• Local Bow Hunters Volunteer to Manage the Deer Population and Donate Extra Meat to Food Shelters

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The Deer Management Program is an annual deer cull where bow-hunters from the community come together to hunt deer. The goal being to reduce the deer population and donate deer meat to food banks to help feed the hungry.

"We started off very cautiously" Meridian Township hunter, Matt DeLong explains "anytime you start a new program, you have to be concerned. We started off small and built a reputation with the [community]. People now ask us to come hunt in the area."

The Deer Management Program also helps reduce the number of deer car collisions in the area with a reduction up to a third in some locations.
The program is not just good for the community, it is also good for the deer. An overpopulation of deer can result in wide spread illness among deer such as Chronic Wasting Disease.

It's as DeLong says "I always enjoy seeing deer but too much of a good thing is a problem."

If you see a hunter's stand in the forest, please leave it alone, it isn't safe to climb up a stand without a harness. Also, if you see a hunter and are unsure if they should be there, please contact the Meridian Township Parks and Recreation Department at 517.853.4600.