MontgomeryParks.org

I agree with and support your plan for deer reduction, it is very much needed.
Thanks

Hello,
I saw a sign notifying the public of a proposal that will allow specially trained police to lethally remove deer at night between routes 410 and 495. Is there any possibility that properly licensed MD bow hunters could participate in the deer population reduction in concert with the police? I think there are many hunters who would like to help manage the overabundance of deer in the area, as well as provide food for their families. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

As a local resident, I strongly support any deer population control measures. We've eliminated their natural predators, it is our duty to control their population now!

For 2013, as already planned, I support the management effort. The deer are numerous, travel in large herds and are clearly undernourished. While older deer seem to be cognizant of traffic, the youngsters are not. However, in the future, please try to work with mother nature to avoid mass killings of any deer. If only male deer are killed, it will obviously prevent large numbers of females being impregnated, thus slowly reducing the population. And, stage the activity to precede the rut. Prevention is always better than killing, and leaving fawns helpless without a mother.

I expect you will get a lot of messages objecting to your proposal to reduce the deer population in Rock Creek Park, this is a message of support. We have lived close to Rock Creek Park in North Chevy Chase for the last 15 years, and during that time the deer population has absolutely exploded; we are constantly having close calls while driving on the local roads.

To all the animal lovers who object to your proposal of "lethal removal" (which by the way is a wonderful euphemism) you might point out that most of the deer in this area appear to be very scrawny and underfed; the survivors will have a much better supply of food and a happier life as a result.

... in the section of Rock Creek Park, north of East-West Highway and stretching northward past the 495 Beltway. I live at ...., off Jones Mill Road.

Deer congregate in my back yard throughout the day and night. Groups as large as 10 or 12. They graze, they eat my landscaping trees, shrubs, my flowers and plants. They are not frightened away when I enter the yard to hang my laundry on a clothesline. They defecate in my yard all over. I try to clear the scat before my lawn-mowing crew arrives. I have had to stop entertaining friends and relatives, especially those with children, because of the deer poop throughout my yard.

They intimidate me. They walk past my house from the woods to the street, across Coquelin Terrace, unto the artery of Jones Mill Road. They present serious traffic hazards to pedestrians and drivers.

I think your estimates are way to low--just last week there were 3 deer grazing at the Rosemary Hills Park-I live at East West and Grubb Road and at night have seen 2 to 3 deer in my back yard-these deer have almost ruined my garden-- Instead of the Park police going after these deer I think that the Montgomery County Police should this will give them experience at shooting at a moving target.

Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2012 6:16 PM
To: MCP-DeerManagement
Subject: Deer management program in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 2

Dear Montgomery County Parks,
We live at 3105 Black Chestnut Lane in Chevy Chase, MD, and strongly support the proposed extension of the deer management program into Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 2.

Our property backs up onto the Audubon Society and we are regular users of Rock Creek Park nearby. We are amazed -- and not in a pleasant way -- about how the deer population has exploded in recent years. The deer are a serious traffic hazard, at night in particular. On several occasions we have come very close to hitting them as they dart across Jones Mill Road. The deer have also lost all fear of humans, and are accustomed to entering back and front yards at virtually any hour of the day or night to eat flowers and plants. We vaccinate our dog regularly and examine our skin carefully after working in the yard, but we remain fearful of the potential of deer ticks and Lyme disease.

Please, please carry out this deer management program in our area. Since it can be executed at night, with the neighborhood getting plenty of warning, the danger to humans will we suspect be reduced to zero.

Thank you for considering our opinion, and please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like additional information.

Dear deer management team,
I wanted to offer my support for your proposed deer cull. I imagine that most supporters feel that they have no reason to contact you, which leads to an oversampling of those who oppose the plan. I imagine I'm one of the silent majority and represent the views of a large number of people who do not comment.

I live in the Forest Glen neighborhood (on ..... Dr.). Like most here, I appreciate the presence of deer in our area and would oppose any plan to attempt to eliminate the species completely. But regular, carefully orchestrated, thinning of the herd, like you plan is essential for a region like this. The results are likely to be fewer, healthier animals, a reduction in the tick population, a decrease in Lyme disease prevalence, increased vegetation, specifically an increase in plant species richness as deer favored species are afforded the opportunity to recover, a decrease in erosion, an improvement of stream water quality, and a decrease in deer-automobile collisions and near misses.

My wife, baby daughter, dog, and I visit the park at least weekly. We park at one of the three designated visitor spaces on Ament Street at National Park Seminary near the Forest Glen Annex. Thank you for your careful management of this and McKenny Hills Park.

To Whom it May Concern:
I think that the proposed deer management plan is completely unnecessary and cruel. As a resident who frequently utilizes the trails in this park area, I enjoy seeing the deer. They pose no threat to anyone, and I can't imagine any residents being particularly inconvenienced by them. This is a residential area and I am unaware of any commercial crops in this region, so their impact on agriculture is minimal. I frequently see them grazing in open fields or in the woods, but this is not harmful to anyone.

Furthermore, this region is densely populated with humans, and I feel that allowing hunters in the park could be very dangerous, even if you do post warnings and try to close down the park. Many houses line this area and there are many small trails leading into the park, so it would be difficult to effectively keep bystanders out. I hope that you will reconsider this inhumane project.

The residence of 9006 Le Velle Drive, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 fully support your deer management program. The deer are ruining the vegetation on our property and are very dangerous as they have no fear and are constantly crossing Jones Mill Road. which creates a driving hazard.
Thank you, and we hope you receive more supporting comments.

To: Montgomery Council Department of Parks
I support the proposed deer population management initiative in the Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 2. I live near Sligo Creek and I would support such a management initiative there. For the last three years, the deer have roamed my neighborhood, eating the native plants in my backyard as well as annually wiping out my vegetable garden.

There is evidence that they are eating the native vegetation in our local parks. This is very detrimental to the County's efforts to encourage native vegetation and wipe out invasive plants. However, my main concern is that they may carry lyme disease. That is a terrifying illness, if not detected, with permanent chronic symptoms. If the deer persist in my yard, they will drive me inside because of the fear of this disease.

Thank you for considering my comments.

Dear Montgomery County Parks
I live at ...., Chevy Chase MD 20815
Please proceed with deer reduction in Rock Creek Stream Valley #2. I drive Jones Mill Road several times a day and have had numerous near misses with deer over the last several years.

I agree with your plan in Rock Creek Stream Valley 2!!!!

The undersigned strongly support the proposed initiative to reduce the deer population in the park near our home.

We have lived in a house in the .... block of ..., about one block west of Jones Mill Road, for the past 40 years. During the last 10 years we have walked our dog twice a day on almost every day. Typically we walk a mile or so in the mornings in the neighborhood just west of Park Unit 2. In the afternoons one of us typically walks our dog a similar distance in the park itself.

