MANTI- The Manti City Council has voted to renew its urban deer control program which began in 2019.
When the program started, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) gave the city a three-year permit to trap and euthanize deer living in the city.
At a meeting on June 29, Mayor Chuck Bigelow reported that the city has 11 traps, and typically sets out 6-9 traps during October on the properties of residents who request them.
In the three years, the city has euthanized 12 deer. The meat from euthanized deer is available to residents who request it.
“We feel Manti has run the program very well,” Rod Nielsen with DWR said at the meeting. The focus has been on deer that are in the city during the fall months. If the deer are in the city at that time, it indicates they are living in the city, not in the mountains, he said.
Even if a city reduces the urban deer population to the point where complaints from residents about deer eating vegetation decrease, the city should probably maintain the program to make sure the problem doesn’t come back, Nielsen said.
He noted that typically, deer living in a city are not as healthy as deer in the wild. “Vegetation in town is…not giving them the nutrients available in the mountains,” he said.
on another issue, the council agreed to permit AT&T to erect a cell tower on city property. The city would lease the other from AT&T and receive revenue from the company, and potentially from the telecommunications companies that locate transmitter on the tower.
“I think its a good thing,” Councilman Gary Chidester said. “Its an opportunity for long-term income. Since AT&T owns the tower and Manti only leases it, Manti doesn’t take on any liability.
“The vote on the tower was 3-1 with Councilman Jeff Killian voting “no.”
“I think we’ll be surprised with the visual impact when that’s installed,” he said.
