Deer Population Management
MANAGED DEER HUNTS | PARK CLOSURE DATES | PARK POLICE-BASED SHARPSHOOTING
Managed Deer Hunts
M-NCPPC Department of Parks, in order to reduce and maintain deer populations in accordance with the goals of the County’s deer management plan, conducts managed deer hunts in select parks during the Fall and Winter.
Programming is designed with public safety being paramount. Managed hunting programs are directed and supervised by the Department’s Wildlife staff and participants are required to follow strict safety and procedural guidelines. Safety buffers are established to meet and exceed State and County ordinance and hunting sites are selected to use terrain, distance, and habitat to enhance safe weapons discharge.
Weapons discharge is directed into the ground and/or other suitable backdrops, and in many cases, hunting from an elevated position is required to ensure that hunters’ have a suitable backstop. A variety of harvest strategies have been employed using all weapons legal in the county. However, most programming requires participants to utilize rifled shotguns to harvest deer. On dates when managed hunting is occurring the park is closed to the public.
Managed hunts were implemented in the county in the Fall of 1996 and have occurred annually ever since. To date, the Department has conducted managed deer hunting programs in twelve county parks with exceptional results. Currently, eleven parks are included in the Managed Deer Hunting Program.
To learn more about the Montgomery Parks managed deer hunting programs, please review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) regarding deer population management being conducted on County parkland.
If you would like to participate in the lottery based managed deer hunting program, pre-screening procedures must be followed. New applicants can download the pre-screening application & information here: Pre-screening Managed Hunt Packet (pdf. 773kb).
Park Closure Dates
Parks Managed Hunt Dates | Park Police Sharpshooting Dates
Montgomery Parks Managed Hunt Dates
Park Closure Schedule for Fall 2012/Winter 2013
For public safety, the Department of Parks closes select park locations to public access for the duration of deer population management operations. These park closures are enforced, under park regulation (Chapter III, Section 2, Letter B.), by the Department’s Park Police Division.
Lottery-Based and Cooperative Managed Deer Hunting Programs (Shotgun)
This program has concluded for the 2012-2013 season. Information on park closures for the 2013-2014 season will be available next fall.
Park Police-based sharpshooting locations 2012-13
This program has concluded for the 2012-2013 season. Information on park closures for the 2013-2014 season will be available next fall.
Tenant-Based Managed Deer Hunting Program
Park is closed to public access year-round
- Goshen Recreation Park (Goshen)
Park Police-based Sharpshooting
M-NCPPC Department of Parks, in order to reduce and maintain deer populations in accordance with the goals of the County’s deer management plan, conducts Police-based sharpshooting in select parks during the period of January through March.
Deer population reductions are conducted from 5:30pm until Sunrise while the parks are closed to the public. Programming is designed with public safety being paramount. Police-based sharpshooting programs are directed and supervised by the Department’s Park Police Division and Wildlife Ecology Unit. Park Police Officers participating in this program have received extensive training and certification and utilize the most advance equipment and techniques available. Weapons discharge is conducted in a safe manner with safe backdrops identified prior to firing.
Deer are removed safely, humanely, and discreetly. All deer harvested during such programming are donated to the Capital Area Food Bank for distribution to the regions charitable organizations. To date, the Department of Parks has donated at least 163,000 pounds of venison (652,000 servings) to those in need.
Police-based sharpshooting was implemented in the county in the spring of 1999 and has occurred annually ever since. To date, the Department has conducted Police-based sharpshooting programs in nineteen county parks with exceptional results. Police-based sharpshooting is being conducted annually, and the Department continues to investigate expanding efforts to parklands in need of deer population reduction. Click please review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) on this topic.
back to top - Last update: March 5, 2013
Montgomery County Department of Parks