DNR gives OK to pick up roadkill
May 17—TRAVERSE CITY — Picking up roadkill — specifically dead deer — will once again be the duty of Grand Traverse County Road Commission workers.
It is a job they have done for decades, but was halted in December after a meeting between the road commission and the Department of Natural Resources District 4 was called by the DNR to talk about deer carcasses piling up on state land.
The deer were to be pulled off the roadway itself and left to decompose naturally, the DNR advised, adding that a person could be fined for littering or depositing refuse on state land.
Road Commission Manager Brad Kluczynski had said his department would not pick up any more carcasses until a letter was received from the DNR stating it was OK to move the deer.
That letter was received this week from Scott Whitcomb, deputy director of the DNR, who wrote, " ... contractors and others have the authority and thus permission to transport road killed deer for proper disposal in landfills or other lands with permission of the landowner."
"There is no issue with moving roadkill off the side of the road to an approved disposal site," Whitcomb told the Record-Eagle on Tuesday.
The letter was sent to Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners Chairman Rob Hentschel this week, who then disseminated it.
Whitcomb also sent information from a 1997 DNR task force that was to deal with funding and efficient disposal of dead animals on Michigan's roads. The recommendation was that the most cost-effective way to handle roadkill was through local contracts, mostly with private companies, but also through local units of government.
Funding should come from the state's general fund or from the transportation fund, according to the task force.
At that time, Kent County was paying a private contractor $40 per carcass and Shiawassee $20 per carcass.
The road commission can pick up several deer every day, sometimes up to 500 per month, Kluczynski has said.
Jay Saksewski, director of operations for the road commission, said the road commission does not receive any funding to manage the handling or disposal of roadkill carcasses.
The change in how roadkill is handled by the road commission did not come about because of funding.
"Had the road commission not been approached by the DNR, we would be continuing with roadkill operations as we had for decades," Saksewski said.
He said with the DNR and other agencies mandating tighter and more costly protocols for the handling and disposal of roadkill, the question begs to be asked: Who is going to pay for that?
"Logic would suggest that the DNR, a department funded to manage the state's wildlife, would be responsible for the costs of managing the state's wildlife ... alive, sick, injured, or dead," Saksewski said.
The issue stemmed from complaints that deer carcasses were being dumped on state land. Some are close to trails and with residents and visitors spending more time recreating, they are coming across them while hiking or cross-country skiing, according to the DNR.
Kluczynski has said the deer are sometimes placed on road rights-of-way adjacent to state land, but never on state or park land.
Whitcomb said the 66-foot right-of-way is for transportation purposes for county roads that traverse through state land. They are actually easements by right and are not owned by the county, he said.
"We don't think it is appropriate at all to dump carcasses on state land," Whitcomb said.
