PORT TOWNSEND — Volunteers counted 230 deer within the Port Townsend city limits during a half-hour census of the population.
About 60 people participated in the count that began at 7 a.m. Saturday, with 13 areas designated and divided for each group.
“People had a blast, a really good time,” said organizer Sue Long.
“We wanted to have a diverse group who ended up getting to know their neighbors and connecting with people they hadn’t met before.”
With years of uncertainty about the size of the city’s deer population, which is perceived as unusually large, Long began the project to satisfy public curiosity.
She does not expect the data to be used in any substantiative way, saying it means “absolutely nothing,” but could be valuable if there were health concerns.
The census did not cover the entire city. The area was west of a line between Sheridan Street at the south and Gise Street in North Beach.
Each group walked about a mile and a half to cover all sides of their assigned areas.
Volunteers were to note each deer, recording size, direction and gender when detectable.
Upon comparing the maps, some deer were determined to have been counted twice and the total was adjusted, Long said.
Fort Worden State Park, with 37 deer, was the area with the largest count, Long said.
Other areas determined to have a high number of deer were usually places where people feed them regularly or where salt licks are located, she said.
There is a moratorium on shooting deer within the city limits that resulted in criminal charges against Andrew Shoop of Port Hadlock after he shot a four-point buck with an arrow in 2005.
City Manager David Timmons said the city won’t get involved in deer control unless there is a serious health hazard.
There is a high deer population because there are no natural predators, he said.
Long and artist Loran Scruggs organized the census in about five weeks, something Long called “amazing.”
Long said Port Townsend School of Woodworking Executive Director Tim Lawson spent a lot of time developing the website http://tinyurl.com/PDN-deercount.
Rich Childers, state Department of Fish and Wildlife shellfish manager, said agency officials would have to see the design to see whether the data could be used for any purpose.
The 230 number “sounds about right,” he said.
Long said one deer died during the count. It was a yearling that was apparently struck by a car.
“It was lying on the ground, having trouble breathing,” she said.
“When we returned awhile later, it had died.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.