Today, Fri. Sept. 14, marked day one of the Town of Okotoks deer count.

The data collected at the last count in 2015 with the help of about 100 volunteers showed there were 66 deer in town at the time.

Christa Michailuck, Parks Manager for the Town of Okotoks, says this year residents can get involved through an app called NatureLynx.

"The app is free to citizens and it's free to the Town so it's a fantastic tool. The data goes into the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Index data base and people can download the app through their app store. We ask that they do the deer count between the designated times just because deer move and we want to get as accurate a number as possible."

Michailuck says they use the information to establish baseline data for the urban deer population.

"We'll know if the population is stable or if it's increasing or decreasing and that can help us with our public education strategies. If we're finding that our population is increasing that can maybe help us target to say we should do an extra campaign around that and maybe not be contributing to an increase in population just by our own cultural behaviours."

Michailuck also recommends those taking part wear red to indicate to others they are involved with the count and stick to the designated count times.

Day two of the deer count goes Sunday from 10- 11 a.m.