Over this period we have observed a large increase in the deer population, both in our neighborhood and in the park. Currently we see deer running through our neighborhood on half or more of the mornings during our roughly 45 minute walk. Their growing numbers in the neighborhood, even at midday, presumably is a consequence of the herd having gotten so large that it cannot find enough to eat in the park.

We are quite concerned about the threat of Lyme disease caused by the ticks carried by deer. Our son came down with Lyme disease many years ago and we know it can be a frightening affliction. In this regard we frequently see deer in the areas where school children gather to wait for their buses.

We have a six foot stockade fence around our backyard and have not noticed any damage to our plants that has been caused by deer. But many of our neighbors have not been so lucky. One neighbor who has repeatedly lost plants due to deer has even asked us to encourage our dog to urinate on his flowers as he believes the smell may ward off marauding deer.

In addition to the threat of Lyme disease and the destruction of plantings, another concern we have is the increased risk of traffic accidents caused by the presence of deer in the neighborhood. In the mornings there are numerous cars with commuters rushing to work as well as large school buses moving along narrow roads. Deer darting out into these streets greatly increase the risk of serious if not fatal traffic accidents.

We believe the great majority of our neighbors share our views on the need to reduce the deer population. Unfortunately, many of them probably will not see the small sign posted in the park announcing the proposed initiative. If you have any doubts as to how local residents view the proposal we urge you to conduct a house to house survey.

I support the plan to use sharpshooters to cull the deer population

I am a resident of Chevy Chase and am in favor of culling deer herds. The overpopulation of deer is destroying forests by overgrazing saplings, destroying bird nesting and habitat and spreading Lyme disease.

Thank you for a much needed environmental protection proposal.

Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 4:47 PM
To: MCP-DeerManagement
Cc: mcp_deermanagement@montgomeryparks.org
Subject: Proposed Deer Population Management Initiative

Comments:
I strongly oppose the proposed deer reduction program. I walk on the trail daily and I see the deer only in the late evening and they've never posed any danger to me or any other humans. I don't understand why we need to kill these animals, if the only issue is having them much on people's veggies. If you live close to the park, perhaps you can put up a fence. Squirrels eat all of my fruits all year long and I don't see any squirrel reduction program in place. If you see them close to the road, slow down. To be completely honest, I'd rather have the Montgomery County funds going to other projects than killing deer in our neigborhood. I actually find it nice to see deer in our parks, and it disturbs me that my taxes would be spend on something that would take away one of a few nice things left about this county.

If Montgomery County believes that there the deer population needs to be addressed, perhaps there are non-lethal ways to address it, such as nonlethal immuno-contraception. Obviously, deer overpopulation is not specific to DC area, and other communities are also considering non-lethal options. If the deer reduction program were to go ahead (which I do not support in the first place), I would feel much more comfortable with the immuno-contraception option.

Thank you for your consideration of my comments.

As a long-time Chevy Chase, Maryland resident I support the plan to reduce the number of deer in our area. In the last few years the number of deer in our neighborhood has grown enormously. Deer have become a public nuisance, pose unacceptable hazards due to vehicle collisions and near misses, and they cause serious disease.

Aggressive management to severely reduce their numbers is amply justified.

We live very close to Rock Creek park on .... Dr. We strongly support the hunt. There are too many deer in this area. They are eating the native plants, increasing the incidence of tick bites and lyme disease (our son had a tick bite recently and the only guess we had as to the source was that he'd been kite flying in Ray's Meadow in the park. The deer are a serious local problem and need to be managed to a much smaller population.

We strongly support the planned culling operation. With no natural predators, the deer population is clearly exceeding the carrying capacity of the habitat and creating more conflicts. The posters indicate the plan is to cover only the area south of 495. Why not extend it to cover the area between Beach Drive and the Beltway?

I support the proposed deer management plan in Chevy Chase.

I live in the relevant area and strongly support efforts to control the deer population. Please make sure that advance notice of any hunts are widely distributed through a variety of media.

I also support efforts to curb lyme disease and the tics that transmit the disease.

I fully support the sharpshooter management plan and believe it should have been done several years ago. The population of deer has exploded in this area and many others of Rock Creek Park.

Such an overly large population as we now have is not healthy for deer, the rest of the forest ecology or humans who use or live near the park.

The appearance of "piebald" deer--deer with white body markings--in the local herds is indicative of close and abundant inbreeding taking place, leading to genetic weakening of the species. And, as the deer population grows with does having twins and triplets, it leads to more and more deer starving in the winter or crossing busy roads in search of food.

The current deer population far exceeds the carry capacity of the local environment. This has resulted in a browse line being eaten into Rock Creek Park, where deer have completely removed the understory of the forest, leaving no habitat for many small mammals and birds. Heavy grazing by an overpopulation of deer also tends to remove more native species of shrubs and trees such as the eastern hemlock and provide a more favorable opportunity for invasive non-native species. In addition, the over abundance of demand on the environment can result in deer eating out endangered and threatened plants expected to be protected within Rock Creek Park.

Third, a deer population as high as we have currently also presents two major health threats to people. The huge deer population has increased the incidence of Lyme disease in people in recent years, which is a very serious disease in humans. And the number of deer/car accidents has risen dramatically as the large population of deer seek new territory and food sources and have little or no fear of humans.

There are no birth controls for deer that can be used effectively to lower deer populations as large as we are currently dealing with. The birth control measures as currently exist only work in a fenced environment where deer cannot move freely to other areas. Absent reintroducing native predators of deer--wolves, cougars and bears--to the park, a controlled hunt, one that especially targets does rather than bucks is the next best answer to preserving the health of the entire forest ecosystem.

I was very glad to see the Park Service is finally taking action to reduce the number of deer. It's not right that so many residents cannot have flowers in their yards because the deer will eat them. It's a shame to see what the deer have done to the forest in Rock Creek. I fear the gun fire, but trust the Park Service not to shoot local residents. Good luck. Be safe.

Hello,
My family lives at ....Ave., silver spring, at the edge of the park in the Forest Glen neighborhood. We love seeing the deer out and about. I oppose the killing. I believe the option of birth control is a better option. I don't like the idea of shooting taking place at night so close to our homes. I also don't like the idea of leaving fawns without a mother. If the plan for lethal removal goes forward, our concern is what will be done with the carcasses? Seems a horrible waste for them to go to the landfill. Is there a plan in place in which people who are hungry could be fed by this deer meat? That to me would make this proposed plan more acceptable. I will wait to hear more.

Can you expand the hunt to the Rock Creek Hills section, bordering Kensington Parkway and Beach Drive? I have had as many as 13 deer at once in our yard, our neighbor had 11 in his backyard last week. The damage they are doing to private property is awful. I have lived here off and on since 1969 and we never saw a deer until the mid 1980’s. I am all in favor of the hunt they are out of control. Please expand it.

