YOUNGSTOWN — Aaron Young, Mill Creek MetroParks executive director, said the aerial survey conducted the morning of Jan. 9 that found between 14 and 14.9 deer per square mile is no reason to discontinue the deer reduction program that will begin its third year this fall.

The survey was carried out over Mill Creek Park, Huntington Woods, Hitchcock Woods, Collier Preserve and the Mill Creek Wildlife Sanctuary — a 14-square-mile area. The results showed that over a little less than two hours, 157 white-tailed deer were observed. A little more than half were observed south of U.S. Route 224, the report states. Weather conditions were near optimal for the survey, with about 4 inches of snow on the ground, a document on the Mill Creek MetroParks website states.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services program, which carried out the survey, reported that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, recommends using a “detection rate” of 78.5% when conducting helicopter surveys with snow cover, requiring a correction to 196 to 209 deer likely being in the area surveyed.

When Nick Derico, then Mill Creek MetroParks natural resources director, was asked about the results, Derico said that after correcting the data to the 196 to 209 deer number, the survey indicated the presence of 14 to 14.9 deer per square mile.

One person who emailed a news tip to The Vindicator asked why the MetroParks still plans to carry out a deer reduction plan this fall if there are 14 to 15 deer per square mile in those 14 square miles of parks and the MetroParks’ goal is to reach a density of 18 deer per square mile.

Mill Creek MetroParks has eliminated 415 deer in the first two years of its reduction program — 211 last year and 204 the first year. Derico, who ran the program, resigned from the Mill Creek MetroParks June 30 to begin a new job. His last day was July 11, Young confirmed.

Young said the Mill Creek MetroParks plans to hire someone to replace Derico as natural resources manager, and that person will oversee the deer reduction program.

Young stated in an email that he agrees with the things Derico stated at the time the results of the aerial survey were released last March, including that “any survey regardless of method is simply a ‘snapshot in time,’ and we do not make management decisions off of any singular event.

“Over time, as we collect more and more data — whether that is population data, vegetation data or harvest data — we are able to see the big picture with greater clarity. We will continue with additional surveys over the summer to assess vegetative conditions throughout the park and coordinate closely with ODNR to plan for the 2025-2026 management year.”

Young went on to say that “If you were to simply evaluate the (roughly) 14 deer-per-square-mile survey figure, you would need to assume that at least 50% of the 14 deer per square mile, seven are … pregnant females that will see a birth rate of nearly 2.6, equating to 18.2 deer per square mile.”

He said that “when you add in the other 50% that were not pregnant or were male, you are already back to 25.2 deer per square mile. So, even from a basic mathematical suggestion, continuation of the program is needed to keep the numbers in an acceptable range.”

Young said, “Critics of the program attempt to invalidate one survey but validate another because they seem to like one’s resulting numbers better than the other.”

Previous stories about the deer reduction program show that Derico stated in 2023 that the recommended density of white-tailed deer is 10 to 20 deer per square mile.