Deer-Culling Effort Approaches in Chevy Chase
Certified park police sharpshooters will begin culling the deer herd in Chevy Chase's Rock Creek Stream Valley Park starting Feb. 11.
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It's official: Some of Chevy Chase's deer population will be reduced.
Starting Feb. 11, certified police sharpshooters from Montgomery Parks will cull the deer herd in Chevy Chase's Rock Creek Stream Valley Park (Unit 2)—the 277-acre part of the park between East-West Highway and the Capital Beltway.
"Highly trained and certified Park Police Sharpshooters will lethally remove deer from the park, under very stringent guidelines and in the most humane way possible," according to a statement from the park and planning commission.
Sharpshooting will take place when the park is closed to the public—from 5:30 p.m. until sunrise, through March 31, 2013, and will recur annually from Jan. 1 through the end of March as necessary, the statement added.
Montgomery Parks—part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission—proposed adding this section of the park to the county's deer management program only last fall, Patch reported.
"The decision to add this park to the deer management operations was made after review of citizen complaints and input and with strong support from the community," the statement continued. Recent estimates indicate that the park's deer population is three times what it should be.
Damage from deer in or near the park has included deer-related automobile accidents, damage to natural resources and the increased potential of communicable diseases such as Lyme disease, the commission's statement added.
Information about the hunts will be posted on signs throughout the park and on the Montgomery Parks’ website. All deer harvested from the sharpshooting will be donated to local soup kitchens.
Learn more about the deer management program at www.ParksDeerManagement.org.
macadoodle
9:24 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
"Damage from deer in or near the park has included deer-related automobile accidents, damage to natural resources and the increased potential of communicable diseases such as Lyme disease, the commission's statement added."
That's the reality, especially the deer-related auto accidents. Am hoping that the usual outcry from certain parts of the County will not stop this from happening. And how could anyone quibble with the fact that the culling of the herd (which has no natural predators in this area) will be donated to local soup kitchens?
Andrew Schnelwar
3:06 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
Perhaps if we hadn't decimated 99% of the forests where these deer happened to live before us you wouldn't see an "overpopulation" of them in the remaining 1% of land they have left to survive on. It's deer genocide. Oh but now that 20,000 deer that used to live in 1000 acres of forest now have to survive within 100 acres of forest it must be too many deer right?? And they say they are helping the environment by culling the deer..
Captain Cook
9:26 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Sign me up! Let's thin the herd and feed the hungry!
Patricia J. Kelly
10:32 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
I never knew the name of this Rock Creek area was "Stream Valley", interesting, anyone know the history? As much as I know this needs to be done...I still feel sorry for the Deer.
AMRB
12:48 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Until we find deer birth control that works, this is necessary. HOWEVER -- in many places along Rock Creek Park, homeless people build themselves shelters or put tents in thickets (we have stumbled on encampments during annual cleanups). WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ENSURE THAT NO HUMANS ARE SHOT DURING THIS HUNT?
Madelaine Waltjen Shedlick
12:56 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
I understand that there are too many deer. What I don't understand is why this hunt is in February and March when the female deer (doe) are heavily pregnant and ready to give birth. This just adds to the suffering--- especially if they are bow hunting. Why was this not done in November/December? Also, two months of hunting seems like "overkill". If this if going to be done, it should at least be as humanely as possible. The deer are innocent in all of this.
Madelaine Waltjen Shedlick
1:06 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
oops..."it should be done in the most humane way possible. The deer are innocent in all of this."
Patricia J. Kelly
11:31 am on Friday, January 11, 2013
I agree with no Bow Hunting! It's inhumane and I do hope the "Sharp shooters" really are, and they aren't using these animals for target practice. Although
it's a constant battle between my garden and the Deer it's sad we have to kill them off....remember we came into THEIR home,
Richard Rice
1:13 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
I totally agree with Madelaine about the deer hunting situation. Please thin
the herds in a humane manner so that we will continue to have the deer
around but not endangering the drivers (I am one who loves to drive along
Beech Drive in the Kensington area; love the deer but not out in the middle of the road!!!
Karla Gutierrez-Pugh
10:55 am on Thursday, January 10, 2013
THIS IS ALL WRONG & INHUMANE.
Captain Cook
2:12 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
...until you hit them in YOUR car and your PAX gets killed and YOU maimed!
Tom Gilday
3:10 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
One more dead/ struck deer this morning at Audobon on Jones Mill Road that makes 4 in the last 2 months a record
The deer are eating everthing on Flushing Meadow Terrace I see at least 4 every morning at 5 AM
Please thin the herd
Tom Gilday
3:12 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
One more dead/ struck deer this morning at Audobon on Jones Mill Road that makes 4 in the last 2 months a record
Please thin the herd
Every morning deer are eating everthing on Flushing Meadow Terrace I see at least 4 every morning
lee
11:18 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Here's a quote from Peter Beard after surviving an elephant attack..."A million humans dumped onto the earth every 4 days. We're pushing everything off bcuz we're putting ourselves 1st w/out any limitations and we're the most selfish and greedy animal in the history of the animal kingdom and our greed, our selfishness, our repacious takeover of global habitat is going to catch the elephant 1st, elephants R not the problem, it's us." Not just elephants but U get the point...