get Kingsford, Iron Mountain and Breitung Township all together,” said council member Dave Farragh, who echoed Reddinger’s concern that tick diseases are becoming more prevalent because of the herd. Several people in one neighborhood recently contracted Lyme disease, he said.

An archery deer hunt within city limits will start Oct. 1 under rules the same as a year ago, when 56 deer were culled through a DNR-approved program.

“That’s not enough,” Reddinger told the council. “We’re overtaken by a (deer) population. Somewhere along the line, someone has to draw the line.”

Council member Cathy Tomassoni said a mild winter has helped numbers swell further, contributing to residents’ concerns.

About 20 years ago, sharpshooters were hired to cull the herd, but the city has since turned to the annual archery hunt as an alternative.

City Clerk Isaac Micheau said the archery hunt is limited, in part, by the number of parcels available for safe harvests. The city issues permits for antlerless harvests and a hunter holding a proper state tag may harvest a buck after registering three antlerless deer. Interested hunters can find out more at https://www.cityofironmountain.com/559/Deer-Hunt.

Kingsford also conducts a managed archery hunt, with information available at https://kingsfordmi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/464/City-of-Kingsford—Deer-Hunt-Guidelines-2024-PDF.