Deer Population

K. Dale Anderson of Randallstown writes: I enjoyed reading your Nov. 27 article, "No shortage of deer for firearms season," but was left with a question. How are the figures derived regarding the deer kill and population? As an aside, I know that back in the '70s, when I hunted deer with my son, it was necessary to "check in" any deer kill. Outdoors Girl went to the source of all things Cervidae in Maryland, Deer Project Leader Brian Eyler , who replies: To estimate deer population size, DNR obtains sex and age data from approximately 4,500 deer each year that are brought to meat processors.

It's close to Interstate 97, just down the road from Lures Bar and Grille and 10 minutes from the heavy traffic of Annapolis. Yet as you set foot onto Anne Arundel County's most recent environmental management enterprise, you'd swear you had entered the most remote regions of the Blue Ridge mountains. A barely used path twines through growths of wild blackberry and Virginia creeper, follows a plunging ravine past dogwoods and poplars, and disappears near a cedar tree whose bark has been stripped near the roots, a telltale sign that a buck has made his way through.

I am writing concerning the letter by Dr. Camay Woodall in the April 18 edition of the Towson Times ("Deer problem around Towson is threat to property, and safety"), concerning the number of deer in the Towson area. I fully agree with Dr. Woodall that the deer population is too large and presents hazards to people's health and the environment. While allowing a limited hunting season in order to cull the population is a good idea, I think there is better, more environmentally-friendly alternative to bring the deer population to a manageable level.

While it's bustling with activity every weekend, the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center in Abingdon is going to be particularly busy on Jan. 12, with three major programs that will offer something for all ages throughout the day. The white-tailed deer survey kicks off the day at 9 a.m. and continues until 11. Harford County seems to be experiencing explosive population growth - and not just with humans. So, estuary center managers need help from anyone 16 or older to determine if the deer population of Leight Park is a healthy size.

WHEN THE Department of Natural Resources is involved, very often its solution is to kill the animals. The Sun's Nov. 16 editorial has now taken a typical DNR approach, advocating ill-conceived and cruel managed deer hunts.DNR's deer-killing philosophy is both ineffective and inhumane. It fails to recognize that deer exercise a population control of their own. If the deer population increases in a given area, does have fewer and fewer fawns and more males than females. This is nature's efficient way of handling the situation.

The deer population in the Sweet Air section of Gunpowder Falls State Park far exceeds its normal level, prompting state officials to consider limited deer hunting there.About 185 deer inhabit each square mile in the Sweet Air section, compared with the normal average of 40, a Department of Natural Resources official told about 300 people at a meeting on controlling the deer population.The department is considering allowing "a controlled managed hunt" in January 1993, 1st Sgt. Michael Browning said at the Fallston High School meeting Wednesday night.

From: Wendy P. Feaga, DVMEllicott CityYour recent article, "Who has chased the deer away?" ("The Scene," by Patrick Hickerson, Dec. 19) is not correct, in my opinion. Asa resident of your neighborhood, Triadelphia Road at Route 144, the deer are plentiful, too plentiful. As I am among at least a dozen cases of Lyme disease in this area, we are intimately aware of the consequences of the large deer population in our neighborhood.I am not advocating the elimination of our deer population, because if we do, the tick is more likely to move to us and our pets, increasing the likelihood of Lyme disease.

Although more than 160 people have applied to Howard County in the past two weeks for a managed deer hunt this fall, county officials have extended the sign-up period through Friday.Philip C. Norman, hunt manager for the county's Department of Recreation and Parks' effort to thin herds in the 1,018-acre Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, said the county wants more hunters to apply because the list is often sharply reduced to provide the safest and most experienced people."There's a number of different community groups and neighborhood associations concerned with the hunt who want to be sure we have well-qualified, safe hunters in there," he said.

The Rev. Edward G. Robinson's flock was reluctant to try the unusual new offering suddenly filling the freezers at his West Baltimore food pantry, so one Sunday the pastor decided to use his burgeoning culinary skills to whip up a meal with it. "Most of them thought it was roast beef and they enjoyed it and sampled it and even asked for the gravy," he recalled. What they were eating at Agape House was something perhaps out of place at an inner-city soup kitchen but regularly found on the menus of top-tier restaurants: venison.

