A local conservancy overseeing plans for the massive Origin Park in Southern Indiana paused a plan this week for reducing the deer population.
River Heritage Conservancy said Tuesday it's committed to helping with public understanding of why such actions can be needed. They plan to meet with Clarksville officials to provide more information.
The pause announcement came Monday afternoon following a flurry of social media comments criticizing the operation and lack of information around it.
RHC said that the planned operation came after working with state and federal agencies, and that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources found unusual grazing patterns. Later assessments showed an overpopulation of deer. RHC said some deer were also found to be malnourished.
"While population reduction is never a popular decision, even within our own office, it is a necessary course of action to protect the long-term health of the park," according to the statement.
The organization called it "a rightsizing of the herd to ensure a healthy deer population and maintain the ecological balance for other native wildlife."
But many members of the public and some local officials have come out against the plan, and are asking for more information about the decision-making.
Southern Indiana public, officials oppose plans
The City of New Albany posted a public safety notice on Sunday alerting residents to a planned "Wildlife Reduction Activity" that would involve killing deer in the park in the overnight hours this week.
In it, Mayor Jeff Gahan said he wanted people to be aware, "Out of concern for the public as well as the wildlife population."
Origin Park is located near the Ohio River in neighboring Clarksville, and is overseen by RHC.
Hours after New Albany's post, which has since been shared almost 200 times, Clarksville Town Council President Bob McEwen posted a statement opposing the plan, which he said was "arranged without notification to, or discussion by, the Town Council."
He called for immediate clarification on the hunt and decision-making process behind it, for permits or agreements and for the hunt to be suspended until the town can discuss it publicly.
Since Sunday, many Southern Indiana residents and other stakeholders have shared their concerns on social media, some calling for other options and saying they love to see the deer in the area. Some say RHC should have alerted the public.
An online petition calling for a moratorium of the deer culling "until all solutions have been explored thoroughly " had more than 1,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
"This place is not a 'park', it's a business venture," one person wrote on the petition.
"People are justifiably upset at your lack of transparency, your communication with your human neighbors, and the dissonance between your PR image as stewards of ecology and what reads like a secretive, inhumane kill-off of deer," another person wrote on an Origin Park Facebook post Monday afternoon ahead of their full statement.
Some commenters also defended the practice of deer control when needed.
In a follow-up statement sent Tuesday, RHC said it still has ecological concerns. The nonprofit will continue to gather information, monitor conditions and "improve public understanding of responsible wildlife and habitat stewardship."
"Healthy forests do not happen by accident," conservancy CEO Dennis Schnurbusch said, according to the statement. "They require active stewardship and sometimes difficult decisions."
He said the organization is committed to helping provide clarity on why wildlife management can be necessary.
The lead-up
River Heritage staff first met with members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources last June to discuss concerns about "high deer population in the park," according to their November deer control permit application.
Origin Park is expected to be a more than 400-acre park celebrating the Ohio River and history of the land. And while a big part of the project is reclaiming the lands for nature, including through acquiring junkyards, planners are also wrapping up construction on an events center. RHC is also working toward a whitewater adventure center.
Both facilities were mentioned in the application to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
"[Origin Park's] revenue-generating components will support the long-term restoration and protection of over 170 acres of wetlands and natural areas, while offering immersive outdoor experiences and vital habitat for local wildlife," RHC said in the application.
The organization said it was seeking the permit "due to the high dollar investment in native landscaping to be performed as well as the ecological work that is, and will continue to be, underway."
It says invasive plant management is a struggle because the deer consume the native vegetation "at an unsustainable rate," and that most Indiana State Parks, including Falls of the Ohio State Park, participate in deer-management hunts.
The nonprofit said in its statement that in working with Indiana DNR, the agency found unusual grazing patterns, with later assessments showing a population "exceeding recommended levels for the park's habitat capacity. As a result, a reduction in the number of deer was advised to restore ecological balance."
A spokesperson with Indiana DNR told LPM News Tuesday that biologists with the agency visited the site last June at RHC's request and "observed the impacts of the high deer density at the site." The conservancy then applied for the permit which Indiana DNR said was "granted based on verified damage to the property from deer."
RHC is also working with the United States Department of Agriculture.
The permit issued by Indiana DNR's Division of Fish and Wildlife gave authorization for up to 10 USDA employees to kill up to 80 white-tailed deer "that are causing or threatening to cause damage to property."
The permit allows using drones, thermal imaging, night vision equipment and bait, among other techniques, to kill deer. It expires April 5.
Deer killed at the park would be processed on-site, with venison donated through charitable networks.
"This approach ensures that the process is conducted responsibly and that the harvested deer provides a meaningful community benefit," RHC said.
McEwen, the Clarksville Town Council president, addressed the public's concerns in a social media post Monday afternoon.
"Thank you to each and every citizen of Clarksville who reached out and spoke up about the scheduled deer reduction in Origin Park. Your involvement helped pause the plan and showed the power of community engagement. We can now seek answers and evaluate the plan with full transparency."
RHC said in the Tuesday statement that, in working with Indiana DNR and the USDA, the organization "was advised that the deer population within the park is exceeding what the habitat can sustainably support."
Through continued work with the USDA, RHC was advised that the seasonal window for a responsible and effective deer reduction is closing, it said.
"Timing is essential to ensure humane practices and meaningful ecological outcomes."
RHC leaders and Clarksville officials have not yet said when they will meet.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
This story was updated with new comments from River Heritage Conservancy.
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