Montgomery County puts local deer
in its sights

by Kara Berger

Montgomery County’s 2007-2008 season of managed shotgun hunts and sharpshooting of deer is underway in area parks. The annual fall and winter hunts were initiated in 1995 to decrease the deer population order to reduce what the Montgomery County Department of Parks calls “deer-human conflicts” The Department of Parks plans the operation based on reported densities of deer in specific areas.

Our harvest goals are based on site-specific needs, “said Bill Hamilton, a natural resources specialist and wildlife ecologist with the Department of Parks. “In park lands it is extremely common to find 100 deer per square mile and greater”

Factors that the department takes into consideration when choosing sites include citizen safety, health issues such as Lyme disease, damage to property and environmental effects. “Deer have a tremendous impact on the biodiversity,” said Hamiliton. “We do get quite a few community requests.”

The operations requires temporary park closures throughout the county from late October through January for Park Police-managed, sunrise-to -sunset hunts. From January to March, Park Police officers will conduct sunset-to-sunrise sharpshooting operations, during hours in which parks are closed to the public.

In addition to curbing overpopulation, the deer hunts are a source of food. “...[A]ll of the deer are sent to a meat processor, and all the meat is donated to charity.”, said Rob Gibbs, Chair of the Montgomery County Deer Management Work Group, an interagency organization

Animal rights activist Susan Rich is one of the voices of opposition to the hunts. “There is no proven need,” Rich said. She also questioned their effectiveness, wondering how there can still be a population problem “after years of shooting.” Rich did agree that sharpshooting was perhaps the most humane way to kill deer, but argued that it is also the cheapest way to address the problem.

Neal Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Audubon Naturalist Society, said that the Society doesn’t take a position on the county’s deer population management strategy. ANS is more concerned, Fitzpatrick said, with “big, stupid roads that cost too much and don’t solve the problem” and with raising funds that will allow them to buy land to conserve for public use.
“At this point, it hasn’t become a priority, so we haven’t taken a position,” Fitzpatrick said.

Don Elwood, director of Wildlife Advocacy for the Humane Society also questioned the necessity of the hunts. “Deer control their own number by what food is available. If there isn’t as much food, fewer deer are born...there really isn’t anything to substantiate worries that a bunch of deer will starve to death.” Elroy said. On the other hand, if deer sense that they are under pressure from predators or hunting, he said, their population will increase. “After a lethal cull, the population can come back even higher – there’s more twinning.”

If deer populations do become problematic, Elroy said, there are several other, non-lethal ways to deal with them.

First, he suggests that homeowners take steps to “deer proof” their gardens, which are a highly attractive source of food for the animals. He also suggested that speed limits be lowered in areas that are known deer habitats.

The installation of Streiter LItes - reflectors that create the illusion of moving light to scare deer away before they walk out into a road- can prevent deer-vehicle collisions, Elroy said. Sensors that alert motorists to the presence of deer in an area that they’re driving through could also be used, he said.

Montgomery County is a fragmented habitat for deer, Elroy said, meaning that it consists of small pockets of wooded land surrounded by urbanized areas. When deer wander out of their habitat, it’s in search of food. The county could just find ways to move them back into more appropriate habitats, Elroy said.

For more information, contact the Maryland-National Capital Park Police at 301-929-5989.

You can read the press release regarding the seasonal hunts and sharpshooting operations at: http://mncppc.typepad.com/news/2007/09/intermittent-pa.html