Deer count tallies 238 in Port Townsend

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Volunteers with the first-ever Port Townsend Deer Count spotted 238 deer on the morning of April 2. That number does not compensate for possible double-counting of deer.

More than 60 volunteers took part in the count, from 7 to 7:30 a.m. on that Saturday morning. Each counter was given a photocopied map of their section of town, and a tally sheet on which to note the exact time and location (by address) of each deer they saw. People were also instructed to draw a line along the map to indicate their route during the half-hour count. By collating that information onto a big map, organizers hope to identify instances of deer being counted twice – an analysis not yet completed.

The deer count was organized by Loran Scruggs, Tim Lawson and Sue Long, solely for the purpose of finding out how many deer could be seen.

They limited the deer count to the area east of Sheridan Street, divided that area into 14 sections, and assigned a small herd of five or more volunteers to each section.

Volunteers were trained in data-collection techniques at a meeting on the Wednesday prior to the count. "We know the people that didn't come to the training, it really reflected in the way they reported," Long said April 4. "They wouldn't have the times down, or maybe the location."

A woman counting deer in Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park identified specific location by the plantings, such as horsetail, in their Latin names, Long said.

The organizers plan to make available online all the data collected during the count, including counters' routes and the time and location of each deer seen. By comparing notes, double-counts should be excluded from the count, and a more accurate number would then be reported, Long said.

The PT Deer Count website is at lawsontim.wix.com/ptdeercount or search for Port Townsend Deer on Facebook.

Among the 14 sections of town, Fort Worden reported the most with 32 deer.

The unofficial deer count included just over half of the city's physical boundary, and not the most forested, least developed portion. Volunteers may tackle that project at a future time.

One counter spotted a deer in a yard in the 1400 block of Monroe Street that was on the ground and having trouble breathing, Long said. When the counter returned at 7:30 a.m., April 2, the deer had died. Mike Kennedy, a volunteer counter, inspected the deer to see if it had lice, and saw none, Long said. He found blood on the deer and speculated it had been hit by a car.

After some discussion, that deer was included in the count.

"Animal control was off on the weekend so there was nobody to come pick it up until Monday," Long said.