I am thrilled to read that you will be reducing the number of deer in our area. I have lived here my whole life as a child and now an adult and the deer population is out of control in the park and in our yards. Everywhere in the park it is evident that the deer destruction is causing a profound impact on vegetation and in home gardens almost no plant is safe. The deer themselves also seem to be suffering since they often look sick. Thank you for your help.

What sorts of obstacles prevent this area from holding a managed public hunt? Seems like a way to bring in revenue instead of costing the MCP manpower…

It’s about time, shoot them all and introduce wolves in case you missed any

I do not think this area should be included in culling the growing deer population. As we expand our infrastructure to meet our growing needs we are encroaching upon the parks and their native wildlife. We have no business complaining how they are intruding on our needs and priorities when we are the ones expanding our presence.

There should be non lethal medical options available to address the growing deer population. The thought of hearing the sharpshooters through the night eliminating some of our natural wonders in the park is awful. One of the great things the DC area provides residents and visitors with is so much green space so close to a major city.

No matter what it is inhumane to kill deers by sharp shooters. The deer is a vegetarian creature and the over population problem needs to be solved in other ways. Deer can be captured and shipped to abundant rural areas. Any animal transportation service can be utilized for shipping the deer. Deers do not mean to kill anyone as in regards to traffic accidents. Its not their fault and now the deer is being treated like a criminal.
I once saw a tiny baby deer on River Road and Falls Road intersection across from the gas station. It was so lost and scared, and it hid in the apartment bushes. My 5 year old daughter asked me where is the deers mommy and why is it lost?
Please do not allow such inhumane methods to decrease deer population. This is one of the most peaceful animals on the planet.

I live south of East West Highway, north of Western Avenue and between Brookville Road and the park. We have lived here for 40 years and until 6 or 8 years ago I never saw a deer in our neighborhood. Now we have deer in our yard almost every day. This spring we even had a deer born in our yard. The dog next door, who is never allowed out of his yard, had lyme disease. Seems pretty clear how he got it. I am afraid to work in my garden or allow my grandchildren to play in our yard. This is aside from the fact that they eat my raspberry and tomato plants and flowers they supposedly don't like. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do something about this invasion

DISPATCH AS MANY DEER AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN
Thank you

As a resident of Quincy St (Martin's Addition) I support this effort and any more that you can have in the area.
Deer have resided in neighboring yards for months at a time, even giving birth, and bring increased risk of lyme disease with their presence.
Deer should be treated as a health hazard in these residential areas, not to mention the hazard of collisions with cars and bikes. The County proposal seems sensible and the donation of the meat to food pantries is a good benefit.

I support the deer killing for Rock Creek Stream Valley 2.
The over population of deer in our woodlands has decimated much of the native plants including young trees. These plants are habitat and food supply for our birds, insects and small mammals that create a healthy natural environment.

Hello –
I just heard that MCP is planning a managed hunt/culling for Rock Creek Stream Valley Park in Chevy Chase. I want to go on record as strongly supporting this action. The deer have completely overwhelmed our region and have no natural enemies. They are dangerous to drivers, bring disease through deer ticks and lyme disease, and are completely annihilating our beautiful parks and natural areas by destroying native plants because there is insufficient food for so many.
I believe it is both humane and imperative to keep the deer population at a level manageable for the deer and for our environment. I applaud this effort and would love to see a managed hunt in the west Bethesda area where I live. Here the deer feed like cows on our lawns and plantings in broad daylight, completely unafraid of human intervention and in far greater numbers than the area can support.

The proposal to lethally reduce deer population in Rock Creek Park Unit 2 is long overdue. I strongly support implementing the program. Although we are obligated to avoid unnecessary injury to and infliction of pain on animals, inordinate deer density between East-West Highway and I-495, and Grubb Road and Wisconsin Ave. threatens human safety and health. Unpredictable and sudden appearance of deer in roadways raises the risk of vehicular collisions and makes driving a hazardous activity. As the Washington Post noted on page 1 of its October 9, 2012 Metro section, many collisions between deer and motorcycles cause death to cyclists. The deer are also responsible for the proliferation of Lyme disease, which is difficult to treat.

For all these reasons, I urge that you initiate the deer reduction plan as soon as possible.

For the record, I support the popped management plan. Too many deer is a situation that is not fair to the deer or the rest of us who share the space and is bad for the natural environment.

Hello,
I saw your posters in Rock Creak about the Deer Population Management Initiative for Rock Creek. I am 100% for this initiative. My house faces Rock Creek and the deer use my flower beds as a daily salad bar. There are so many deer in our area and besides being a menace to the yard, they are a hazard to driving and drive the neighborhood dogs crazy. I love that the meat will be donated to food banks/soup kitchens. I support this initiative in every way.

I strongly support the lethal deer removal from Rock Creek Park you are inviting comment on. The Smithsonian studies have shown improved forest health when deer populations are controlled.

I think you are correct to do a deer management hunt in the park, but I think you should also consider opening it to bow-hunters from the public. Either way, I hope you will donate all of the dead animals to feeding programs for the poor in this area. Many states have successful programs for hunters to donate their kills to such programs, and they help a lot of people.

Without management through hunting, deer populations will overwhelm not only the humans, but will endanger themselves through over-grazing in parks and along roadways.

Yes, yes, I so approve. Keeping the number of deer in check so that they do not overrun the carrying capacity of the land is to be applauded. Using sharpshooters and processing the meat for use in local soup kitchens is also a good thing.

Given the great overpopulation of deer in our county, and lack of predators, and given that you are managing public safety and donating the meet to soup kitchens, I support your proposed deer hunt.

I still have a question. Is there any safe way to cull the herds in the smaller parks and woodlands, not on your list? Also, why isn't NIST, which has significant deer overpopulation, mentioned?

Long overdue!! I fully support this.

Preliminarily, I would like to say that I understand the issue. Deer are a problem in my neighborhood also. They eat my plants, flowers, and shrubs. They relieve themselves on my front walk. They dash out in traffic. Several of my neighbors have had lyme disease. I say all of this to point out that I am not a person who lives in an area where the deer are quaint. They're not. However, I do have a problem with an organized deer hunt. Is it possible to use the sharpshooters to tranquilize the deer and neuter them? This could help control the population in a more humane way. We built homes in their habitat.

I want to add my voice to those against the proposed deer hunt. I sympathize with residents whose gardens have been raided by deer but there are now excellent deer repellants on the market as well as deer-resistant plants. As far as driving, we need to slow down and be more careful at dawn and dusk when the deer are more active.

As this area becomes more and more developed, the deer have less and less space in which to survive. We need to come up with other alternatives to just shooting them down because they're a nuisance to some. Deer hunts are at best inhumane - at worst plain slaughter. Lets try to get along with the deer as they cope with a situation that we people have created.
Thank you.

