Oregon Public Broadcasting

Jacksonville Oregon is overrun with deer. No, really. Some residents complain that the deer can sometimes cause traffic jams. 

A lot of people say they appreciate the deer. They say the wildlife makes the town feel quaint and beautiful. But some people have grown too friendly with the animals -- by feeding them.

Ethan Lindsey reports on how the interaction between wildlife and people has caused problems in Jacksonville, and elsewhere in Oregon.

Residents of Jacksonville are prone to hyperbole when describing the deer in this small city west of Medford.

The city of Jacksonville, population 2190, has had to pick up and dispose of deer carcasses because the city is overrun by deer, and now some of the deer are dying.

Some say deer have overrun the city. Others say here, man and beast, “live together.”

So when I drove in to town, I was skeptical to say the least.

The first signal that I may have underestimated things was when I drove past an actual, honest-to-goodness, ‘Deer Crossing’ sign at an intersection a few blocks from city hall. And then, I turned right onto a residential street.

That honking you hear is a black Subaru driving towards me, warning two jaywalkers to get out of the middle of the road.

Ethan Stand-up: “Here I am at what, the address looks like 440 Naverson Street, in I guess it would be east Jacksonville. I’m just driving, turning a car, and here are two deer! I guess I am staring right at him, he’s staring right at me. And he’s eating grass – from a well-manicured lawn in the front of someone’s house!”

Bruce Garrett is the new mayor of Jacksonville.

Bruce Garrett: “The deer are quite prolific throughout Jacksonville. And we’ll see herds of them feeding early in the morning or late in the evening. I usually walk my dog Charlie and so when they see Charlie walking along they usually put their  difference between him and us. They are just pretty much everywhere you go.”

Wild deer roam the streets of Jacksonville nonchalantly, as residents have gotten used to their cohabitants.

Many residents feed the deer corn or other left-over food.

Garrett says he even knows someone who set up a salt-lick in his yard.

Wildlife experts cringe when they hear things like this.

Steve Niemela: “Back in September we received multiple calls from the area around the city of Jacksonville, about dead deer."

Steve Niemela is with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife near Medford. He says deer can’t digest some human food. And when deer herds hang out in one concentrated area, fatal diseases can run rampant.

Steve Niemela: “We also found out, from the city, that they’ve been providing a service to the residents to pick up deer that have died in their yard. So we know that the deer we got calls about are just a small fraction of the dead or dying deer.”

'Deer Crossing' signs in Jacksonville warn of the cities most 'wild' residents.

Niemela just gave a presentation to the city council, urging them to adopt an ordinance to fine people for feeding the deer.

Jacksonville isn’t the only Oregon city facing this sort of crisis.

Nancy Taylor is with the state Fish and Wildlife department in Corvallis. She’s dealt with several cities plagued by another animal.

Wild turkey.

Nancy Taylor: “In Philomath, there was an area that was basically over the ridge from a large flock of turkey. And the birds started harassing the neighbors. And turkeys, there is plenty of natural, native food out there for them. And turkeys are lazy. If they can eat and sleep in the same yard, that’s what they’ll do.  And they’ll spend the rest of the day fighting and scratching.”

Philomath, West Corvallis, and Dallas are all working to cut back the feeding of wild turkeys. In Klamath Falls, feeding raccoons is banned altogether.

Scientists like Taylor say this problem  will only spread, as more people move to the undeveloped, low foothills of the Willamette Valley -- where wild animals live.

Nancy Taylor: “In Philomath, they actually passed a city ordinance to make it unlawful to feed the wildlife. We had tried the voluntary approach, but I find in most cases that 3/5ths of the people comply. It’s just a couple people who want to do whatever they want and you need an ordinance to change their behavior.”

Despite the urgings from the state, Jacksonville Mayor Bruce Garrett doesn’t seem to think an ordinance is a good idea.

Bruce Garrett: “It’s not that easy. If you pass an ordinance, then you have to enforce it. And we don’t have the law enforcement capability to go out their and ticket everybody that might feed a deer.”

Garrett says at the next meeting, city councilors will consider a resolution or a proclamation simply informing residents that feeding deer is a bad idea.

City leaders will know soon enough if that approach will do the trick or if they need to follow Philomath’s example and start ticketing people who insist on feeding the animals.