Advocates for Michigan Wildlife

06/18/2026

Sterilization Effectively Reduces a Deer Population at a Lower Overall Total Program Cost Over Time Versus Culling

PLEASE TAKE ACTION BY ATTENDING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS IN YOUR CITY AGAINST THE INEFFECTIVE METHOD OF SHARPSHOOTING AND ARCHERY HUNTING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS!

LET THEM KNOW THEY NEED TO IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE, SCIENCE-BASED NONLETHAL METHODS IN SUBURBAN/URBAN COMMUNITIES AND NOT RISK OUR SAFETY!

HERE IS THE TRUTH THAT THEY REFUSE AND FAIL TO TELL YOU:

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) only recommends that local suburban governments use lethal measures to decrease human-deer conflicts by reducing a suburban deer population. The DNR admits, but ignores, that the use of archery hunters and firearm sharpshooters is highly controversial among suburban residents who have highly polarized views and values regarding deer management. In presentations to local government officials and staff, the DNR falsely characterizes the use of the nonlethal method of female deer sterilization as difficult to achieve results and “expensive”.

The DNR concluded, in its 2022 Final Report of Sterilization of Game in Michigan, that, “The ovariectomy technique [of sterilization] has shown to be effective in reducing deer populations at a localized scale.” This conclusion was based on a scientific study by DeNicola and DeNicola (2021) on the successful use of sterilization of deer to reduce suburban free range wild deer populations. The researchers proved that by sterilizing at least 95% of the female deer within five years, at an average cost of $1,200/deer, sterilization was effective in reducing a deer population by an average of 45% in four cities. According to DeNicola’s White Buffalo, Inc. nonprofit website, the overall sterilization cost can be reduced by 50% if volunteer veterinarians helped and trained local volunteers handled the immobilized deer.

Once 95% of the female deer are sterilized in the targeted areas, the overall deer population decreases due to minimal newborn fawns, male deer dispersing to other areas, and older deer dying off. Since sterilized female deer remain in their home range, the immigration of other unsterilized female deer into their habitat area is unlikely.

The DNR’s false characterization of deer sterilization as “expensive” is deceptively based on the DNR’s use of only the cost of sterilization per deer versus the cost of culling per deer. The DNR ignores the accumulative cost during the necessary number of years each method must be annually repeated to achieve successful results in reducing a deer population. The cities of Farmington Hills, Farmington and Southfield recently conducted, in 2026, a joint lethal deer population reduction program. The average culling cost was approximately $600/deer for USDA Wildlife Services sharpshooters to kill only 70 deer.

Deer have a high reproductive rate. The reproduction ratio for the number of fawns born per adult doe in an urban area is as high as 1.8 fawns per adult doe. As a deer herd is lethally reduced, the remaining does produce additional fawns due to an increase of food for the remaining female deer, creating a an annual “rebound” in the population.

A yearly sharpshooting deer culling is clearly a long-term costly investment for more than ten (10) years and not just for five years to effectively reduce the deer population in a suburban community. Meridian Township has conducted an annual lethal deer management program involving a managed archery hunting program for the past fifteen (15) years and a concurrent firearm culling program for the past six (6) years. Numerous local governments outside Michigan have conducted yearly lethal deer programs over 10 or more years to attempt to reduce human-deer conflicts. See link at: www.deerfriendly.com/deer-population-control/perpetual-cull

For the past 25 years, the Michigan Huron-Clinton Metroparks has also been conducting deer culls in their parks. For example, during the most current 10 years, an average combined total of 115 deer per year were culled in the Stoney Creek, Kensington, Oakwoods and Willow parks. However, the deer culling program conducted in those parks for the past decade has not resulted in any reduction in their deer populations. At the current USDA Wildlife Services culling cost of $600 per deer, for an ongoing ten-year ineffective culling program in these Metroparks, the overall cost would be $690,000 (115 deer x 10 x $600), not including an inflationary cost factor.

References:
DeNicola, A.J. and V.L. DeNicola (2021). Ovariectomy As a management Technique for Suburban Deer Populations, Wildlife Society Bulletin 453):445-455.