I don't care for deer hunting myself, although I don't object to hunters and I understand that using them for food is a somewhat acceptable way to justify it all......however, just as irritating as that issue:

I can't imagine that most people who like to use the bike trails for biking or jogging will be pleased with you closing the trail at ANY time of year, at 5:30 PM all the way to sunrise.

More and more bikers are buying lights and glow in the dark gear, and in my view they should all be ENCOURAGED to use the bike trails, NOT the road .......... and so:

I would think your hunting hours would be far more acceptable if they were more like 11Pm to 4AM without exception. That would eliminate nearly every single biker or jogger who ever even THOUGHT about getting out there during some really late or early hours.

Personally, I have often thought about trying to get out there and bike after work (I work about 7 to 7 right now, and have to leave for work around 6AM)....... but I would certainly not do it if I thought I would get shot, trying to get in shape.

Dear MCP people,

I am totally in favor of an organized approach to culling the excessive deer population in Rock Creek Park. The deer population is in excess of what the acerage will support. Between the threat to drivers, the destruction of local flora, and the Lyme Disease epidemic in the eastern part of our country, I think the prudent thing would be to have a controlled shoot of the deer population. To add to the bonus of the deer kill could be the donation of the fresh deer meat to any number of the local soup kitchens. Venison is tasty treat which could be made into many delicious dishes for the folks who eat at the soup kitchens.

While the over population of deer in Rock Creek Park may be concerning to motorists, I would think that relocating the deer to Shenandoah National Park (or another remote area) would be far more humane and possibly not very expensive. Perhaps volunteers would rather provide trailers and tranquilizers to move the deer. How can you shoot innocent deer that had the bad luck of being born into such a populated area? Please just move them.

Dear Sir/Madame,
I am writing in total agreement with your proposed plan to reduce the deer population in Rock Creek Park this coming January. I live on .... Drive within view of the park. And I live on a path that the deer like to take from one section of the park to another. It is hard for me to believe that there are only 40 to 50 deer utilizing the park, as indicated on the website. Just yesterday at one time nine deer were in my back yard, including one buck with a rank with several points. The deer are present almost daily in my yard, eating whatever they can find that suits their fancy. Tulips, not daffodils, hostas are yummy, etc. I love to garden, but have had to construct a high fence around my flower and vegetable garden. But, again this year, they found a way to get into the garden. The fence was high enough, but not sturdy enough for determined and hungry deer.

So I applaud your plan and encourage you to err on the side of eliminating too many. I realize that we humans have helped create a situation that leads to this over population of deer, I suppose by killing their natural predators. But we need to take the situation into our own hands and seriously reduce the herd.

Thank you for your efforts. If I can help in any way, please let me know.

My family lives in North Chevy Chase, next to the back entrance of Audobon. The deer have always been present, but we are now being overrun by them. My entire property is treated like a salad bar by the deer.
My landscaping has been ruined every year for almost 15 years, and it is getting worse and worse.

But the most devastating effect has been the Lyme disease that has ruined the health of my daughter.
She is 24 years old and has late stage Lyme disease. We first noticed Lyme symptoms - unexplained painful finger,wrist and knee joints, when she was 12 or 13 years old. Her pediatrician tested her and she came up positive on the Lyme test, but he insisted that she did not have enough markers and refused to treat her for Lyme. At the time, the CDC was strongly opposed to the overuse of antibiotics in children, so my daughter was refused treatment that could have cured her of this devastating disease at an earlier stage. Instead her health, both physical and mental/neurological got worse and worse. She was finally diagnosed with late stage Lyme 2 years ago and has had to go on disability as we struggle to regain her health.
I was tested by our new doctor for Lyme and it turns out that I also had it a some point in the past, but it is not active now. I have also heard that a minimum of 5 other neighbors on my street alone have contracted Lyme disease.

The deer wander our streets during the day, but they come out in droves at night. Please, please implement this dear management plan, and cull many more than you may be planning to do, because it is much worse than it appears.

I am in favor of the proposed management plan.
Thank you,

When this area became highly populated, we chased out all of the natural predators of deer. That is why there is overpopulation today. It's wrong that we should punish the deer population for our own misbehavior.

On another note, since I'm fairly certain that anything I write in this email will not make any effect on the ultimate decisions made by this bureaucracy, I just want to suggest that the hunters only kill the sick, old and weak deer who are subtracting from the food source of the healthy and young. The primary reason for doing this has to be for the good of the ecosystem, NOT the good of people. Do not allow hunters to freely shoot any deer regardless of its attributes. Hunters should only shoot the deer that are living in pain, or starving.

I am writing in opposition to the current plan to decrease the deer population in the the Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2 area through the use of sharp-shooters. I understand the need to reduce the deer population in the area, but a non-violent means needs to be utilized. Re-locating some of the deer population is a more humane method of decreasing the population in this area. Why not use the method of immunocontraception which uses the body's immune response to prevent pregnancy without harming the animal or the population as a whole. This method is supported by The Human Society of the United States. I do not support the use of sharpshooters to decrease the deer population in my area. The method is violent, inhumane and poses great risk to all of the people who live in this area.

I fully support the deer management program for Rock Creek Stream Valley 2.

Re: Proposed Deer Population Management Initiative for Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 2, Chevy Chase
I attended the Montgomery County (MC) Parks Deer Management event at the Audubon Society/Woodend last Thursday evening. It was a very interesting and informative session and really appreciated the time and energy it took Woodend and MC Parks officials to bring us information on a very important topic.

I came away with a firm conviction that because of the fact that MC reintroduced the deer back into the county in the early 1900s, that we are all (MC government and residents) responsible for the deer as ‘fellow’ beings. I realize the deer are damaging crops, natural areas, home landscapes and causing deer/car accidents, plus deer ticks, and the goal is to reduce human-deer conflicts. However, I think we can come up with a better solution than the Sharpshooting Program. Killing deer is not the answer to an overpopulation of deer.

I truly believe we should approach this through a contraception effort and program. A contraception that can be administered through a ‘sharpshooting contraception effort and program.’ In 2002 the Audubon Society, 2004 the Washington Post and 2008 the New York Times ran articles about deer contraception. I realize this method requires capturing and injecting the deer and, that in itself, could traumatize and kill the deer and ultimately, plus the fact that it is very costly and very long term. And I realize by reading the Cumberland Times News article that it is a very cumbersome process, not being wildly used. I watched the Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, founder and Director of the Science and Conservation Center, Montana, presentation and he emphatically states that Deer Contraception Works!

Also, MC residents could be better informed about ways to protect their crops/home landscaping. My rose bushes and other ornamental bushes and plants are eaten clean each year by deer, and this has happened several years in a row. However, I am making plans to protect these bushes and plants for next year. I just heard about Havahart Deer Repellents (motion detector sprinklers) as one solution.

There are all sorts of ways to deal with this issue - one that we created ourselves… Killing deer is not the way. It is not an honorable or humane way to live with our fellow beings – deer.

