Public comment sought through October 29 on eight new proposed park locations.
SILVER SPRING, MD—Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) will launch its Fall 2014, Winter 2015 deer management operations season on October 28. Several parks will be closed intermittently during the program which takes place through the end of February. Lottery-based and cooperative managed deer hunts, as well as Park Police-based sharpshooting, will take place in 32 parks in the Montgomery Parks system to address increasingly adverse impacts of the burgeoning deer population on local neighborhoods. (A complete schedule of park closure dates and times is listed at the end of the release.)
Program Expansion and Public Comment
Montgomery Parks is currently seeking public comment through October 29 on adding eight parks to the program. The proposed parks, spanning 700 acres are inhabited by an estimated 191 – 241deer, six times the recommended density, and include:
- Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Park and Paint Branch Stream Valley Park between Rt. 29 (Columbia Pike) and Fairland Rd.; including the attached Paint Branch Neighborhood Park, Pilgrim Hill Local Park, Tamarack Neighborhood Park and Valley Mill Special Park, and
- Red Door Store Historical Cultural Park
Comments must include a valid name and address and may be submitted via email to MCP-deermanagment@montgomeryparks.org or by U.S. Mail to:
M-NCPPC, Deer Management Initiatives
12535 Milestone Manor Lane
Germantown, MD 20876
All comments will be posted online at www.parksdeermanagement.org
“Montgomery County has proven to be a very conducive environment for deer population growth,” said Montgomery Parks Wildlife Ecologist Bill Hamilton. “An expansive patchwork of public and private green space provides excellent edge habitat rich with food and cover. These habitat features, and limited opportunities for hunting, provide the perfect environment for unchecked population growth in the absence of natural predators. The result has been an increase in deer-human conflicts including deer related automobile accidents, damage to agricultural crops and residential gardens, and concerns about Lyme disease. Such impacts are compounded when deer are more densely concentrated into smaller areas of habitat that often result from land use changes and development.”
Montgomery Parks’ conducts its deer management program with specially trained Park Police sharpshooters and qualified, pre-screened hunters to ensure the operations are carried out in a safe and humane way. More details about these programs are available at www.parksdeermanagement.org.
In advance of the hunts, yellow and black “Park Closed” signs are posted throughout and surrounding affected parks, at all park entrances and in surrounding communities.
“The safety of residents is our top priority,” added Hamilton. “In eighteen years of operations, and having harvested 13,000 deer, we have had no occurrence of personal injury of the public as a result of the Department’s deer management operations.”
Driver Safety Tips
The months of October through December are breeding season for deer when activity reaches an annual peak. Montgomery Parks urges residents and drivers to use caution as deer activity becomes more frequent and unpredictable; and offers the following recommendations:
- Be alert for deer on or near roadways and take precautions.
- Be aware that deer are most active from dusk through dawn.
- Look for eye-shine along road edges.
- Deer may travel in groups, so if you see one deer expect there to be others.
- Pay attention to deer crossing signs; these signify areas where multiple accidents have occurred.
- A collision with a deer can happen on any roadway in the county, but be particularly cautious in areas where you observe deer often and where woodlands run adjacent to the roadway.
Dates and Locations of Park Closure
FY2015 M-NCPPC, Department of Parks, Montgomery County
Deer Population Management Programs
Lottery-Based and Cooperative Managed Deer Hunting Programs
[Parks Closed from Sunrise – Sunset]
October
24 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
25 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
27 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
29 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)
November
1 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
3 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
5 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)
7 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
8 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
12 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)
14 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
15 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
17 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
18 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)
19 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)
21 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
22 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
24 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
25 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)
December
5 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
6 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
9 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
10 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
11 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
12 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
16 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)
17 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)
19 – Black Hill Regional Park: 10 Mile Creek Segment (Boyds)*
19 – Bucklodge Forest Conservation Park (Boyds)
19 – Little Seneca Stream Valley Park (Boyds)
20 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
January
2 – Black Hill Regional Park: 10 Mile Creek Segment (Boyds)*
2 – Bucklodge Forest Conservation Park (Boyds)
2 – Little Seneca Stream Valley Park (Boyds)
3 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
9 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
10 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
23 – Black Hill Regional Park: 10 Mile Creek Segment (Boyds)*
23 – Bucklodge Forest Conservation Park (Boyds)
23 – Little Seneca Stream Valley Park (Boyds)
24 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
Park Police-Based Sharpshooting Program
[Parks Closed from 6:00PM – 6:00AM daily, January 10 – February 28]
- Agricultural History Farm Park (Derwood – including attached segments of Rock Creek Stream Valley Units 15 & 16)
- Black Hill Regional Park [Day Use Area] (Boyds)
- Cabin John Regional Park (Bethesda)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Park (Silver Spring)*
- Needwood Golf Course (Rockville)
- North Branch Stream Valley Park Units 2 & 3 (Norbeck)
- North Branch Stream Valley Park Unit 4 (Olney)
- Northwest Branch Recreation Park (Aspen Hill – including Layhill Local Park in Wheaton)
- Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park Unit 7 (Norwood)
- Northwest Golf Course (Wheaton)
- Paint Branch Stream Valley Park Units 5 & 6 (Silver Spring – including Pilgrim Hill Local Park, Valley Mill Special Park, Tamarack Neighborhood Park and Paint Branch Neighborhood Park)*
- Red Door Store Historical Cultural Park (Sandy Spring)*
- Rock Creek Regional Park (Rockville)
- Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 2 (Chevy Chase)
- Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 7 (Aspen Hill)
- Sligo Creek Golf Course (Silver Spring)
- Wheaton Regional Park (Wheaton)
- Woodlawn Cultural Special Park (Sandy Spring)
Tenant-Based Managed Deer Hunting Program
[Park Closed to Public Access Year Round]
Goshen Recreation Park (Goshen)
* Proposed conversion/expansion initiative for FY2015
About Montgomery Parks Deer Management Program
The deer population reduction program began in 1996 following recommendations from the Montgomery County Deer Management Work Group (DMWG), and in response to citizen concerns about the deer population.
For more information on the County’s deer management program see The Montgomery County Deer Management Program Annual Report and Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2015 which contains data on deer impacts and recommendations for the upcoming year. This and other information including a copy of the county’s deer management plan, and information on deer management operations, are available at www.ParksDeerManagement.org.
About The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Montgomery Parks
Montgomery Parks manages more than 35,000 acres of parkland, consisting of 418 parks. Montgomery Parks is a department of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), a bi-county agency established in 1927 to steward public land. The M-NCPPC has been nationally recognized for its high quality parks and recreation services and is regarded as a national model by other parks systems. www.montgomeryparks.org