Community members in Crandon are pushing back against the possible removal of the city’s longtime deer park, since the 1940s.
Concerns began after county leaders cut funding for the park in next year’s budget, raising questions about its future and sparking public frustration.
For 30 years, caretaker owner Mary Kircher has brought her students here, calling the park more than just a place to see deer.
“I think teaching the kids how to take care of wildlife, how to enjoy wildlife, how to respect wildlife...and we can teach them how beautiful it is in the Northwoods and how beautiful the deer are," says Kircher.
And to them the park is a piece of local history, a place where memories have been passed down for generations.
“My daughter and wife are over there. I have come to this park when I was a kid. My parents came when they were kids," says Trevor Marvin, another concerned citizen.
Forest County faces budget challenges due to a lack of tax base, and voters turned down a referendum to fund services last year.
For 2026, county funding for the deer park was cut entirely, raising public concern that the park could be removed.
“The big thing was I just don’t think the board realized how much this means to the community. And then just didn’t give us enough chance to come voice our opinion on it. So we're actively trying to change that decision," says Marvin.
Visit Forest County Visit Forest County offered to fund the park, believing it would cost between 8 and 10 thousand dollars a year to operate. But recent discussions now put that estimate at more than twenty thousand, a number they say they will have to “...find out if these higher expenses are legitimate.”
“They took a lot of the park away when they built the Jail house. It would break my house to lose this part of out courthouse square,” says Kircher.
“We can work, we can work and come up with another option. Then to take this deer park away that has been here," says Kircher.
And as frustration over the park’s future grows, Forest County’s Board Chair has resigned, mentioning in his resignation letter, “growing division–caused by public misinformation, external pressure, and some Board members conducting unofficial planning sessions and actions that weaken board decision–has made effective governance more difficult."
