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Yesterday afternoon, I read an article that discussed a partnership between bow hunters and the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cities were looking at ways to reduce the deer herd in their metro area. The reasons for the desired reductions are familiar: damage to vehicles, damage to horticulture on both residential and public grounds, and general nuisances associated with unchecked, large, and some might say bold, deer populations in urban and suburban areas. Enter the Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB), ta-da! The MBRB organizes and administers bow hunts in in the Twin City metro area in locations that are, well, sensitive to hunting, and in use by the general public. From the MBRB about page: The MBRB also administers its own skill-based proficiency test that plays a part in the type of hunt an applicant may engage in: standard and sharpshooter. I imagine that proficiency determines the area an individual hunter would be allowed to apply to hunt. From the article that I read, the MBRB also acts as a resource to place deer-disgruntled landowners in contact with available bow hunters. I'm unsure of how that selection is handled. Perhaps a lottery of their "sharpshooter" applicants. Has anyone attempted to organize bow hunters in their "metro" area in a fashion similar to the MBRB in MN? That is, have you or any bow hunting groups or organizations that you are part of, or know of approached a municipality to present and propose a structured, organized metro bow hunt within municipal/county/metro boundaries, specifically at parks, golf courses, etc.? If so, would you share the response you received from the municipality? Would you also share the proposal? I'm very interested in fleshing out this idea and perhaps making a pitch in the Albany / Troy / Schenectady areas. This is a low-cost (perhaps revenue generating), low-impact alternative to sharp-shooters, trapping, birth control, etc, and I think that an organized front with a structured and detailed plan delivered by experienced and conscientious bow hunters would be the best approach, oppositions notwithstanding. Thoughts? Experiences? Suggestions? Your thoughtful and constructive contributions are appreciated. Thanks very much... -- Link to the MBRB about page: http://mbrb.org/mbrb/mbrb-p04.htm Link to the MBRB page on how to engage the MBRB: http://mbrb.org/mbrb/mbrb-p10.htm