Take Action

Advocates for Michigan Wildlife will present only non-confrontational action and communication strategies to assist residents who want to prevent lethal measures, promote nonlethal measures and present a coexistence plan to resolve wildlife conflicts in their community.

“This toolkit is designed to add power to your passion; to enable you to be the most effective advocate for the deer in your community. Suburban development has created an environment in which deer thrive; our backyards provide the “edge” habitat (where forest meets field) they prefer, offering ample supply of food and water. Access to abundant resources leads to healthy deer and higher reproductive rates, and as deer populations increase, so too do deer-human conflicts. The result too often is an assumption that there are “too many deer” and a call for lethal control.”

This toolkit is designed to empower advocates like you to take action, be it against planned lethal measures, or proactively encouraging the adoption of a humane deer management plan. It’s often thought that the voice of a large, national organization is enough, but the voice of a constituent – yours!– is actually the most powerful tool in the fight for the welfare of deer in your community. Local decision-makers want to hear from you, not an outsider. A groundswell of local opposition to a deer cull, or in support of a humane deer management plan, has the greatest impact. This toolkit will provide guidance on how best to voice your opinion, and how to inspire others to do the same.”

“This deer conflict management and coexistence plan has been prepared by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for use by communities (including, but not limited to, cities, villages, towns, counties, homeowners associations, etc.) in humanely and effectively preventing and solving conflicts with white-tailed deer. The information in this plan has been gathered from scientific and peer-reviewed articles, from experts in the field of human-deer conflict resolution, and from successful deer conflict management models across the U.S. We invite you to use this plan as your own or modify it as necessary to suit the needs of your community.”

Advocates for Michigan Wildlife will present only non-confrontational action and communication strategies to assist residents who want to prevent lethal measures, promote nonlethal measures and present a coexistence plan to resolve wildlife conflicts in their community.