Image credit: Scott Carroll/Unsplash
The question has come into focus after police officers’ lives were threatened before a scheduled deer hunt.
The day before Kensington Metropark was scheduled to have park officers hunt deer, a receptionist for the park received an anonymous call. The person on the phone said he did not want the deer to be killed. “And then advised the receptionist that he was going to shoot the officers, he’ll be out in the woods and he will shoot the police officers that were shooting the deer,” says Huron-Clinton Metroparks Police Chief Michael Reese.
“You look at the ecosystem as a whole. And if you pull at one of those threads, the entire system starts to unravel. So, it’s a matter of keeping the ecosystems within our parks in balance.” Amy McMillan, Metroparks director
A Royal Oak man who allegedly threatened violence against metroparks employees was issued a misdemeanor warrant this week to turn himself in.
The 71-year-old man made what were deemed as credible threats in a phone call to a Huron-Clinton Metroparks receptionist on Feb. 3, the day before a planned deer cull at Kensington Metropark. The cull is part of a deer management program, with the goal for sharpshooters to reduce the herd by about 50 animals.
The cull was canceled.
Huron-Clinton Metroparks Police Chief Michael Reese said the Royal Oak man was generally upset about the deer management program, specifically the cull itself. He made threats to shoot police officers taking part in the deer cull.
WHMI 93 5 Local News : Violent Threat Results In Canceled Deer Cull whmi.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from whmi.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo provided by Huron-Clinton Metroparks
A whole new world for Lake St. Clair Metropark Nature Center
Facility receives upgrades thanks to grant By: Kristyne E. Demske | C&G Newspapers | Published February 22, 2021
The soft-shelled turtle now has room to swim after renovations to the center.
Photo provided by Huron-Clinton Metroparks
Advertisement
HARRISON TOWNSHIP From a dated facility with open tanks with lights and equipment visible to visitors, to a modern center with sleek decorative wall wraps that enclose tanks so they appear embedded in nature, the 32-year-old Nature Center at Lake St. Clair Metropark has undergone a facelift thanks to a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
A deer cull at Kensington Metropark aims to reduce the herd by nearly 50 animals, but there are plans to spare one special doe.
There are currently about 120 deer in Kensington, a number deemed too high to maintain a healthy population in the nearly 4,500-acre park.
For this reason, park employees who are trained sharpshooters will cull the herd on the evening of Feb. 4, resulting in a closure of the park at about 4 p.m. The cull will end around midnight.
“The carrying capacity of the land is high, and deer overpopulate in that area,” Tyler Mitchell, chief of natural resources for Huron-Clinton Metroparks, explained. “There is a lack of hunting pressure in the area compared to other areas. It’s not a big part of the sporting culture around Milford.”