Deer Culling Program Starts In September: Montgomery Parks

GERMANTOWN, MD — Montgomery Parks' annual deer population management program will start next month and run through March 2021, according to county officials.

The program was created 24 years ago to address the county's burgeoning deer population. Officials say more than 20,600 deer have been removed over the years.

"Our deer population management efforts are intended to address these matters of public safety, natural resources protection, and other concerns of county residents. Across all program elements, the safety of residents remains our top priority," said Montgomery Parks wildlife ecologist Ryan Butler.

Trained, pre-screened archers and sharpshooters will be deployed at 54 parks for the duration of the program, according to county officials, and will work in cooperation with parks wildlife ecologists.

Yellow signs will be posted in advance throughout and surrounding the affected parks.

Archery and Shotgun-Managed Hunting

Archery Managed Deer Hunting will take place at 14 parks, from September through January. Parks do not need to be closed.

Lottery-based and Cooperative Managed Deer Hunts (shotgun) will take place at 11 parks. Those sites will be closed to the public for 24-hour periods while operations are underway. A complete schedule of hunt dates and locations is available online.

Sharpshooting

Park Police-based sharpshooting operations will be conducted at night from February to March of 2021. Thirty-three parks will be closed in preparation for and during the operation from sunset to sunrise, officials said.

Driving In Deer County

The risk of deer-vehicle collisions increases around the same time the deer hunting program goes into effect.

Montgomery Parks urges motorists to plan ahead and offers the following recommendations:

• Be alert for deer on or near roadways and take precautions.
• Be aware that deer are most active from dusk through dawn.
• Look for eye-shine along road edges.
• Deer may travel in groups, so if you see one deer expect others.
• Pay attention to deer crossing signs; these signify areas where multiple accidents have occurred.
• Never swerve to avoid colliding with a deer.
• A collision with a deer can happen on any roadway in the county but be particularly cautious in areas where you observe deer often and where woodlands/natural habitat run adjacent to the roadway.