Shawnee Mission Park has one of, if not the highest, whitetail deer populations in the United States. Estimates are 200 deer per square mile, or more than 7 times the biological carrying capacity of the land. We are trying to get an urban bow hunting season started in the park to help control the population. Hunters and all CONSERVATIONISTS, it is our responsibility to do something about this now. If something happens and the local deer herd gets a disease, it could easily spread through the entire state. We don't want to kill all the deer, we just need to manage the numbers. We don't need more of our tax dollars going to pay sharpshooters to kill the deer. Bowhunters would be willing to pay for permits to hunt the park and create a revenue generating method, rather than a taxpayer burden. We would donate a percentage of the deer taken to area food banks as well.

Anyone interested in helping us convince the JOCO park board that an organized bowhunt is THE ONLY viable method for controlling the deer herd in the parks, please contact me at kpayn68@hotmail.com. We're looking for volunteers to help educate the non-hunting public, as well as veteran bowhunters for the group. Thank you! Ken Payne, Jr.