WASHINGTON — Deer hunting season has begun at Montgomery County Parks.
The annual deer population management program will take place at parks throughout the county now through January 2018.
“Deer overpopulation results in over-browsing, especially of native plant communities on parkland and also residential landscaping in the neighborhoods which surround parkland,” said Ryan Butler, principal natural resources specialist for Montgomery County Parks.
Another growing concern according for Butler is disease.
“Although deer are not a direct contributor to Lyme disease, they are the host for the adult stage of the tick,” Butler said.
October, November and December are months of “the rut” or deer breeding season. An uptick in vehicle accidents involving deer has been observed. Butler said that bucks follow their noses and not necessarily their eyes in pursuit of does.
At Great Seneca Stream Valley Park in Gaithersburg, archery hunting is already taking place. Shotgun-managed hunts will take place during the season. In more urban areas, Butler said certified Park Police sharpshooters will be used. They will conduct hunts from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., when parks are normally closed.
Hunters have been preselected and their backgrounds checked from those who registered for the hunts earlier this year, Butler said.
Parks will remain open to the general public while archery hunting is taking place. The 10 parks where shotgun hunting will be allowed will be closed on the days of the hunts.
“Our main goals are to reduce and maintain deer populations on parkland for the benefit of the environment and our county citizens,” Butler said.
Hunters get to keep the deer they shoot and kill. Park Police officers give the deer they get to the Capital Area Food Bank, which has seen more than 247,000 pounds of deer meat donated from the hunts to date.
Drivers are urged to be alert for deer between dusk and dawn, when they are most active. Drivers should not swerve to avoid a collision with a deer.
