MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - For the third consecutive year, Meridian Township hunters will be clearing out local deer.

Two years ago, the Township Board decided to gather volunteer hunters and have them remove deer under the Township*s supervision. The effort has been successful, and the local deer population is decreasing. However, the community remains divided on whether the Township should artificially remove deer or try to adjust human behavior.

"For the most part, the only complaint I get is, you know, why aren't you hunting closer to my house, and literally they call me all the time can you come and put some hunter on my back porch," said Meridian Township Parks and Land Management Coordinator Jane Greenway.

"I think the deer have a natural aversion to people, but we're pulling them out and then we're saying 'oh, they're in our gardens, we should kill them because they're eating all of our plants,' so it just seems a little immature to me, that response," said Leslie Kuhn, Environmental Stewardship Volunteer.

The parameters of the deer management program will be up for approval at the Land Preservation Advisory Board meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 14. The Township Board will then take action at their Aug. 20 meeting.