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

Politics & Government

It's Decision Time on Oakdale's Deer Issues

The Oakdale City Council is scheduled to vote on an ordinance that would prohibit feeding deer and allowing bow hunters to come into town.

The Oakdale City Council is scheduled to vote on proposed measures to control the city’s deer population at its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9.

The potential efforts include allowing bow hunters to come in to kill some of the city’s deer and a new law that would prohibit feeding the animals, according to a staff report to the council.

In past years, members of the Metro Bowhunters Resource Base have hunted in , but due to , the council asked city staff to find alternate locations to hold the hunts at their workshop meeting on Tuesday, July 12.

Find out what's happening in Oakdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This year’s hunts would take place on weekends in October and November at six locations, according to the staff report, including: the 3000 block of Highway 120, the 6300 block of Stillwater Boulevard, south of , the 1900 block of Hadley Avenue, the Oakdale Golf and Tennis site and (see the map in the photo section of this article).

Council members will also consider creating a new law that would prohibit placing grain, fodder or salt licks within 5 feet of the ground unless it is screened in such a way that deer can’t get to it, according to a staff report by Public Works Director Brian Bachmeier to the council.

Find out what's happening in Oakdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The problem with such an ordinance, Bachmeier said in his report, is that since most of the feeding takes place in backyards, which are not visible from the street, in many cases police would have to secure a warrant before they could investigate a violation. Because of the expense involved with securing a warrant, city staff estimates that it would cost $5,000 to follow up on three complaints per year, according to the report.

Three area cities—Maplewood, Mahtomedi and St. Paul—have ordinances that prohibit feeding deer, according to the report.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Oakdale