SILVER SPRING, MD—The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) Montgomery County Department of Parks is now accepting public comments on a proposal to conduct deer management at Sligo Golf Course on Sligo Creek Parkway in Silver Spring.
This proposal comes in response to community requests for deer population management in Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park. Parks wildlife ecology staff has also investigated the area to find deer densities far exceed desirable levels. The Friends of Sligo Creek (FOSC), a watershed advocacy group which conserves natural resources within the park and surrounding communities, endorses the department’s Sligo Golf Course deer management proposal. The Montgomery County Revenue Authority, which operates Sligo Golf Course, also supports this initiative.
“There is growing community momentum, in areas across the county, to initiate and request significant steps to address deer populations,” said Department of Parks Wildlife Ecologist Bill Hamilton. “This current proposal should signal that Montgomery Parks hears these concerns and is willing and able to act responsively to address community requests about deer.”
As proposed, specially trained Maryland-National Capital Park Police sharpshooters, under stringent guidelines and in the most humane way possible, will lethally remove deer from the park. If approved, the proposed activity would occur beginning this winter and annually as required during the months of January through March, from 5:30 pm until sunrise—at night when the park is closed to public use. All deer harvested from the program are donated to feed the hungry throughout the Capital area, including in Montgomery County.
“Park Police sharpshooting is specifically designed to be safe in densely developed areas,” added Hamilton. “Since 1999, Montgomery Parks has employed Park Police sharpshooting as a way to safely and effectively manage deer populations when traditional methods of hunting are not practical or legally possible.”
To date, the Department of Parks deer management operations have been successful. More than 4,000 deer have been
harvested. Measurable reductions of impacts from deer have been realized, such as a decline in deer-vehicle collisions surrounding parks where management occurs. And, there has not been a single accident since the program began.
The Department of Parks is seeking public input on this proposal to add Sligo Golf Course to its deer management operations, primarily from residents surrounding the golf course, prior to making a final decision. Residents may submit comments by
email to MCP-DeerManagement@MontgomeryParks.org or traditional mail to Department of Parks, Wildlife Ecology Unit, 12535
Milestone Manor Lane, Germantown, Maryland 20876. Comments will be accepted now through Thursday, November 10, 2011. All comments must include a full name and address to be considered.
To learn more about this proposal and the department’s deer management program, visit www.ParksDeerManagement.org.
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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
(301) 650-2866