ADVOCATES FOR MICHIGAN WILDLIFE
https://advocatesformichiganwildlife.org/

05/03/2026

Many countries around the world are finding solutions to reduce wildlife/vehicle accidents to keep drivers and wildlife safe. Michigan needs to follow suit and implement these effective solutions!

India is inaugurating its first “red road” to save wildlife, and the trick is not fences or speed cameras, but a surface that forces drivers to slow down almost without realizing it.

https://share.google/MGiz5P560z04murMg

04/09/2026

The Michigan DNR is Approving and Issuing Nuisance Permits to Kill Deer in April!!!

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is continuing to issue nuisance permits to sharpshoot deer in cities such as East Lansing, being well aware that female deer begin to give birth to their young during the month of April. Please click on the article below revealing DNR’s plans to continue culling through April.

East Lansing Parks and Rec Director Talks Deer Management – East Lansing Info https://share.google/iwqtOFK3Hvv0NN3ix

During the month of April, deer typically begin to give birth. Once born, fawns wean from their mothers between 8 to 16 weeks of age. Throughout this vulnerable time, they continue to nurse and depend on their mothers for survival.

Additionally, fawns are generally hidden by their mothers for the first 5 to 10 days of life, as they are too small, weak, and scentless to follow the doe. During this phase of their life, the fawns stay hidden in vegetation, while their mothers visit briefly only a few times a day strictly to nurse their fawns.

By culling the female deer during this time period, the maternally dependent fawns will starve to death without access to their mother’s milk, which will constitute unlawful acts of torture.

How is such suffering considered overseeing and protecting our natural resource, such as deer?
How can this state agency condone such horrific cruelty?

Please take action and voice your opinion TODAY. Let the Director of Michigan DNR, Sarah Thompson, know that this is unacceptable. Michigan DNR should be ashamed of itself for such atrocities.

Please fight against DNR’s approved methods of wildlife management.

Please stand up and let your voice be heard against such torture to innocent fawns by calling and emailing Sarah Thompson, the Chief Director for Wildlife.

Phone number: 517-643-5889
Email address:
[email protected]
and
[email protected]

Together we can stop the DNR from continuing to mismanage our wildlife!!

The Wildlife Belongs to all Michigan Residents!!

04/06/2026

The largest wildlife overpass has been opened. Countless species of animals will now be able to cross safely over busy highway. This will greatly reduce vehicle accidents involving wildlife.

Michigan should be constructing these effective overpasses on our highways to keep residents and wildlife safe!

A major step forward in coexistence is taking shape in Colorado, where the largest wildlife overpass in North America now provides a safe path for animals to cross busy highways. Built over one of the state’s most traveled interstates, this structure helps species like elk, deer, and bears move freely across their natural migration routes—without the danger of high-speed traffic. 🦌🌄

For years, this area was known for frequent and often deadly wildlife collisions, putting both animals and drivers at risk. By creating a dedicated crossing that feels like part of the landscape—complete with soil, native plants, and natural features—the overpass encourages animals to use it instinctively. Fencing along the roadway helps guide them toward the bridge, making the system more effective and safer for everyone. 🚗🌿

This project reflects a thoughtful shift in how infrastructure can support both people and the natural world. Reconnecting habitats while reducing accidents shows what’s possible when design considers long-term balance. It’s a reminder that progress can include protection, not just expansion. What are your thoughts on projects like this that bring safety and nature together? 💬✨

03/22/2026

Beavers contribute greatly to freshwater habitats.

Nature dams created by beavers slow down the release of water downstream, preventing floods due to heavy rain. Many property owners choose to remove and kill the beavers only to install artificial dams costing thousands of dollars, which operate the same as a beaver dam.

Property owners, please choose to relocate beavers and not remove and allow the killing of these skilled and complex ecosystem engineers. They do not cause these problems, they fix them.

Beaver dams don't block water. They slow it. And that difference matters more than most people realize.

Every year, dams get removed because property owners see a backed-up stream and assume the dam is causing flooding. The dam comes out. The water runs fast again. And the next heavy rain floods the same property worse than before — because the dam was never the problem. The dam was the solution.

A dam across a small stream raises the water level a few feet upstream and creates a pond. That pond absorbs storm surge. A sudden heavy rainfall gets stored in the pond instead of rushing downstream as a flash flood. The pond releases the water slowly — over days, not hours — maintaining stream flow during dry periods when the creek would otherwise run low.