Thus, I request that you cancel the Proposed Deer Population Management Initiative for Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 2, Chevy Chase, and make a concerted effort to constitute a contraceptive program instead of a sharpshooting program.

I look forward to your response.

I have seen the flyer about the removal of some of the deer in Rock Creek Park. It is good to see that someone has finally recognized the problem of the free roaming deer. They have caused much damage to the environment due to the destruction of the understory in the woods and to both commercial and public properties in the surrounding suburbs. They are a hazard to citizens driving on the roads and because of the ticks they carry, spread Lyme disease to people.

Reducing the size of the deer population by controlled hunting is a good start to eliminating the deer but the time has come to recognize the fact that a free roaming herbivore species without predators is incompatible with human existence. I would suggest a successful solution for the deer problem similar to the solution for the buffalo on the great western plains in much earlier times. States could contain and preserve herds of White Tailed Deer as the buffalo are contained and preserved thus ending the destruction of the environment and commercial and private properties by free roaming deer.

The deer invasion in our Rollingwood neighborhood is now untenable. My husband and I therefore fully endorse the plan to control the deer population in a humane but lethal way in our area of Rock Creek Park.

Our house backs on to Rock Creek Park, and at this time of the year it’s rare that a night goes by without hearing a car screeching its brakes on Beach Drive to avoid a deer collision. We often see herds of 5-7 deer behind our house.

These animals are beautiful, but definitely are suffering from overpopulation in the park, causing them to seek out suburban landscapes for feed. I support controlled hunts in Rock Creek Park to thin out the existing deer population.

Sadly, there are too many deer, and not enough food for them, nor natural predators to keep the population in check. Please thin the herd as it will be beneficial and humane to the deer and to the surrounding neighborhoods. Donating the meat is a very fine and useful solution and will provide a suitable outlet for the deer meat.

To Whom it May Concern:
Please add Rook Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2 to the Deer Management Program. I live on Pickwick Lane in Rolling Wood and the deer lounge in my yard as if it is the forest. The deer are hungry (and sometimes injured) and, though they are beautiful, I have lost thousands in plant materials over the years.

I am a resident of the Rollingwood subdivision in Chevy Chase, MD. I am writing in support of the proposed plan to control the deer population in Rock Creek Park.

Fortunately, I have never hit a deer with my vehicle, but I have had too many near-misses on Beach Drive, due to the animals' suddenly darting out of the woods onto the roadway. We have observed deer simply walking up the middle of our residential street, four blocks from Beach Drive. The presence of hungry deer in our yards has decimated our landscapes and has influenced many neighbors to erect tall fences.

I would prefer that the population be controlled by medication limiting the animals' fertility, but I understand that sharpshooting is now being proposed and I therefore support that.

Thank you for considering these comments.

Montgomery County Parks -
It has come to my attention that you are considering adding Chevy Chase near East-West highway and the Beltway to your planned deer control program. I'm writing to ask that you please take this action.

I live right at the border of East-West Highway. Over the last 3 years, I've seen a huge increase in the number of deer in our area. Over the last two years, a number of deer have practically moved into our backyard. At first, it was a minor issue. We would try to chase them off as needed. As time has passed, however, it has become much more serious.

a) I routinely hear cars braking quickly on Beech Drive. When I look out my window, I see deer bolting across the street. While there have been minor accidents, it is only a matter of time before a serious one occurs. This is particularly dangerous near Meadowbrook Park where numerous pedestrians and bicyclists mix with traffic. I've been bracing for the day when a car swerves to miss a deer and hits a biker or child near the park.

b) I'm starting to worry about the health/safety of my children. My two boys, ages 4 and 6, are at the age where they love to play outside. I'm becoming increasingly worried about lime disease resulting from the deer in the yard.

c) It's costing me real money. I've literally spent thousands of dollars on allegedly "deer resistant" landscaping. The deer eat it all. Additionally, we've been forced to give up our backyard garden. Vegetables just don't stand a chance with the pack of deer around.

With those reasons in mind, I implore you to be as aggressive and expansive with the deer program as possible.

Finally, I would like to offer my to help in any way. I'm happy to attend or present at any meeting regarding this situation. The deer are literally impacting the quality of my life in this neighborhood.

Thank you for your time and efforts.

Thank you for agreeing to take steps to reduce the Deer Population. I am in complete agreement with the statement that "deer populations have reached levels in which deer-related impacts, such as automobile accidents, damage to natural communities (including the health of Rock Creek Park) and potential of communicable diseases" needs to be addressed. I am in favor of the plan to hold managed hunts in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2, in order to control the population. With the absence of natural predators, additional steps (including sterilization) should be considered to maintain the deer herds at reasonable levels.

I am very concerned with my safety, given the number of deer on the road, and in the neighborhood. I await the results of the planned hunts.

Thank you.

To Whom It May Concern:
As abutters of the Rock Creek Stream Valley Unit #2 area, 8741 Susanna Lane, Chevy Chase, we approve of. the management of deer overpopulation in our area as planned in January of 2012 by the Montgomery County park department.

Department of Parks Deer Management Officials:
We live at .... Lane and our family SUPPORTS the proposed sharp-shooting program designed to thin the herd of deer in our area. The deer (two to five at a time) regularly walk through our neighborhood (back and front yards) and eat all our flowers and plants in plain daylight and have damaged young trees in our yard. They are not afraid of the children, as they used to be, and the number of deer have grown considerably in the 15 years we have been living here. I would be quite surprised if the number of deer are not above the number currently estimated by the Department of Parks since we see them all the time, whether driving, biking or walking within several blocks of our home.

Again, we are in favor of the program. Thank you for your time.

I am one hundred percent opposed to this dangerous (to the public) and outrageous solution to deer over population.
A more civilized and humane approach such as controlling the over population with birth control/food /saltblock drops would be expected in a densely residential area. Montgomery County? This is the best we can come up with? It is dangerous and barbaric. God forbid hindsight will illuminate what an idiotic idea this is.
While I don't want to see deer suffer and people injured in deer automobile collisions, this is the best you could come up with?
I use these parks all the time as do my family and friends often with children and pets. We all live in Montgomery County(Chevy Chase and Silver Spring) and vote here. We are all horrified.

We strongly support the deer management proposal. Our home is located in NW directly across from the park off West Beach Drive. We have had increasing numbers of deer camped out in our front yard. They have eaten most of the vegetation and are now starting to eat those plants that were until now, ignored by the deer. A few years ago, one buck bolted across the street, plowed in to the front of my husband's car. The repair bill was over two thousand dollars. Out dog got Lyme disease which hastened her death. Lyme disease and other tick borne diseases are on the increase. This fact alone should compel the county to take this proposed culling of the herd seriously.

