Thermopolis reinstates deer management program

THERMOPOLIS - The Thermopolis Police Department will restart a deer management program again this year, after taking a year off in 2017. Originally, the program began to mitigate vehicle/deer accidents and property damage in-town.

“We had reached a manageable population level, and took a year off, after six years of the program, but predators are pushing them back toward town,” explained Sergeant Pat Cornwall.

Off-duty police officers will be harvesting deer at the outskirts of Thermopolis in an attempt to keep the deer numbers down. The town has received 30 licenses, and officers have been trained by the Wyoming Department of Game & Fish in removing glands to send to the state to test for chronic wasting disease.

“Once the deer have been cleared they are processed and the meat is donated to needy families in the area,” said Sgt. Cornwall.

This year, families in need started contacting the department early, and all the spots have been filled.

“The first few years we lost around 50 percent of the deer to CWD, but they look good this year so hopefully we will be able to donate most of the meat,” said Cornwall.

The police department attributes the large population of deer in part to residents throwing feed and birdseed in their yards, which attracts the deer.

The town pays for the licenses and meat processing, which is done by a local processor.