A Big Win for the Deer

About two years ago, we were involved in a collision with a deer on Highway 118 at the West end of Loon Lake. This was an area where people were known to be feeding deer. There were also people who fed deer at the East end of Loon Lake. Not surprisingly, there was a deer/car collision at that end of the lake a couple of days after our own collision!

In our situation, the OPP officer took off into the bush with her handgun to try to put the deer out of its misery, but she was unable to catch up to it. Our car sustained several thousand dollars worth of damages.

After our accident, I researched large animal collisions across Canada, had some dialogue with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, and decided to try to do something about our local problem.

I proceeded to contact the MNRF, the OPP, and the MTO. I was warmly received by all organizations and was pleasantly surprised to find that an OPP officer had been placed on a special assignment for the large animal collision problem.

It wasn’t until the summer following our accident that I got to contribute toward a solution. It was our annual escape from the blackflies and we were headed to the East Coast. That meant that we would be travelling through Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia before we got to our destination.

As we travelled, I was able to contact the various ministries of transportation; the various natural resources ministries; and the policing agencies such as the Surete du Quebec and the RCMP.

Each agency gave me considerable information and data from their local operations. I complied that data and gave it to the Minden MNRF office on returning from our vacation.

It wasn’t until early this year that we were contacted by the Supervisor of the Minden MNRF office and she invited us to visit her for an update and future glimpse of the project. 

This week, in both of our local newspapers, articles appeared about the Deer Motor Vehicle Collision Reduction Partnership between the MNRF, the OPP, and the MTO. There has been various seasonal press releases; enhanced brush-cutting at deer hot spots; and exploration of opportunities with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Local OPP and MNRF conservation officers have also visited residents near deer feeding sites and told people not to feed the deer and to instead pack down trails for the deer in the Winter. Future program plans also include targeted highway signage near deer hot spots.

While the program is still in it’s early stages, I cannot help but remind you that if you feed the deer anytime, you should stop and get involved in more productive ways to help the deer survive. My suggestion would be to contact the local MNRF Office in Minden at 705-286-1521 and ask how and where you can help.