{"id":72874,"date":"2026-02-18T17:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/?p=72874"},"modified":"2026-02-18T17:51:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:51:18","slug":"after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/","title":{"rendered":"After nixing castration, Iron Mountain to close deer pen. Can it save the herd?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Iron Mountain has for years kept a captive deer herd in its City Park<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Faced with a large bill for implementing mandatory upgrades to the deer enclosure, the city council voted 5-2 to close the deer pen<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public pushback prompted the city to pause its plans to kill the herd and consider other options for the deer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula, Iron Mountain wants to close a costly deer pen that has attracted visitors to its City Park since at least the 1940s, but officials just can\u2019t figure out what to do with the sickly deer inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials scrapped initial plans to shoot the animals in the pen, which had sparked public revulsion. They also shelved a plan to <a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/iron-mountain-eyes-novel-plan-cut-iconic-deer-park-castration\/\">castrate the bucks<\/a> and let the herd die off naturally because the federal government would have required thousands of dollars in pen upgrades and a majority of the City Council members didn\u2019t want to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But officials say they can&#8217;t simply release the domesticated animals, which lack skills necessary to survive on their own.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So now, the city awaits word from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources about whether it can ship the deer out of town to another facility, a plan the DNR had previously nixed over fears of spreading disease such as tuberculosis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/iron-mountain-eyes-novel-plan-cut-iconic-deer-park-castration\/\"><strong>Iron Mountain eyes novel plan to cut iconic deer park: castration<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/outdoors-life\/michigan-house-passes-bill-to-lift-deer-baiting-ban-in-the-lower-peninsula\/\"><strong>Michigan House passes bill to lift deer baiting ban in the Lower Peninsula<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/outdoors-life\/michigan-approves-electronic-kill-tags-for-hunters-how-will-they-work\/\"><strong>Michigan approves electronic kill tags for hunters. How will they work?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The type of license the city has for the animals doesn\u2019t allow them to be moved, but the DNR is \u201copen to granting an exception to state law and allowing reclassification, dependent upon disease test results,\u201d Samantha Courtney, acting privately owned cervidae coordinator for the DNR Wildlife Division, said in an email to Bridge Michigan on Wednesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the animals test negative for disease, the DNR could reclassify the city\u2019s license, and the US Department of Agriculture could give the city a permit to move the animals to a new facility, Courtney said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEverything\u2019s kind of on a standstill right now,\u201d Mayor Dale Alessandrini said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At least one Detroit-area animal rehab facility \u2014 some 500 miles away from Iron Mountain \u2014 had expressed interest in taking on the herd, the mayor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The city has discussed closing the pen for at least a year, with many residents calling the animals\u2019 living conditions inhumane. The small herd \u2014 17 animals as of now \u2014 inbreeds inside the 6-acre enclosure, causing sickness in some of the creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just too bad we were stifled by years of not paying attention to the breeding, and we should have,\u201d Alessandrini told Bridge.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last spring, the US Department of Agriculture ordered the city to make improvements to the pen, including better shelter and a drinking trough to replace the pond the city currently relies on to quench the animals\u2019 thirst. The USDA also ordered the city to put the animals under the care of a veterinarian.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The price tag for all that came to $22,000 upfront, plus $16,000 a year for maintenance, feeding the animals and paying a vet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ironmountaindailynews.com\/news\/local-news\/2026\/02\/im-explores-possibility-of-transferring-deer-herd\/\">according to the Iron Mountain Daily News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The city currently spends about $7,000 a year feeding the animals andhas a $9.4 million general fund budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alessandrini said a park friends group and a local laborers union had promised to donate the money for the upfront costs, and the union had vowed to donate the labor for the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe did have everything ready to go,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nonetheless, the City Council voted 5-2 <strong>on<\/strong> Feb. 2 to close the deer pen, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ironmountainmi.gov\/ArchiveCenter\/ViewFile\/Item\/2202\">minutes of the meeting<\/a>, with some council members concerned the city would end up on the hook once donated funds run out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the DNR doesn\u2019t allow the herd to be moved \u2014 and, even if they do, if the city can\u2019t find some place willing to take the creatures \u2014 the animals will have to be shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alessandrini\u2019s fellow council members and City Manager Jordan Stanchina could not be reached for comment on this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan has nearly 300 captive deer and elk operations, less than one-tenth of which exhibit the animals to the public, like in Iron Mountain. Most of the operations are farms for meat or hides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though many Iron Mountain residents express disgust at the animals\u2019 living conditions, for others, the deer pen is a cherished part of visiting the park.