Medina council to revisit deer-abatement ordinance after mixed results from archery season; sharpshooting and advisory committee proposed

Medina City Council spent the majority of its special legislative meeting reviewing the city’s deer-abatement program, recent archery-season results and options for a broader wildlife-management plan.

Council President Natalie Dalvo framed the review and said the current ordinance, which focused on archery, “isn’t working in my mind.” City staff and council members walked through permit and harvest figures: 29 archery permits in 2025 produced 114 deer harvested, compared with 13 permits and 18 deer in 2024. Staff also reported a sharp rise in carcass pickups recorded on city reports (141 in 2025). Using a state-recommended population index and a recruitment factor, staff presented a modeled city population estimate of about 956 deer.

Several council members and staff said those numbers indicate that a bow-hunting-only approach is unlikely to bring the herd down and urged a multi-pronged plan. Suggestions included combining archery with permitted sharpshooting in cordoned parks, establishing an advisory committee to gather community input and creating clearer notification procedures for neighbors near hunting areas. One council member urged learning from nearby municipalities that have longer-running programs; speakers said representatives from Parma, Mentor, Shaker Heights and Beachwood will be invited to forthcoming meetings.

City staff described some outcomes from the recent archery effort: a volunteer cohort produced donated venison (the meeting referenced about 800 pounds returned to local feeding programs) and the operation required staff time for planning and notification. Council members pressed for clarity about administrative costs and public notification after residents reported hunts in proximity to homes without adequate notice in prior years. Several speakers emphasized the need to improve outreach so neighbors know when and where operations will occur.

Council members acknowledged the scale of the challenge: staff modeling and speakers noted reproduction and migration dynamics that can blunt removal efforts unless removals reach a higher annual number — staff cited a planning target on the order of roughly 300 removals per year to reduce the population. The meeting closed with a plan to invite external program managers and ODNR (Ohio Department of Natural Resources) contacts to explain different approaches and to return with a comprehensive draft management plan that could combine multiple tactics.

No formal vote or ordinance amendment was adopted at this meeting; council members instructed staff to continue planning, gather regional examples and return with recommended next steps.