Mold Remediation in Farmington Hills, MI

A deer cull program involving sharpshooters and archery hunts will be introduced to the City of Farmington Hills, Michigan, after the city council approved the measure Monday night.

The effort is to reduce the wild deer population in the community. All venison taken during the deer management effort will be processed and donated to food banks.

Some say that the estimated local population of 1,500 animals has resulted in both a nuisance and a safety concern.

The decision was made after a lengthy meeting with public discussion.

The Farmington Hills City Council voted 6-1 that night to allow contracted professional culls scheduled for two to five days a year starting in 2026. The plan is to use U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters and either take place on city property or, with approval from the property owner, on other sites.

There will also be "highly regulated archery hunts" starting in 2027, with participation limited to public safety members, for two days. The archers would be stationed in a tree or elevated position, shooting the arrows downward. Locations are to be determined at a later time.

The number of deer to be taken will be determined with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the USDA.

In the meantime, the city of Farmington Hills will continue to collect data on ecological impacts, deer-vehicle crashes and concerns from residents about the deer herd. Over the last five years, according to previous reports, over 600 deer-vehicle collisions have been reported in the city.

Paula Wethington

Paula Wethington is a digital producer at CBS Detroit. She previously held digital content roles at NEWSnet, Gannett/USA Today network and The Monroe News in Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

Deer overpopulation is causing serious trouble across Michigan

Deer overpopulation sparks heated debate in Metro Detroit community

Deer overpopulation is causing some serious trouble across Michigan.

One Metro Detroit community came together on Monday (March 24) night to find solutions.

While no decision was ultimately made, many passionate people were inside this special meeting to hear the plan for tackling the issue.

“They would shoot 150 deer. The cull will be performed at night using thermals,” said Farmington Hills Deputy Director for the Department of Special Services, Bryan Farmer.

It was standing-room-only Farmington Hills City Hall as residents eagerly listened to the Department of Natural Resources for a solution to deer overpopulating the area.

“I see probably half a dozen a day, and my friend who’s down in a valley probably sees 12-20 per day,” said resident Laura Paulson.

“People of Farmington Hills are getting a little upset because 10 years is a long time. In 10 years, the deer herd went from 340 to 1,500 plus at this point. That’s a little bit much,” said resident Paul Olsen.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, Oakland County is ranked second in Michigan for deer collisions, as the number of deer only rises each year.

The total number of hunters has decreased by 32% since 1995.

“It’s not just our backyards that are affected. It’s our wild areas. The deer are way too many,” said Paulson.

The proposed solution would be to perform annual culls or have sharpshooters eliminate the animals from high and allow hunting to help with harvest.

The draft resolution also proposes temporarily suspending fire-arm ordinances during those times.

“And over a period of time, we’d be able to better manage that dear herd,” Farmer said.

“There aren’t many predators on the landscape for deer in southern Michigan. So, the only way to manage those populations are through legal regulate hunting,” said Chad Fedewa with the Department of Natural Resources.

The only thing is this proposed plan is not an overnight fix. To be honest, it will be years before we see progress made.

City leaders will be meeting in April to vote on whether they want to proceed with the plan.

Copyright 2025 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Farmington-Farmington Hills|Local Event

Farmington Hills Special Services, Neighbor

Sun, Apr 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM

The Hawk - Farmington Hills Community Center, 29995 W 12 Mile Rd, Farmington Hills, MI, 48334

More info here

Chamber Soloists of Detroit is proud to welcome acclaimed cellist Dmitry Kouzov – praised as “a true artist” by the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich – to join Grammy-winning Icelandic violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson (Best Chamber Music Performance: Pacifica Quartet) and CSD pianist Pauline Martin for an atmospheric program including two Icelandic Nocturnes for violin and piano, and piano trios by Beethoven (“Ghost”) and Shostakovich (No.2).

Sponsored by the Bob Go and Randy and Lynn Miller families.

More Upcoming Events

Local Event

May3

Farmington Players Present: Sister Act

Saturday, 8:00 pmFarmington-Farmington Hills, MI

Local Event

May4

Sunday Church service

Sunday, 10:00 amFarmington-Farmington Hills, MI

Local Event

May4

Farmington Players Present: Sister Act

Sunday, 2:00 pmFarmington-Farmington Hills, MI

Local Event

May5

Cruzin The Grand Car Show - Downtown Farmington

Monday, 4:00 pmFarmington-Farmington Hills, MI

Local Event

May5

Season Finale with The Ehnes Quartet

Monday, 7:30 pmFarmington-Farmington Hills, MI

Local Event

May9

Farmington Players Present: Sister Act

Friday, 8:00 pmFarmington-Farmington Hills, MI

Local Event

May10

Farmington Players Present: Sister Act

Saturday, 8:00 pmFarmington-Farmington Hills, MI

Deer/vehicle collisions have been on the rise in Oakland County, with more than 2,000 in 2023 alone.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Deer/vehicle collisions have been on the rise in Oakland County, with more than 2,000 in 2023 alone. That, along with landscaping damage, the potential spread of ticks and Lyme disease, and ecological concerns, are making some city leaders across the region think about how to manage a rising deer population.

A group of experts presented a potential plan toward that end to the Farmington Hills City Council on Monday.

“It’s been an ongoing problem since we’ve been here. We see deer in our backyard all the time. We love it, but I also just saw a deer get hit by a car on 14 Mile Road,” Farmington Hills Resident Jeremy Long said.

The overpopulation of deer has become a point of concern for residents and leaders in southeast Michigan.

Farmington Hills is set to consider a proposal from the Department of Natural Resources and the Southeast Michigan Urban Deer Management Coalition to lower the city's deer population.

“It’s strictly going to be hunting and or culls. A cull is a sharpshooter being up in a tree elevated in the dark. They would have thermals and suppressors on their guns you wouldn’t hear them, you wouldn’t see them out there. They would shoot down on the deer and drop them there,” Bryan Farmer said.

Farmer is the Deputy Director of the city’s Special Services Department and heads up the deer management coalition.

“The hunting plan would be bows and crossbows, strictly no guns, and the same type of plan where you can set up organized hunts where it’s safe,” Farmer said.

Some, like Jacob Kunz an amateur wildlife photographer, are not warming up to that idea.

“I really enjoy being able to come out here in the city and walk around at this nice park and see the wildlife, there are deer, turkey, and hawks. I wouldn’t want that to really not be a part of Farmington Hills,” Kunz said.

The problem is far from exclusive to Farmington Hills. Several neighboring communities have an overpopulation of deer.

“The deer come right up to the house, and you can see where they’ve bitten off the vine, they’ve chewed up all the leaves,” Waterford resident John Durnbaugh said.

Durnbaugh says deer are ruining his landscaping. The township says it’s not considering any proposals to decrease the deer population.

Chad Fedewa from the DNR says other communities are.

“The city of Southfield, the city of Farmington, as well, have been working with the city of Farmington, as well, have been working on some sort of regional approach on potential deer management, but there are other communities in the southeast Michigan area that exploring opportunities as well,” Fedewa said.

Back in Farmington Hills, the city council is set to take up the proposal on April 28.

“I’ve been a bow hunter for years. So, I think for this area, there's areas where you could probably do it safely,” Long said. “I would support it cause something’s gotta be done.”

Copyright 2025 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.