The plan to kill up to 80 deer at Origin Park in Clarksville was paused Monday afternoon after widespread pushback from the community.“I think the way that this has been communicated with everybody is an absolute failure on the employees at Origin Park,” one resident told WLKY.The River Heritage Conservancy, which manages Origin Park, said the “culling” plan came after a number of deer within the park were found to be malnourished.”While population reduction is never a popular decision, even within our own office, it is a necessary course of action to protect the long-term health of the park,” the River Heritage Conservancy said in a statement. “This is not an eradication or hunting effort, but rather a rightsizing of the herd to ensure a healthy deer population and maintain the ecological balance for other native wildlife.”READ THE FULL STATEMENT HEREThe Indiana Department of Natural Resources gave the park authorization to kill the deer using suppressed firearms back in January, but members of the community only learned about it on Sunday.A post on the City of New Albany’s Facebook first alerted residents the operation would be taking place during the overnight hours from Feb. 23-27.The permit authorizes the use of drones, thermal imaging, night vision equipment, and spotlights to kill the deer. Nearby residents say they are concerned for their safety.“We take that as a council, very important as one of our top priorities,” Clarksville town president Bob McEwen said.McEwen said the town council had no knowledge the deer operation was taking place, but says some in city government did. He called it a breakdown in communication.“In doing that, we fail our constituents, we fail our neighbors, and that’s not what we intend to do. So we will be addressing these gaps in communication,” McEwen said.The local government has no authority to stop the operation. Meanwhile, residents are still left with questions for the park’s leaders.“Why weren’t you up front? … I think they know we weren’t going to be happy about this. I think that’s why they weren’t up front about it,” a resident said.
CLARKSVILLE, Ind. —
The plan to kill up to 80 deer at Origin Park in Clarksville was paused Monday afternoon after widespread pushback from the community.
“I think the way that this has been communicated with everybody is an absolute failure on the employees at Origin Park,” one resident told WLKY.
The River Heritage Conservancy, which manages Origin Park, said the “culling” plan came after a number of deer within the park were found to be malnourished.
“While population reduction is never a popular decision, even within our own office, it is a necessary course of action to protect the long-term health of the park,” the River Heritage Conservancy said in a statement. “This is not an eradication or hunting effort, but rather a rightsizing of the herd to ensure a healthy deer population and maintain the ecological balance for other native wildlife.”
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources gave the park authorization to kill the deer using suppressed firearms back in January, but members of the community only learned about it on Sunday.
A post on the City of New Albany’s Facebook first alerted residents the operation would be taking place during the overnight hours from Feb. 23-27.
The permit authorizes the use of drones, thermal imaging, night vision equipment, and spotlights to kill the deer. Nearby residents say they are concerned for their safety.
“We take that as a council, very important as one of our top priorities,” Clarksville town president Bob McEwen said.
McEwen said the town council had no knowledge the deer operation was taking place, but says some in city government did. He called it a breakdown in communication.
“In doing that, we fail our constituents, we fail our neighbors, and that’s not what we intend to do. So we will be addressing these gaps in communication,” McEwen said.
The local government has no authority to stop the operation. Meanwhile, residents are still left with questions for the park’s leaders.
“Why weren’t you up front? … I think they know we weren’t going to be happy about this. I think that’s why they weren’t up front about it,” a resident said.