I strongly support the proposal to cull the deer herd in Rock Creek Park. The deer population is overrunning our residential neighborhood in ... , Washington DC. The deer are not only a safety threat to all vehicular traffic, but they are also pests that carry disease and consume plants and shrubs at such a velocity that understory flora are being eradicated. Please consider the safety and property of the citizens of DC and Montgomery County and support the culling of the herd. Thank you.

I have lived on ... Lane for 13 years and I support this hunt. The excessive deer population has devastated the forest. Please notify residents and park users of specific dates sharpshooters will be active.

Deer in the park are like vermin. For the safety and well being of deer and man alike cull the herd.

These are my thoughts about the proposed plan. I assume that this proposal is going to be very expensive as your are paying someone to go in and take care of the deer. I believe a better solution would be to allow experienced sportsman bow hunters to go in at the approved times and shoot the deer. I do agree with your plan on the part that the meat should go to something like the food banks. Please let me know what you think as I think this type of plan would be more cost effective while achieving the same results. Hope to hear back soon.

I am strongly in favor of a deer shoot in Rock Creek Stream Valley, Unit 2.

Deer appear frequently, often in groups of two or three, in the streets and yards of our neighborhood (Martin's Additions to Chevy Chase, a few blocks south of East-West Highway), and they damage the plantings of homeowners trying to keep attractive landscapes. They also frequently damage vegetation in public gardens and parks, which are intended to benefit all citizens. More broadly, they are a known serious hazard to drivers in all areas, urban as well as rural; they can foster the spread of disease such as Lyme Disease; and they cause major damage to the crops of nurserymen and farmers.

I'm writing as a private citizen, but as a Montgomery County Master Gardener, I'm fully aware of the damages and hazards that the overpopulation of deer has created. Further, it is not humane to deer to allow their numbers to increase so far beyond the resources of the land they are inhabiting. For all those reasons, I strongly support the deer shoot.

Thank you.

Please do not kill the Deer in Rock Creek Park! I walk to RCPark every weekend and one of the few glimpses of true nature in a big city like DC are the magnificent deer that roam Rock Creek Park. They are precious beings that bring peace and enjoyment to the park. Killing them is inhumane and cruel. Please do not kill them.

I understand there have been car accidents as a result of these deer, can we please use our time, money and energy to devise a plan to relocate them, lower the speed limit in the area with more clearly marked signs, and teach our children to respect wildlife, instead of teaching them that we humans kill anything that becomes a nuisance to us?

Killing these deer will ruin the experience of Rock Creek Park for me and my family. It is cruel and unnecessary. Please find another way. There will be multiple babies searching for their mothers. The horror.

Thank you for your consideration and compassion.

A proposal to shoot deer in Rock Creek Park? That's insane and stupid.

To Whom it May Concern:
My name is Noah Gittell, and I live at ... Drive in Rockville. My house backs up directly into Rock Creek Park, and I strongly oppose the killing of deer as a means of population control. Those deer are a major part of our community in Randolph Hills. The children in the neighborhood love watching them run across the field behind our home. My wife and I watch them deer nibbling on grass in our backlawn. This is a good thing - this is man and nature living in harmony.

I would encourage a public awareness campaign to urge cyclists and motorists to drive slower and be on the lookout for deer. This is their land; not ours. We built houses on their property and roads across their backyards. We have a responsibility to live with them - not kill them because they eat our flowers and vegetable gardens.

Please do not proceed with this plan. The people of my community will thank you.

Dear Montgomery Country Parks Leadership,
I am writing to condemn in the strongest of terms your plan to shoot deer to control their population. I am very concerned about the cruelty and suffering this will cause; in many cases, deer that are shot are wounded but not killed, and spend days or weeks suffering from blood loss, infections, and organ damage before succumbing. It is absolutely unconscionable that you are considering this as a solution to deer overpopulation. Please consider sterilization and containment methods such as trap-neuter-release and improved fencing near busy roadways.

Please reconsider your proposal to shoot deer in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, and look for alternative solutions to reduce the risk of drivers hitting the deer. A lot of commenters seem concerned about their gardens, but again, there are solutions for keeping deer out of gardens that do not involve killing them. If people choose to live in an area with wildlife, they should try to live in harmony with the animal residents. There are much better uses for taxpayer dollars.

As a life-long resident of Montgomery County, I am saddened to hear of the upcoming deer hunt. I would hope that my tax dollars would go to more human methods such as Immunocontraception or finding a safe place for the deer to live, away from human overpopulation.

We want to express our FULL, 100% support of your plans to manage the deer population in the Montgomery County parks, especially your plan for Section 34, Rock Creek. We are totally over populated with deer and they are rapidly destroying our yards. We find the deer pretty much live in our back yard and it is almost impossible to grow anything plus their dropping and the ticks are a significant concern. We fear letting our grandchilden play in the back yard because of what they they might come in contact with.. And that is a very sad thing that children can't play in the backyard!!

Anything you can do to diminish the massive size of the herd of deer would be greatly appreciated.

Please do continue with your plans to cull the deer from Rock Creek Park and surrounding areas. As majestic as they are there are far too many. You are encouraged to continue with your plans to reduce the herd.

I support the proposal to thin--using lethal means--the deer population in Rock Creek Park between I-495 and East-West Highway. There are far more deer than this tiny swatch of park can support, which means that they frequently are in the neighborhoods and--dangerously--on the roads.

I am totally against the deer kill planned for the park. I walk through that area of the park every day, all year long, at different times and I can count on one hand the times I have seen deer. When I do, it is a great pleasure to see them in nature. There must be a better way - perhaps controlling through contraceptive means.

What ever it takes thin the heard.

Something needs to be done to thin the heard. The deer population is out of control. I support your efforts to control the deer population

I strongly support this initiative. I live at .... Drive, Chevy Chase MD

This year alone, three deer have been struck in front of our house (corner of .... and Jones Mill). My drive home at night is a stressful event, as you never know when one is coming. It is only more stressful at night because they are harder to see. But the fact is that these deer are constantly wandering across the streets and have free reign of our neighborhood all day and night. Also, I have been nearly struck on more than one occasion while jogging thru the park. They burst out of the woods and across the paths near Audubon. They are fearless and aggressive.

Also it is not uncommon to see more than 10 deer in the yard across the street. This photo was taken this morning in my yard!

We have three young children and frankly I think that these deer are a danger to them. They are not afraid of people. It is not uncommon for them to actually stand on our front steps and eat our plants. Our landscaping has been devastated. There is no such thing as "deer proof" vegetation. Please take the maximum amount that you can get permits for.

I live at .... Drive, Chevy Chase and would favor the proposal to cull the deer population along Rock Creek between MD 410 and I-495.

We support controlling the deer population along Eastwest Highway and the Beltway. They are a menace and we see clusters of 4 and 5 deer at a time. We live on ... Court and we see deer all the time on our small street and have even seen them on our property. We are totally in support of thinning this deer population in our area.

To whom it may concern:
As a resident of Chevy Chase I am writing to urge the Montgomery County Department of Parks to halt its proposed plan to kill deer in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 2.

