McCracken County, KY- A battle between the public and mother nature is heating up and state road crews say too many deer are to blame. Now is the time of year when deer are most active and that is leading to a spike in car versus deer crashes. Dead deer are a big problem this time of year because they are piling up faster. Normally state road crews leave the deer on the side of the road. it's a policy they plan to endorse after one employee dumped several dead deer where they don't belong.

A mound of dead deer is one sight even veteran hunters like Dickie Todd say is hard to look at. 

"I've hunted all my life for more than forty years, I've never heard of anything like that," said Todd.

Complaints started pouring in to the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge after drivers noticed dead deer piling up here.  Keith Todd with the Kentucky Department of Highways says these deer weren't killed by hunters. Instead they were casualties from cars that were dumped by a state transportation worker.

"It's not something that is much fun for our employees and it's a hassle. I can understand how in a moment of frustration, someone wants to get rid of them and say let's go put them in a refuge, we can't be doing that," said Todd.

Todd said workers usually spray deer with lime and leave them for coyotes.But this time of year, deer are dying faster than they can be eaten.  The department used to bury road kill in state maintenance areas, but using that land became an environmental hazard. Todd says some districts are looking into using incinerators but so far there is no consistent practice on the books. It's a problem crews deal with every year that spikes from October to December when deer are moving the most.

"I know there was one year in Crittenden county where we counted 50 in a week along the road side. That doesn't count ones that made it across the fence or across the roadway before they died," added Todd.

In the latest case, the wildlife refuge allowed the state to bury the deer and decided not to press charges. Although some might not like the sight, Todd says he will share a new plan with state crews to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"If deer are laying there it may have to lay there because we have no means for disposing of them," said Todd.

The state transportation cabinet is working with the EPA to find the best ways to get rid of the dead deer.