Fernan Village evicting deer

FERNAN VILLAGE – A few native Fernan Village residents could be unwillingly headed for new homes in the near future.

Fernan Village officials are moving forward with plans to trap deer to relieve overpopulation in the small town on the shores of Fernan Lake.

The city plans to hire an Idaho Fish and Game-approved trapper to capture as many as four deer within the next few weeks, said Mayor Jim Elder.

“We want to see how well it works,” Elder said. “The question is do you take 10 deer out and 10 more come back?”

If the test run succeeds the town may use the same approach again to tackle the dozens of deer that often gather along the lake.

Fewer deer have been roaming the streets, eating landscaping and fouling lawns since the town last year banned feeding wildlife, Elder said, but three or four continue to wander in and out of town on a regular basis. As many as two dozen can be seen on any given day just outside town.

A few residents in neighboring Coeur d’Alene have been feeding deer all winter, meaning Fernan Village’s deer invasion is likely to be repeated this spring and summer, Elder said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that come spring they will come into Fernan.”

A Fish and Game trapping permit gives Fernan Village until the end of March to capture the deer and relocate them to a suitable rural area. Waiting any longer could cause too much stress to pregnant does, causing them to miscarry their fawns, said Mark Taylor, Fish and Game’s landowner and sportsman relations coordinator.

“Now is the time,” Taylor said.

“We are going to be looked at by everybody and we want to do it right,” said Fernan Village resident Paul Fromm, who has taken a leading role in tackling the deer problems. “We don’t want to hurt the deer.”

The deer are already physically taxed from the snowy conditions this winter that make it harder to find food. Many appear exceptionally thin for this time of year.

“This winter’s hard on critters,” Taylor said.

Fernan Village resident Heather Bowlby said she’s seen some deer struggling this winter.

“They’re definitely having a harder time getting around,” she said.

Deer haven’t been dying off in unusually high numbers, but this winter is worse than a typical winter, said Chip Corsi, Fish and Game’s regional manager in Coeur d’Alene.

Corsi said a late start to the snowy season gave the deer more time to fatten up before winter. Still it hasn’t been easy for them since the snow hit in January.

Some deer have moved into residential areas where a few people feed them. Others have been pushed onto roads and snowmobile trails where the walking is easier.

“We go up to Fernan Saddle and we’ll see 15, 20, 30 deer around the lake on a daily basis,” said snowmobile trail groomer Del Kerr of his crews.

Kerr has been working to educate snowmobilers about the animals’ plight, encouraging people to snowmobile at higher elevations to avoid unintentionally chasing deer along snowmobile trails because the snowbanks make it difficult for the deer to leave the trail.

The snow also pushed back Fernan Village’s trapping plans.

“There was no way we could put traps up with the deep snow,” Mayor Elder said.

If the snow continues to melt, trapping could move forward within the next few weeks.

It will cost the town about $250 per deer captured and released. None of it will be funded by the state or hunters, Taylor said.

Whether trapping will solve the town’s deer problems remains to be seen.

Elder said he’d like to see neighboring communities follow Fernan Village’s lead and ban feeding wildlife.

“Fernan is a historical wintering area for deer,” Taylor said. “There will always be some deer there.”

Having some deer in the area suits Bowlby just fine, although smaller numbers would be preferable.

“We were a on a game trail for a while. Until we built a fence our yard used to smell like a barnyard,” she said, adding that the deer can also be a pleasure. “We’ve had babies born in our backyard.”