Numerous studies of white-tailed deer populations have shown that the species is able to bounce back from reduced populations due to either natural or man-made causes by increasing reproductive capacity.
Therefore, the Department of Parks is simply proposing a short-term solution at best.

There are numerous non-lethal means of addressing this issue. For instance, the Department of Parks could:

1) Install deer fencing strategically along wildlife corridors (e.g., trails, paths, creeks) to deter deer from entering areas where they are unwanted.

2) Advise residents to plant native species and avoid exotic species (native plant species are more likely to have evolved to resist browsing whereas exotic species attract deer) and to cover ornamental plants with netting or mesh. Fence gardens and heavily landscaped areas.

3) Advise residents to employ scare tactics such as motion detector-triggered lights/sprinklers, effigies of coyotes, and outdoor radios. Strategically placed bars of soap (and even human hair) will repel deer; pepper-based repellent sprays (on foliage) works too.

Also, to prevent deer/vehicle accidents, deer fencing (10-feet high) can be installed where wildlife corridors intersect major roadways.

It's not clear that all of these solutions have been attempted. The reason that non-lethal efforts should be made is simple: deer are intelligent animals with social structures. While "sharp shooters" may be more accurate than the average hunter, simply the reduction of pain to the deer should not be the goal. The goal should be for a long-term solution so that we can reduce the number of deer in the area.

Thank you for your consideration of my thoughts on this important issue.

As a resident of Farmington, I too see an increase in the number of deer grazing in our yards and crossing our roads, posing hazard to passengers and vehicles. As painful as it may be, the safety and well-being of the residents is a priority and I therefore support your deer management program. I can only hope the process will be as humane as possible.

My input to this plan:
Please, please do this!! The deer are too plentiful as any wildlife biologist would say and I'm sure you are aware. We have removed all the predators that used to do this job. Now it's up to us!

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for finally addressing this problem. I am sure you will be hearing from the PETA folks so I want to stand up and be counted on the *other* side as someone who thinks this is long overdue.

yRe: Deer Hunt in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2

Dear Parks Department,

It is not clear from your notices whether you plan to kill all of the deer in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2, or only some of the deer in that area. If you only plan to kill some of the deer, what percentage of the population are you planning to kill? Also, will you be focusing on does or bucks? Will you be killing young deer or only mature deer? None of this information is clear from your notices.

We can understand the need to kill a small percentage of the deer in the park in order to reduce the population but we absolutely oppose killing all or even a large portion of the deer in this area. The deer add to the beauty of Rock Creek Park and we enjoy having them here. Indeed, we have had no problems whatsoever with deer damaging any plantings in our yard even though we have often seen deer moving around our neighborhood at night. Moreover, even though deer can carry lyme disease, so can many other animals such as mice. As a result, killing the deer will not, in itself, reduce the prevalence of lyme disease.

In sum, we strongly oppose killing any more than 30% of the 40 or 50 deer that live in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2.

Dear Montgomery County Dept. of Parks,

I strongly support the proposed reduction of deer population in our area.
The estimate you quote of deer density 3 times higher than recommended was conducted 2008-2010.
We are in 2012. Living in the said area, it is clear that the density since 2010 increased to a level that
is hazardous. It is not that we now see many deer, but that we see many *more* of them and more often than we used to in 2010, day, night, crossing our yard, crossing Jones Mills.

It is a question of time before this situation can deteriorate further, causing a serious damage to someone living or simply driving through this area. To quote Nike “just do it”.

Hello,
I fully support the deer management initiative. While it's lovely to see deer wandering about, the number of deer in our area is out of hand. It is important to keep the population under control to keep them healthy, and to prevent accidents when they go into the roadways. I'd also love to have a garden in the future, and don't want to deal with keeping out masses of deer.

I write in strong support of the proposed initiative. I have been driving this route to and from work in DC for the last seven years, and the increased deer population, and dangers, are increasingly apparent. Just yesterday I watched two near accidents in this zone. Your over-population estimates appear low, if anything.

If the proposed initiative does not include the area north of 495 to Kensington Parkway, I would strongly support its being amended to do so. We've never seen deer populations so heavy, and the health of the zone shows it. It is a problem for homeowners and for the park. Further, while we had never had deer hit by cars in the neighborhood in the previous 6 years, two were on East Bexhill this summer. And as someone who has already had Lyme's disease once, I would hope that the delivery system could be culled!!

To Whom It May Concern:
You have our total support for any/all efforts to reduce the out-of-control deer population in Montgomery County.

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you about the proposed deer management initiative, as I was told the Parks is seeking comment on a deer management program for the park area between 410 and 495. As a resident in .... Court, I have seen the occational deer or their young ones. Living in the area for 3 years, I have not noticed an increase in the deer population and do not agree with trying to manage the few that already exist. In fact, I believe that seeing the occational deer is quite charming as they are often in the creek areas and do not cause any harm to anyone. Hope you take the fact that there seems to be a limited number of deer into consideration.

I have lived in the Rock Creek Forest neighborhood in Silver Spring for over 27 years. Growing up in the city, this community provides a wonderful blend of urban and "wild", and the deer and other wildlife living around us has brought wonderment and joy.

When I saw the notices of the plan to kill our neighborhood deer, I was so distressed. I have been amazed how even as new fences and additions have been added, the deer continue to follow the paths of their ancestors.

I understand the concerns over deer-car accidents and lyme disease - neither of which are really isolated to the deer. When I read, "The Department of Parks has received a request to implement deer population management from citizens of the affected area", I was angered because I, too, am a citizen and I do not want the killing. To learn that the main reason for the request to slaughter these deer is because of supposed "damage to landscaping" - something that is humanly controllable - is infuriating.

I will discuss later in this letter of more humane alternatives that can eliminate the need for killing, but of major concern is also the protection of the humans - men, women and children - that use these park areas not just for recreation but also for traveling to and from work. There are no gates to be closed or roadblocks that can guarantee that no one would be in the park areas where the shootings will be taking place. All hours - especially the twilight times of early evening and early morning when the deer are most active - the parks have people walking, running or riding the trails, both paved and unpaved. Posting signs will not guarantee safety - as often as I am in this stretch of park (virtually daily) - I only accidentally found the one notice by the children's play equipment as my dog stopped to sniff the fence. I don't know how long the sign had been up before I saw it, and then I had trouble reading it because I don't wear my glasses when I am walking. And the fact that you are talking about doing it in the winter through early spring does not mean that there will be less human traffic during that time.

I know that contraception of the deer has been discussed and discarded because of expense in the past. I am concern that family groups will be separated, leaving young ones struggling to survive.

