WASHINGTON — Annual deer population management at Rock Creek Park in Northwest D.C. starts Tuesday, leading to possible, temporary road closures at night.
From Tuesday, Nov. 20 to Sunday, March 31, the National Park Service said in a news release that the closures are meant to protect visitors and residents while work is done to manage the area’s white-tailed deer.
The park service is working together with biologists, who are also trained firearms experts, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Park police and local law enforcement. They’ll be working at night, when the park is usually closed.
The temporary road closures won’t affect Piney Branch Parkway and Beach Drive NW between Broad Branch Road and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway.
The expected closures between 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. include:
Horse Stable Road NW,
Ross Drive NW,
Ridge Road NW, south of Grant Road NW,
Glover Road NW, south of the Rock Creek Park Horse Center.
Closures between 6:45 p.m. to 4 a.m.:
Beach Drive between Broad Branch Road NW and Military Road NW
Beach Drive between Wise Road NW and West Beach Drive NW
Wise Road NW,
Ridge Road NW,
Glover Road NW,
Grant Road NW,
Joyce Road NW,
Morrow Drive NW,
West Beach Drive NW at Parkside Drive NW,
Stage Road NW.
The overpopulation of white-tailed deer at Rock Creek Park has negatively impacted the area, the park service said, so reducing the population would help “support long-term protection and restoration of native plants and promote a healthy and diverse forest.”