Multiple dams along the same stream compound the effect. Each one absorbs and slows a portion of the flow. The result is a buffered system that handles heavy rain without the downstream damage an undammed channel produces.

The pond behind the dam also cleans the water. Sediment settles in slow water instead of burying downstream fish habitat. Nutrients from runoff get consumed by pond life before they reach the waterway below. Groundwater around the pond recharges because the standing water pushes laterally into the soil.

When the dam is removed, everything it was holding back mobilizes at once. Stored sediment buries spawning gravel. Stream banks erode faster without the backwater cushion. The stream cuts deeper and lowers the water table. The next storm hits harder because there's nothing left to absorb it.

Engineers now install artificial structures that mimic beaver dams in watersheds where the real beavers were removed decades ago. The artificial versions cost thousands of dollars each. A real beaver builds one in days from sticks and mud and maintains it for free.

🌿 What this means for your area:

- A beaver dam on a creek near your property is flood infrastructure, not a problem — the pond behind it is absorbing storm surge that would otherwise reach your yard faster and harder
- If you see a dammed creek with a pond behind it, the water level is stable by design. Removing the dam doesn't lower the water — it releases it all at once
- Many states now relocate problem beavers instead of removing them. If beaver activity is affecting your property, contact your state wildlife agency about relocation before requesting removal
- A pond created by a beaver dam supports more species per acre than almost any other freshwater habitat — frogs, turtles, herons, kingfishers, dragonflies, and dozens of fish species use beaver ponds as primary habitat
- The creek that looks messy with a beaver dam is functioning better than the clean one without it

The dam isn't causing the flooding. It was preventing the flooding downstream 🌿

03/16/2026

Something as wonderful as a wildlife overpass does not exist in Michigan. They save wildlife and eliminates deer/vehicle crashes.
Michigan must build these great structures along interstate highways!

In December 2025, transportation officials in Colorado completed the Greenland Wildlife Overpass, a massive bridge built over Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs. 🌉🌿 Unlike a normal bridge, it is covered with soil, rocks, and native plants so it looks and feels like natural land. At about 200 feet wide, it is currently the largest wildlife overpass in North America.

The goal is to help animals safely cross a busy highway that cuts through ancient migration routes. In Colorado, wildlife–vehicle collisions happen thousands of times every year, causing injuries, deaths, and costly damage.

The overpass reconnects nearly 39,000 acres of habitat that had been divided by traffic. Animals such as elk, mule deer, pronghorn, bears, and mountain lions are expected to use it instead of crossing dangerous roads. 🦌🐻

Studies show wildlife crossings combined with fencing can reduce collisions by up to 90 percent, helping protect both animals and people on the road. 🚗

03/10/2026

Please drive carefully!

February, and even March, are especially dangerous for wildlife, particularly around the time we “spring forward” for daylight saving time.

🚨 FEBRUARY IS THE DEADLIEST MONTH FOR WILDLIFE ON ROADS 🚨

Right now — late January through March — you're going to see more dead skunks, foxes, and coyotes on roads than any other time of year.

WHY FEBRUARY IS DEADLY:

Breeding season means animals travel 10+ miles outside normal territories

Males are searching for mates, crossing unfamiliar roads

Hunger peaks after winter — animals take risks they normally wouldn't

They're distracted by scent-marking and territorial disputes

Dawn and dusk (commute times) = peak animal activity

WHAT YOU CAN SEE:
→ Skunks crossing roads slowly (poor eyesight, slow speed = disaster)
→ Foxes and coyotes moving at dawn/dusk during rush hour
→ Opossums wandering in search of mates (they can't move fast)
→ Even deer breaking routine patterns

IF YOU DRIVE AT DAWN OR DUSK IN FEBRUARY:

Slow down, especially on rural roads

High-beam headlights when no oncoming traffic (see eye-shine sooner)

Watch the road edges, not just the center

If you see one animal, expect more (they're not alone)

The animals you see hit on the road aren't careless.
They're desperate, distracted, and driven by biology they can't ignore.

Drive like wildlife might be anywhere.
Because this month, it is.

03/10/2026

Please Slow Down and Watch for Wildlife Crossing!!!

