SANDPOINT - Bonner County officials hope to obtain permission from the City Council to allow archers to hunt deer in and around Sandpoint Airport to reduce the threat of collisions with aircraft.

Airport Manager Dave Schuck briefed county commissioners on the proposal Tuesday, recounting collisions which have already happened and a string of near-misses with deer.

Aircraft have collided with deer twice since 2008, one of which injured the occupants and severely damaged the plane.

At the airport in 2011, a rare P-51 Mustang was taking off when a deer sprinted across the runway, missing the plane by a few feet.

"We have near-misses like this virtually every day. We have hundreds of near-misses a year at the airport," Schuck told commissioners.

Airport personnel have hazed resident and transient deer at the airport using vehicles and cracker shells, which are pyrotechnic shotgun rounds that produce a loud report after traveling a distance.

But the deer return to the airfield soon after they are scared away.

"Any of the non-lethal measures are very temporary," said Schuck.

In a 2008 incident, an airplane collided with a deer while taking off. The relatively light plane skidded 1,500 feet and tore through a chain-link fence.

"A much larger plane - like any other turbo-props or jets that come in here - would go through the fence and be either out on Boyer Avenue or in one of the residential areas alongside," said Schuck.

The county originally sought a depredation permit from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which would have enabled deer harvest outside the regular season. Schuck said Fish and Game declined the permit and suggested the use of short-range weapons to thin the ranks of deer at the airport.

It's lawful only for police to discharge deadly weapons within the city limits, although the city can grant permits for shooting in fixed locations under specified rules.

Under the county's proposal, some archery hunters would be given permission to stalk deer at the airport and others would seek permission from adjoining landowners to hunt deer on their land. The time frames for the hunting would fall within the existing deer season.

Shooting arrows across fence or property lines is prohibited.

The county has a long-term solution in the offing - a wildlife fence which will encircle the airport. However, it won't be installed until 2019, Schuck said.

Bonner County commissioners are endorsing the archery proposal in the interests of public safety.

"This is an ongoing problem. It is just a matter of time before we're going to have a fatal (collision)," Commissioner Mike Nielsen said.