WASHINGTON — From tearing up your tomatoes to causing collisions on suburban roads, deer can pose a real problem, and Montgomery County is taking a look at its 20-year management program.
In a presentation to the Montgomery County Council Tuesday, Rob Gibbs, natural resources manager for the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, explained that the management of deer through hunts has been effective on public lands, but doesn’t make a dent in the population on large swaths of privately owned land in the county.
The deer population has been reduced by up to 59 percent where deer are culled through hunts. And the deer management program’s report says that has had a positive impact in reducing deer-vehicle collisions.
But 80 percent of undeveloped land in the county — areas that deer find habitable — is private property, and not covered under the deer management program. Gibbs suggested that an effective countywide program would have to include ways to access those lands.
Gibbs also compared the effectiveness of the managed hunts with the efforts to control the deer population through contraception. From a cost standpoint, Gibbs said it was no contest.
“Our management program probably averages around $200 per deer — or less. When you’re talking about contraception, it’s more like $800 to $1,200 per deer.”
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
