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Deer Dilemma: Two sides in pictures

WTOP Staff | WTOP_Web_Team@wtop.com

March 4, 2013, 3:37 AM

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At one point, deer were hunted to near extinction in Rock Creek Park and had to be reintroduced to the during the 1930s through 1950s. Populations grew because there are no longer natural predators in the area. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
WTOP/Michelle Basch
Rob Gibbs is the Natural Resources Manager for the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) Montgomery Parks. While he says he understands deer in the wild are beautiful, he stresses balance is needed. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
WTOP/Michelle Basch
Bushes in a neighborhood off 16th Street NW near Rock Creek Park show evidence that deer have been eating from their lower sections. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
Linda Crichlow White and her husband Eric stand in front of a fence around their yard that they made taller to try to keep out deer. They live off 16th Street on a road that dead-ends at the park. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
WTOP/Michelle Basch
Linda Crichlow White points to the netting and hoops she and her husband have placed over plants in their front yard to try to keep deer from eating them. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
WTOP/Michelle Basch
A deer lies near 16th Street NW by Rock Creek Park after being hit by a car. (Courtesy of Linda Crichlow White)
Courtesy of Linda Crichlow White
Taken in 2005, this photo shows a deer eating someone's garden near the Nicholson Street NW neighborhood by Rock Creek Park. (Courtesy of Linda Crichlow White)
A federal lawsuit has been filed over a proposed deer hunt in Rock Creek. Deer are known to frequent the neighborhoods adjacent to the park. This photo was taken in 2005. (Courtesy of Linda Crichlow White)
Problems with deer on Linda Crichlow White's property peaked around 2006 and 2007. This photo, taken in 2005, shows deer grazing in a yard near the Nicholson Street NW. (Courtesy of Linda Crichlow White)
Deer can carry ticks and cause car accidents. Linda Crichlow White says they "definitely eat our vegetation." (Courtesy of Linda Crichlow White)
Anne Barton stands in her yard near the spot where a doe gave birth to a fawn in 2004. The two deer stayed there for weeks. Her home is off Military Road near Rock Creek Park, and she opposes the plan to kill deer in the park. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
WTOP/Michelle Basch
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA In 2004, this doe gave birth to a fawn in the backyard of Anne Barton. She and her husband live off Military Road NW near Rock Creek Park. Others in the neighborhood named the doe Daisy and the fawn Bambi. Barton is opposed to the plan to kill deer in the park. In a federal lawsuit, she states one of the reasons is, she's afraid the same fawn she saw born in her yard - will die. (Courtesy of Anne Barton)
Courtesy of Anne Barton
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA In 2004, this doe gave birth to a fawn in Anne Barton backyard off Military Road NW. Despite the fact the deer devoured her plants, she'd welcome them back any time. (Courtesy of Anne Barton)
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The deer hunt that's on hold would be the first since Rock Creek Park was founded in 1890. Anne Barton is a neighbor who opposes the hunt. In 2004, this doe gave birth to a fawn in her backyard off Military Road NW. (Courtesy of Anne Barton)
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA National Park Service documents say action needs to be taken because deer are doing major damage to native plants and taking away habitat for other animals in Rock Creek Park. Neighbors named this doe Daisy and her fawn Bambi in 2004. (Courtesy of Anne Barton)
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA At one time deer were rare in Rock Creek Park. In 2004, this fawn was born in Anne Barton's backyard. The controversy of the National Park Service's proposed deer hunt is pitting neighbor against neighbor. (Courtesy of Anne Barton)
Courtesy of Anne Barton
Anne Barton recently created paintings from some of the photos she took of the deer that visited her backyard in 2004. Here's one of several she has framed and hung in her home. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
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Plans are in motion to hunt deer in Rock Creek Park in order to thin the overpopulated herd. But opponents to the hunt have filed a federal lawsuit. See what each side has to say through photos.

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