I just can't see how landscaping can be the major reason for the killing. I am not a member of PETA, and I don't always agree with them, but I believe the following from their literature is rational, reasonable and more responsible.
"Effective deer control plans focus on containing food sources in residential areas and habitat modification in riparian and wildlife corridors. We suggest that officials:

• Reduce food sources, especially in restoration and riparian areas, by wrapping saplings shorter than 4-feet using corrugated plastic tubes/sleeves, deer netting, or mesh. Trim back low-hanging tree branches and keep grasses/weeds cut short.
• Install deer fencing strategically along wildlife corridors (e.g., trails, paths, creeks) to deter deer from entering areas where they are unwanted.
• Advise residents to plant native species and avoid exotic species (native plant species are more likely to have evolved to resist browsing whereas exotic species attract deer) and to cover ornamental plants with netting or mesh. Fence gardens and heavily landscaped areas.
• Advise residents to employ scare tactics such as motion detector-triggered lights/sprinklers, effigies of coyotes, and outdoor radios. Strategically placed bars of soap (and even human hair) will repel deer; pepper-based repellent sprays (on foliage) works too.
• Most importantly, enforce a strict wildlife-feeding prohibition.
To prevent deer/vehicle accidents, we suggest installing deer fencing (10-feet high) where wildlife corridors intersect major roadways. Remove/reduce brush along roadways to increase
visibility for drivers and deer. Reduce speed limits, install Deer Crossing signs, and install a reflector system (e.g., Strieter-Lite) along roadways.
More information about humane wildlife control can be found at http://www.peta.org/issues/Wildlife/default.aspx"

Please do not kill our deer! I want to look out my window and see them on my lawn. I want to look over my back fence and see them slowly moving through.

Please don't risk lives by shooting in such a populated, popular area.

I wish I could find the perfect words to have you understand how important a part of our community - a positive part of our community - I believe these deer are.

Hey. sounds reasonable and appropriate to me.
I own a home at NPS that backs to the Park, but live across the beltway at 2505 Forest Glen Rd. for 35 years. I have seen the deer population grow well beyond the capacity of the forests to feed them. It is kinder to thin the herd than to leave them alone.

From Anne Barton
5407 32nd Street NW, Washington DC 20015

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the plan

I am a Chevy Chase DC resident and a close neighbor of the area being considered for deer killing..

I hope that Montgomery county will use this case of population pressure in this area, where hunting of any kind is not an option, to use more humane, civilized, and non-violent options to reduce the deer population than baiting and killing the deer with sharpshooters. This method has none of the history or sporting tradition of hunting. It is simply using violence as a convenient solution to a problem. I hope it will never be used until other options have proved to be ineffective. This will not be the case until Montgomery County Parks has at least tried reproductive control. There are options available and with successful records to choose from. There is even a successful case in Montgomery County. There are also humane organizations experienced in these methods who might be willing to donate expertise and supplies for the effort.

I know there is considerable pressure from the immediate neighbors of the park area at issue to do something fast about the deer problem. However, I think from watching interviews of these neighbors that some are clearly opposed and many of them who favor the method are doing so reluctantly and seemingly under the optimistic assumption that this one winter of violence will solve the problem and they can then go back to enjoying the park. I think this is unlikely. The experience has been that lethal methods work if repeated constantly. Otherwise the populations return to previous or higher levels. I don’t think having deer slaughtered in this cold-blooded manner every winter is going to be an attractive aspect of life along Jones Mill Road. I know that I would not be able to enjoy the tranquil park atmosphere once it had been turned into a killing field against unsuspecting animals.

Once the killing has started, it will be much more difficult to implement a non-lethal option since most of them require approaching the animals close enough to be seen. That is why it is important to at least try less violent approaches before using sharpshooters. I think that proceeding immediately to a violent option is not only bad for the deer, it is bad for us as stewards of our environment.

Hello,
I want to strongly endorse reducing the population of deer in the Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2. I hunt deer in another part of the country and it is clear from the appearance of the local deer that the population is far too high. I regularly see deer that I would classify as severely underfed if not starving.

The choice to use sharpshooters with suppressed rifles seems obvious and appropriate.

Please do not kill the deer! There has got to be a more humane alternative.

I am very much in support of the sharpshooting program. There is an urgent need to control the deer population here, especially in view of increasing incidence of Lyme Disease.

I am very much in support of the sharpshooting program. There is an urgent need to control the deer population here, especially in view of increasing incidence of Lyme Disease.

I am very in favor of considerable deer management in Rock Creek Park in Kensington. Two evenings ago eight deer were in my yard, eating. The night before that it was six. I don't always see them but I see considerable damage from them. I also see them as I drive through the neighborhood and up my steep, winding driveway. If I hit a deer there, and they often jump across the driveway, I could be severely hurt, not to mention damaging my car. I have contracted what looks like lime disease from being in my own yard and have taken antibiotics for it.

Why are we letting our property be destroyed, our health compromised and our vehicles damaged? These deer have no natural predators. And they have insufficient habitat, so they come to our yards.

Most of the deer in this area are young so they will be with us for a long time unless they are killed.

The Village of North Chevy Chase emphatically supports the addition of the Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, Unit 2 to the list of areas subject to deer management. The deer population has ranged far beyond the park boundaries, and has caused damage to vehicles and residential gardens. November 1st would not be too soon to begin the program in this area.

Hey,
I support your plan as we have as many as six dears in our yard. we can't grow anything.

The large deer population is devastating native plants and causing a health hazard. We strongly support the hunt to control deer in Rock Creek Park. There is a herd of 4 deer that regularly visit my yard and wreak havoc in my garden. This is annoying, but more significantly, my neighbor has come down with Lyme Disease two years running. There is a herd of 14 or so that regularly can be seen on the Audubon Naturalist Society property and they are destroying the native plant population in the meadow. I like Bambi as well as anyone (a doe dropped 3 fawns in our neighbors yard 2 years ago), but the population is out of control and posing hazards to health and destroying the native plant population. An article in today's Washington Post mentioned that 8 people have been killed in the last 3 years in deer-motor vehicle collisions.

Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 1:48 PM
To: MCP-DeerManagement
Subject: Deer Management in Rock Creek Park

I support the culling of deer in Rock Creek Park, Stream Valley Park #2 for the following reasons.

1. Automobile accidents. In the past 3-4 years, without any change in my own habits, I have noticed deer more often and in larger groups in Rock Creek Park, SVP#2 and Freyman Drive. I am driving slower on Beach Drive and in the Rock Creek Forest neighborhood than I used to, but non-locals aren't. I worry that I will be rear-ended by one of those drivers if I brake for a deer.

2. Residential vegetation. In the past 3-4 years, I have noticed deer browsing more often and in larger groups in my yard. They have eaten English ivy, azaleas, hot pepper plants and pulled up garden lettuces and vegetables.

3. Deer-people interactions. In the past year, deer seem to have become less afraid of people. When I run at them and yell at them to get out of my yard, they run away only a few yards and then stop, stare back at me, and begin browsing again. I worry that they may injure a small child who runs toward them.