Members of the recently appointed deer management Citizens Advisory Council will meet for the first time May 9.
The 11 member committee, which includes representatives from the commercial farming and First Nation communities, was announced by the Capital Regional District in late April.
“A variety of people with a variety of experiences” were selected, according to Vic Derman, vice-chair of the CRD’s planning, transportation, and protective services committee.
The committee put out a call for citizens to form a deer advisory council in March, in response to controversy over how to handle the overpopulation of deer, and the number of deer-human conflicts in the Capital Region.
Derman added that he tried not to select applicants who had already publicly voiced their opinions on the issue.
“If somebody said, ‘I’m definitely against this’ or ‘I’m definitely for this’ … there’s probably a little bit of detriment of being on the (deer advisory) committee,” Derman said.
“Everybody will have some personal opinion prior to going in but the hope, for me at least, is that we picked people who would be willing to put that aside, listen to all the evidence, and come up with what, in their view, is the best possible answer.”
Members of the group, with support from technical and scientific experts, will help guide the development of a regional deer management strategy.
The group’s first meeting takes place Wednesday night from 5:45 to 8:45 p.m. in room 107 of the CRD headquarters, 625 Fisgard St. Members of the public are welcome attend.
Recommendations to the CRD are due in July.
The group consists of five representatives from Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, and Saanich, four from the Peninsula, and two from the West Shore.
The members are: Richard Christiansen, Wendy Fox, Lisa Kadonage, Sol Kinnis, Terry Michell, Robert Moody, Patrick O’Rourke, Jocelyn Skrlac, Philip Tom, Kerri Ward and Robin Bassett.
Of the group three are commercial farmers; Fox from Silver Rill Farm, Kinnis, co-owner of urban farming co-operative City Harvest, and Michell of Michell Farms.
For more information, visit crd.bc.ca/deermanagement.