Breeding season for wildlife is upon us during these early months of the year and animals are becoming more active.

Please be cautious because wildlife is not only hungry foraging for food after a long winter, but males travel long distances in search of mates.

🚨 FEBRUARY IS THE DEADLIEST MONTH FOR WILDLIFE ON ROADS 🚨

Right now — late January through March — you're going to see more dead skunks, foxes, and coyotes on roads than any other time of year.

WHY FEBRUARY IS DEADLY:

- Breeding season means animals travel 10+ miles outside normal territories
- Males are searching for mates, crossing unfamiliar roads
- Hunger peaks after winter — animals take risks they normally wouldn't
- They're distracted by scent-marking and territorial disputes
- Dawn and dusk (commute times) = peak animal activity

WHAT YOU CAN SEE:
→ Skunks crossing roads slowly (poor eyesight, slow speed = disaster)
→ Foxes and coyotes moving at dawn/dusk during rush hour
→ Opossums wandering in search of mates (they can't move fast)
→ Even deer breaking routine patterns

IF YOU DRIVE AT DAWN OR DUSK IN FEBRUARY:
- Slow down, especially on rural roads
- High-beam headlights when no oncoming traffic (see eye-shine sooner)
- Watch the road edges, not just the center
- If you see one animal, expect more (they're not alone)

The animals you see hit on the road aren't careless.
They're desperate, distracted, and driven by biology they can't ignore.

Drive like wildlife might be anywhere.
Because this month, it is.

02/20/2026

Muskrats play an important role and are valuable ecosystem engineers that contribute to healthy wetlands and ponds. They do not cause problems, but they offer great benefits. Let’s protect these innovative animals and not remove them.
1. They keep waterways open by feeding on the invasive cattails, which become overgrown and clogging ponds
2. By building lodges, they create open-water pockets which benefit fish, amphibians, turtles and waterfowl
3. Their waste creates nutrients to the water and soil, supporting healthy plant growth for ponds and wetlands

January = muskrat lodges suddenly visible — and removal calls start.

Muskrats are not rats.
They’re professional wetland managers.

What they actually do:

Eat invasive cattails and excess vegetation

Create open water for ducks and fish

Stabilize banks and reduce erosion

Build lodges used by multiple other species

Unlike beavers, muskrats:

Don’t fell trees

Rarely damage pond liners

Are smaller, lighter, and less destructive

Suburban ponds often benefit from muskrat presence.

They’re not a problem to remove.
They’re a service to keep.

02/18/2026

Opossums always carry their young in their pouch. This is the time of the year when they become active with their newborn. If you see a dead opossum or even injured on the side of the road, please carefully inspect her pouch for their young. It is possible their baby might still be alive. Please call a rehabber right away to assist in saving a life.

If you find a deceased opossum, please check the pouch, but only if you can safely do so. Do not do this in the middle of the road. If possible, carefully move the mother to a safe location off the roadway before checking.

We are already receiving calls about tiny joeys, baby season is here! Female opossums carry their babies in a pouch, and even if the mother has passed, her joeys may still be alive inside.

How to check safely:
1️⃣ Is she deceased? Do not approach if responsive. If injured, call for help.
2️⃣ Wear gloves. This protects you from bacteria and parasites.
3️⃣ Gently open the pouch on the lower belly and look inside — no force needed.
4️⃣ Look and listen. Babies may be pink and hairless or fully furred. You may see movement inside.
5️⃣ Do NOT pull babies off a ni**le. If attached, place mom (with babies) in a box and contact GWN or a licensed rehabber immediately.
6️⃣ Keep them warm and quiet in a towel-lined box while waiting for instructions.

🚫 Do NOT give food, water, or milk. Opossums are tube fed and cannot suckle.

Even tiny joeys have a small chance of survival if found quickly and kept warm.

If you’re unsure what to do, contact GWN, a licensed wildlife rehabber, or use the Animal Help Now app right away. Every minute matters.

Checking a pouch takes less than a minute and it can save multiple lives. 🐾

📸 Photo by GWN, 2024. We were called to the scene of an opossum hit by a car in Canton. When we arrived, several babies had crawled from the pouch and passed beside her. We were able to rescue two surviving joeys and place them with a nearby rehabber.