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Judging merely by the numbers, Bountiful's pilot program to decrease deer within the city appears to have had very little impact.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources estimates the number of deer foraging for food in Bountiful yards and parks at about 500.
The four controversial hunts that occurred through November and December downed 16 deer, said Phil Douglass, DWR's northern region conservation outreach manager.
"A number [of deer] had broken legs from vehicle collisions, which speaks to the need to thin populations out where they don't belong," Douglass said.
The program functioned by teaming a DWR sharpshooter with a Bountiful police officer to pick off deer on properties where residents had requested the assistance. The effort focused mostly between Orchard Drive and Bountiful Boulevard, said Bountiful Police Chief Tom Ross.
During that same two-month period, a dozen deer died in the city after being hit by vehicles, said City Manager Tom Hardy.
"I don't know if we made much of an impact," Hardy said, "but we've had very good reception by those who believe it's a problem."
Hardy suspects Bountiful's urban deer count could be as high as 1,000. The program's launch elicited hundreds of residential sign-ups for the service, Hardy said.
"We are going to evaluate whether it's good from a policy standpoint," he said, "and what we need to do to modify it" — that analysis should be ready in a few weeks.
A few other cities along the northern Wasatch Front have asked for similar services, DWR's Douglass said.
"We're evaluating our ability as an agency to accommodate those other requests," Douglass said. "Given our resources, it would be doubtful."
Portions of this south Davis County city beckon the deer to come and settle, he said, because they find what they need in terms of food, water, shelter and space.
"Traditionally they've had to migrate to find suitable foods at certain times of the year," Douglass said. "In Bountiful they don't have to do that anymore."
Some have suggested moving the urban-dwelling deer elsewhere, but wildlife professionals say that's not a viable option. "DWR has done extensive research on deer transplants and they just don't work," Douglass said. "The animals, for whatever reason, do not survive."
The Bountiful Community Food Pantry received donated venison as a result of the program, said Tony Bencina, former operations director for the charitable nonprofit.
In October, the City Council voted unanimously to give the professional deer thinning a test drive, in spite of public outcry from many who enjoy the wildlife and believe that humans have encroached on their habitat by developing on the foothills.
"There were passionate arguments on both sides," Chief Ross said of the e-mails and calls that poured in, expressing either love or loathing for the creatures.
Bountiful's pilot deer-thinning project
500 to 1,000 — the city's estimated deer population.
4 hunts occurred through November and December.
16 deer were shot and killed.
over 500 pounds of processed meat were given to the food pantry.