GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Phase two of the Kent County Deer Management Coalition Project began Monday.

Whether it’s the number of car-deer crashes or issues involving vegetation, there are clues Kent County may be facing a problem with an overpopulation of deer.

“The tell-tale signs are there, but you’ll never hear us take a definitive approach until we have all the data backing up,” said Rob Larson, an associate professor in the Grand Valley State University Natural Resource and Environmental Management Program.

The Kent County Deer Management Coalition Project was created to consider what can or should be done. In November, an online survey was released to gauge people’s thoughts on deer in their community.

“Up in the northern part of Kent County where we have orchards, people feel differently about deer than they do in the city of Grand Rapids,” Ali Locher, professor in the GVSU Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Management, said. “It’s pretty interesting to see the spatial patterns throughout the whole entire county.”

On Monday, the project entered a new phase. Researchers at GVSU began collecting data in the field, led by graduate student Brody Glei.

“Everybody’s perception of where deer are at and what they see is completely dependent on their daily life. So with this data we’re collecting, we’re going to collect data that doesn’t have that bias-of-a-daily-life type of thing,” Glei said.

From 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. through Dec. 16, teams of GVSU students will conduct field surveys to get a better understanding of deer numbers in Kent County’s townships and municipalities.

“They’ll go out and do some spotlighting, but also distance estimations and it will give us a better picture of really what the on-the-ground numbers for deer density and population are,” Larson said.

The data that’s collected will help decide what solutions are recommended to the county.

“But there’s going to have to be some flexibility to adapt because as we try stuff based on proven other tactics, it might not work for Kent County or this region,” Larson said.

Researchers hope to develop management recommendations that allow humans and wildlife to coexist.

“We’re all in this together,” Locher said.

Another round of field data collection is expected to happen after the new year. If you want to take part in the online survey, it is available through Dec. 14.