Comprehensive Deer Management Program Montgomery County, MD Rob Gibbs Natural Resources Manager M-NCPPC, Montgomery Dept of Parks
Deer Impacts Deer-vehicle Collisions (DVCs) Depredation to agricultural crops Impacts to natural vegetation esp. in parks Depredation to ornamental shrubs/gardens Lyme disease
1993-2010 - Deer-vehicle Collisions Montgomery County, MD - MCPD No. of Accidents 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 861 1433 1993 1994 1244 1776 1705 1774 1891 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2033 2003 2127 2047 1997 1969 1951 1867 1841 1945 1930 Notes: - #s represent only accidents involving police response - The actual number is likely much higher. - DVCs are correlated with several factors including: # of deer, # of cars, speed of cars, etc. 2002 YEAR 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Agricultural Damage
Deer impacts to the ecosystem Reduction of Wildlife food Cover Plant diversity Forest regeneration Bird species Small mammals
Lyme Disease Incidence, Maryland, 2007 220 200 180 160 Incidence per 100,000 140 120 100 80 60 Maryland overall: 45.1 / 100,000 40 20 0 Kent Carroll Howard Queen Anne's Frederick Cecil Calvert Talbot Caroline Harford Washington Montgomery Somerset Anne Arundel Baltimore Charles Wicomico Worcester Prince George's Allegany Baltimore City Garrett Dorchester St. Mary's 14
Brief History 1993 - County Council appointed Citizen Task Force to study white-tailed deer published report April 1994. 1995 Deer Mgt Work Group (DMWG) formed - charged with developing and implementing a deer mgt plan based on Task Force recommendations. Management plan approved August 1995. First managed hunts held in parks - Fall 1996, after extensive public process. DMWG annually reviews data, publishes a report including deer mgt recommendations for upcoming year. www.parksdeermanagement.org
Deer Management Work Group (DMWG) M-NCPPC, Mont. Co. Dept of Parks Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources M.C. Police Dept. Maryland Cooperative Extension National Park Service Washington Suburban Sanitary Comm. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Ctr.
Comprehensive Management Plan Goal: Reduce deer-human conflicts to a level compatible with human priorities and land uses. Reduce Deer-vehicle Collisions Reduce depredation to agricultural crops and ornamental shrubs/gardens reduce impacts to natural vegetation and preserve natural diversity of MC Develop countywide education program
Implemented to date: Educational Efforts 1 Informational brochure Reference materials available in public libraries, through MCE, deer info web page.
Implemented to date: Educational Efforts 2 Educational Programs - local cable TV & Nature Centers Homeowner workshops - over 1500 citizens and landscaping professionals have attended. Developed by MD Cooperative Extension Focus on home landscape protection - also address DVCs and Lyme disease May 2008 Lyme Disease Awareness Month Brochure, webpage. (Dept of Health)
Implemented to date: To Address Deer-vehicle Collisions Improved data collection and mapping Seasonal PSAs to remind and warm public Safety info on Cable TV traffic station Work with Road Agencies to improve Fencing, and road design especially bridges Work with Washington Area Council of Govts (COG) wildlife subcommittee to identify and address regional DVC issues Produced a 12 minute video Fall 06 cable TV, driver s Ed classes
Implemented to date: To reduce damage to landscaping Fencing, repellents, habitat alteration used in parks and by the public. Changed County Code to allow 8 deer fencing in side and back yards and all agricultural land.
Implemented to date: To manage deer populations: Adjustments to legal bag limits DNR To increase antlerless harvest. Streamlined Deer Management Permit program for farmers - DNR Managed hunts and sharpshooting operations in selected State & County parks DNR, MC Parks
Deer Populations in Selected Parks 96 97 98 00 01 02 03 07 Little Bennett RP 125 142 101 88 63 61 37 28 Ag/History FP 163 259 155 100 128 108 78 47 N. Branch SVP 73 116 124 110 107 130 64 Black Hill RP 138 170 85 34 86 16 Rachel Carson CP 207 113 133 100 71 37 Goshen Rec. P 136 153 169 127 91 94 Rock Creek RP 118 170 135 215 155 136 54 All numbers represent deer per square mile. Counts done in late winter before fawning.
Annual Deer-auto Collisions on roads near Managed Hunt Sites - by Year Location 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Change 96-02 Seneca Crk State Park 101 50 37 20 16 8 11-90 (89%) Little Bennett Reg. Park 43 29 9 11 10 10 7-36 (84%) Ag/History Farm Park 40 29 42 38 31 39 27-13 (33%)
Deer Reduction Methods Lottery-Based Managed Shotgun Hunting Parkland with site constraints Need to control deer, with additional supervision required for public safety Group Hunting Program (Suburban Whitetail Management of Maryland Inc. (SWMM) Large tracts in low populated areas Need to control deer, with minimal public safety concerns Sharpshooting Program Highly sensitive, highly developed areas
Lottery-Based Managed Hunts Open to public who meet our requirements DNR license, shooter qualifications, statement of hunter ethics, background check, etc. Hunters chosen by lottery Hunt at pre-determined, marked locations Parks are closed to public during hunting days
Group Hunting Program Work with Hunting Group Requirements: Insurance, shooting standards, background checks, demonstrated ability to harvest deer, etc. Under park guidelines, the Group does much of the hunt coordination site selection, hunter schedules, data collection Requires limited Park staff supervision
Sharpshooting Program Used in smaller parks in more developed areas Specially trained Park Police Shooters Coordinated by Park Wildlife Staff Operate between 6:00 PM and 1:00 AM Utilize suppressed rifle, red lens spotlight & vehicles with elevated shooting platform Minimum community disturbance with maximum productivity All animals processed by volunteers All meat donated to charity
Sharpshooting
Park Deer Harvests Deer harvests for M.C. Park s Deer Population Management Program by Year. Fiscal Year 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Totals Lottery Hunts 180 252 251 228 457 316 350 300 178 296 256 253 243 241 464 4,265 SWMM Coop Hunts 105 286 327 202 213 151 270 268 1,822 Tenant DMP Hunts 39 58 53 51 37 41 66 74 77 496 Sharpshooting 19 258 214 164 399 450 535 350 351 350 383 596 4,069 Total Deer Harvest 180 252 270 228 715 569 572 857 965 1,158 845 858 810 968 1,405 10,652
Countywide Deer Program Harvests Deer harvests for all hunts associated with County Deer Program. Totals Antlerless % Antlerless County hunting harvest (DNR) 5,969 4,320 72.37% Sharpshooting (mont Co Parks) 596 560 93.96% DNR Deer Mgt Permits (Mont. Co) 322 283 87.89% Total County Harvest 6,887 5,163 74.97% M-NCPPC Park program total 1,405 1,312 93.38% Dickerson -MC-DSW 128 121 94.53% Seneca mgt hunts (all) 386 289 74.87% WSSC mgd hunts (Mont Co only) 110 86 78.18% Total County Deer Program Harvest 2,029 1,808 89.11% Percentage of total county harvest 29.46% 35.02%
Comprehensive Deer Mgt. Plan County level program Deer Mgt. Work Group Public input Cooperative efforts: Private landowners, Govt. and Non-govt. agencies Goal: to reduce deer impacts in order to reach a balance between deer and human needs.
Goal: to reach a balance Deer population High Low Human tolerance Education & non-lethal mgt. Population management
Goal: to reach a balance Human tolerance Deer population Education & management Population management
Goal: to reach a balance Human tolerance Deer population Education & management Population management