City wildlife management plan undergoes edits

Out of 78 deer harvested in and around Libby during the winter, just one has thus far tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

City Councilor Hugh Taylor delivered the news to his colleagues during a March 1 meeting, but cautioned that test results for 25 carcasses remained outstanding. They could still “come in hot,” he warned. The results came courtesy of a state wildlife biologist and were current as of Feb. 19, Taylor said.

Still, a single positive case represented a burst of welcome news. A state-led effort to get a handle on the prevalence of the disease last year found that 22 of 600 white-tailed deer in the CWD Management Zone around Libby tested positive. By comparison, 20 out of 150 deer sampled within city limits were found with CWD. That led officials to conclude that 13 out of every 100 deer in Libby likely were sick with the disease.

“It is strange,” said Mayor Brent Teske of the difference. “It was so prevalent last year at this time.”

Taylor gave the update as his colleagues made another round of edits to the city’s draft wildlife management plan, specifically as it pertains to deer in the area. Officials with Fish, Wildlife and Parks reviewed and approved the document, said Taylor, who sits on the subcommittee tasked with developing the plan.

City councilors embarked on the effort in 2019, hoping to tackle deer and other nuisance animals, like wild turkeys. In a nod to the concern surrounding CWD, efforts thus far primarily focused on the city’s deer population. But officials have reiterated that turkeys are next on the list.

“…[G]enerations of both resident and nonresident deer in high numbers within the city can create situations that threaten human safety, property damage and destruction of the city’s natural vegetation as well as deer health,” reads the introduction to the document. “Over the years, Libby residents have complained that the risk posed by deer to human safety, and increased levels of property damage, have grown to unacceptable levels.”

The document generally outlines when and how deer can be culled, what statistics ought to be tracked, what will happen with deer carcasses and how the city will cooperate with FWP going forward. Aside from language changes, the major sticking points included the role of the Libby Police Department and whether the document should get adopted as a plan or codified as a city ordinance.

To the former, Police Chief Scott Kessel raised concerns regarding the work the plan obligated the department to undertake. Section three of the draft committed the department to obtaining permission to set up traps on private property and suggested that police officers assist FWP with trapping efforts or sharpshooting.

Doing so could lead to overtime. The process of setting and clearing traps would take an officer off the street for a period of time, Kessel told city councilors. Obligating the department’s small staff to could lead to another undesirable outcome, Kessel warned. Traps may get set and deer caught, but officers handling other calls might be delayed in dispatching the animals.

“The problem we run into is timing: [If they collapse a trap at] 8 a.m. and we’re busy for some reason and there is still a deer kicking around at 10 a.m., it creates a public image issue that doesn’t do us any good,” Kessel said.

Were the plan to remove the onus and just ask that police officers assist when possible, Kessel saw no problem going forward.

“As far as assistance goes, we’re more than happy to help,” he said.

City councilors amended the language to more broadly obligate city staff to obtain permission for traps on private property.

The document also required the police department to “monitor the effectiveness” of the plan and record statistics. Kessel said his staff has no way to track the numbers. Deer-related calls are lumped in with other fish and game incidents. Officials would have to separate out those from calls involving skunks, bears, mountain lions and so on, Kessel said.

In response to a question from City Councilor Kristin Smith, Kessel said the department handled three to four deer-related calls a week. She wondered if department personnel could just track that number each month and turn the data over to FWP

“I’m in favor of that,” Kessel replied. “The trouble I’ve run into with FWP is collating anything with them as far as data goes.”

The second major sticking point, regarding whether the plan is just that or headed for adoption as an ordinance, will have to wait on research from the city attorney. Teske said he preferred to add the document to the municipal code.

That drew opposition from Smith and City Councilor Peggy Williams.

“I do not think it would be an ordinance,” Williams said. “I see it, being codified, being difficult to change. I think it’s either a plan or resolution, but I don’t see it being an ordinance.”

Teske worried that a plan might end up gathering dust.

“My issue with plans [is that] they get adopted and they get lost,” he said. “They get put on a shelf somewhere and they don’t get utilized.”

As the draft outlines specific tasks for city employees, Teske wanted to see it codified.

But Williams noted that ordinances also get forgotten even as part of the municipal code.

Smith also argued that plans were more malleable than ordinances.

As a solution, City Attorney Dean Chisholm offered to spend the next several weeks looking into the issue. Each of the options offered benefits and drawbacks.

“I see the benefits to what everybody is saying here,” Chisholm said. “Let me take a look and see if I can come up with for a recommendation.”

City councilors also opted to emphasize the ban on residents dispatching deer via a firearm within Libby’s limits.

“It doesn’t hurt to reiterate that,” Teske said. “I know when we were having CWD meetings some folks thought that was going to [mean] open hunting.”

The document will undergo public review before it is adopted. Teske said he hopes to have Chisholm’s recommendations on whether to bring it forward as an ordinance or a plan by that time.