Great Falls Connection

Are deer a significant enough worry for Northern Virginia landowners that they want reduce deer populations significantly? The Great Falls Citizen Association survey of local residents has shown that 70 percent of respondents are very concerned.

The situation is now out of control: In addition to vehicle collisions, elimination of understory plants in forests, and excessive browsing of landscape foliage, some residents are starting to complain that their children cannot play in their own yards because of too much deer poop. Now, that’s a lot of deer!

What are we to do? A lot of research has been done on chemical and surgical sterilization of deer. But getting the required degree of population control with these methods is not yet, and may never be, feasible. Humans have removed predators used to maintain nature’s balance. So human predators are what we have to control deer populations. We do this to a degree with cars and trucks, but deer-vehicle collisions are not sufficient and not humane, not to mention being costly and dangerous to people.

Deer hunting in public parks organized and supervised by the Fairfax County Police Department since 1999 has reduced deer numbers in the parks. And since 2009, the County’s addition of archery to the deer management program has demonstrated that modern archery is both safe and effective. But deer harvests in parks don’t help the other 95 percent of Fairfax County lying between the parks, which is privately owned.

Green Fire, a non-profit company located in Great Falls, states that more coordination and smarter hunting is needed on private lands to make a significant difference. Not everyone has to hunt, and not every landowner has to permit hunting. But every landowner can play a role in controlling the deer population.

At a minimum, every landowner, when asked by an archer or neighbor, can grant access to archers to enter their property in order to track and retrieve deer shot on other properties. There is a chance that family members may see deer that have been mortally wounded. This is not a pretty sight, but it is a small price to pay for reducing the damages that deer cause to public safety and to habitats of many other forest creatures.

If their property qualifies for hunting, landowners can also grant access for hunting. In designated parts of Fairfax County developed at low densities, neighboring landowners who together own 20 or more contiguous acres can allow use of shotguns. Elsewhere, deer hunting is done with modern compound bows and crossbows. There is no minimum acreage, but County weapons code requires that any arrow or bolt must land on property for which the archer has permission to hunt. And, of course, no shot can be taken across any walkway or road right-of-way. Qualified archers using properly tuned, modern bows where they have adequate permissions to track and retrieve deer regularly recover 95 percent or more of deer they hit with arrow or bolt.

Whether they are landowners or not, anyone who is able-bodied, has good eyesight and respects the law, landowners, deer, and people encountered during a hunt can learn to hunt. A certification test and permit is required of all hunting conducted throughout the Commonwealth.

Green Fire promotes the idea that all parties to suburban deer management should know the rules of engagement for archery hunting. These are spelled out on the non-profit’s web site at www.GreenFireWeb.com/Landowners/QualifyingProperties and /Hunting/ArcherStandards.

Finally, all landowners can learn about deer and the damages they cause. The more informed landowners are, the more likely they are to participate in deer management, and the better our chances of managing the damages that deer cause across northern Virginia. Questions about deer management are answered at www.GreenFireWeb.com.

Jerry Peters will be at the Great Falls Farmers Market on Saturday, April 25, in case a homeowner would like to sign up to bring local skilled archers to their property.