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alessandrini, who voted against closing the enclosure, said he\u2019d like to see the animals moved somewhere else and see the city make the upgrades to the pen and bring in new animals that the city could better care for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d like to start over,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a nice thing for all the kids and the older people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The state has forbidden the city from moving the animals, meaning killing the caged creatures might be the city\u2019s only option after a split vote to close the deer enclosure at a city park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":72873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-02-18T22:51:17Z","apple_news_api_id":"e16cdbdf-069b-4661-ace9-8e131ee7dbb2","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-02-18T22:51:17Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A4Wzb3wabRmGs6Y4THufbsg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[2451],"tags":[1720],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2484],"class_list":["post-72874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quality-life","tag-northern-michigan","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>After nixing castration, Iron Mountain to close deer pen. Can it save the herd? - Bridge Michigan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After nixing castration, Iron Mountain to close deer pen. 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Can it save the herd? - Bridge Michigan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-02-18T22:51:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T22:51:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Iron Mountain city officials are trying to figure out what to do with the deer in a pen in a city park. The City Council has voted to close the pen, but city officials don\u2019t know what to do with the animals \u2014 short of killing them. (Courtesy of Betsy Bloom, The Iron Mountain Daily News)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After nixing castration, Iron Mountain to close deer pen. 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Hinkley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/eb4d3b683c246c0197370ba095f7dae1","url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Justin-Hinkley-headshot-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Justin-Hinkley-headshot-96x96.jpg","caption":"Justin A. Hinkley"},"description":"Justin A. Hinkley has worked in journalism for two decades, beginning as a cub reporter at his hometown paper, the Battle Creek Enquirer, where he covered everything from local government to cops and courts to education and everything in between. He then worked as an investigative journalist at the Lansing State Journal, focusing on state government, before moving to the Alpena News, where he served as managing editor and then publisher. He joined Bridge in February 2025. He lives in Alpena with his wife and son and was born and raised in Battle Creek.","url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/author\/justin-hinkley\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/after-nixing-castration-iron-mountain-to-close-deer-pen-can-it-save-the-herd\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"After nixing castration, Iron Mountain to close deer pen. 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Hinkley","date":"February 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Iron Mountain may castrate bucks to spur closure of its historic deer park, which has lost its luster as herds now roam local yards.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Quality of Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Quality of Life","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/category\/quality-life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Deer in the Iron Mountain city deer park","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Iron-Mountain-deer-park-January-2025-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1933,"url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-environment-watch\/michigan-deer-hunters-share-thoughts-managing-changing-herd\/","url_meta":{"origin":72874,"position":1},"title":"Michigan deer: Hunters share thoughts on managing a changing herd","author":"Janelle D. James","date":"January 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Deer harvests have significantly declined in Michigan, and officials attribute the downward trend to the lack of licensed hunters. The Department of Natural Resources is asking hunters to join a focus group to address the challenges of a changing deer population.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Michigan Environment Watch&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Michigan Environment Watch","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/category\/michigan-environment-watch\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"man holding deer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/deer.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/deer.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/deer.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/deer.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/deer.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4978,"url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-environment-watch\/hunting-wanes-fear-southern-michigan-deer-invasion-grows\/","url_meta":{"origin":72874,"position":2},"title":"As hunting wanes, fear of a southern Michigan deer invasion grows","author":"Kelly House","date":"November 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"With deer hunting in decline and land development pushing humans and deer ever-closer together, Michigan\u2019s deer population may be headed toward an uncontrollable boom.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Michigan Environment Watch&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Michigan Environment Watch","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/category\/michigan-environment-watch\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Matt DeLong","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DeLong.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DeLong.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DeLong.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DeLong.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DeLong.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12653,"url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/deer-have-michigan-run\/","url_meta":{"origin":72874,"position":3},"title":"Deer have Michigan on the run","author":"Jeff Alexander","date":"October 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Michigan\u2019s 2010 firearm deer season was in its first week when a bizarre car-deer accident in suburban Grand Rapids killed a 17-year-old girl. Barbara June Barnick, of Ionia, was driving toward Grand Rapids when an approaching vehicle hit a deer and catapulted the animal into Barnick\u2019s minivan. 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