For the first time since Harry S. Truman was president, hunters are taking their weapons into a 1,700-acre section of woodland just outside the little town of Dublin in search of deer. The Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America has opened its Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation in northeastern Harford County to hunters in an attempt to control an exploding deer population. "It's the first time since 1948 that hunting has been allowed," said Reed Blom, director of support services for the Boy Scouts council.

Rick Wilson didn't know what to expect that September morning as he pulled to the side of the road 15 years ago. All he saw was a woman by her car and she looked in need of help. The woman asked Wilson if he could follow her into the bushes. Warily he did, eventually coming upon a dead six-point buck in the brush. Soon Wilson realized the woman wanted help getting the road kill into the trunk of her car. Wilson, a veteran hunter, warned her of the potential citations she could receive if caught carrying an untagged deer.

Two days after hundreds of thousands of turkeys were consumed at dinner tables across the state, white-tailed and sika deers are now in the crosshairs for hunters looking to feast on venison. The state's two-week deer firearm season is scheduled to begin Saturday and run through Dec. 8. Brian Eyler, deer project leader for the Maryland Department of Natural of Resources, said Friday that an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 of the state's deer population will likely be harvested during the two-week hunt, including up to 15,000 on Saturday.

In answer to Dr. Camay Woodall's concern about the deer population in and around Towson ("Deer problem around Towson is threat to property, and safety" April 18) and his question, "Can archers help with this?" the answer is a resounding, "NO. " Does he want novice, or even "experienced" bow hunters, shooting arrows in the Towson area? Bowhunters have already taken over the recreational activities of hikers, bikers, nature watchers, etc., at Loch Raven by being allowed to hunt for an unbelievable five months out of the year, even when there is full foliage on the trees.

I am writing concerning the letter by Dr. Camay Woodall in the April 18 edition of the Towson Times ("Deer problem around Towson is threat to property, and safety"), concerning the number of deer in the Towson area. I fully agree with Dr. Woodall that the deer population is too large and presents hazards to people's health and the environment. While allowing a limited hunting season in order to cull the population is a good idea, I think there is better, more environmentally-friendly alternative to bring the deer population to a manageable level.

Arguments about equipment have raged in many sports across generations. Those who played football without the protection of a face mask might have questioned the manhood of those whose helmets included visors that made them look like Darth Vader. Golfers who played the game with persimmon woods marvel at how far they are hitting it with modern clubs, but wonder how good the players are who launch 350-yard drives. The same is true for those who use longbows and recurve bows to hunt white-tailed deer and other wildlife.

Controlled deer hunts can take place in certain Baltimore County parks, but under tighter conditions than originally proposed, according to a bill approved Monday by the County Council. Seeking to frame the bill as part of a broader strategy to control the overflowing deer population, council members deleted some references to hunting from the bill in favor of "deer cooperator program. " County officials will also explore other methods of deer control including sterilization. The bill clearly states that it is not intended to allow open season in county parks — requiring any hunt to be conducted at night under the supervision of the state Department of Natural Resources.

Neighbors of Patapsco Valley State Park are challenging the state Department of Natural Resources' recent proposal to triple the amount of parkland open to deer hunters with bows and arrows for the 4 1/2 -month hunting season that begins this fall.The department may make a final decision on the proposal -- which is aimed at reducing the park's growing deer population -- within a week, said Walter Brown, the park's manager.After a public meeting on the proposal Aug. 20 in Marriottsville, some park neighbors -- largely in western Howard County -- have collected more than 200 signatures on a petition opposing it.They fear that expansion of deer hunting with bows and arrows would endanger nonhunters and limit their use of the 14,000-acre park, which stretches across Howard, Carroll and Baltimore counties.

Birth control? Hunting? Import predators? Do nothing?The Howard County Deer Management Task Force will pose these and other deer control options in a survey expected to be mailed to more than 7,000 residents by the end of next month.The surveys will go to a sampling of county landowners, including many living in rural areas or near large parks, said task force member William A. Thies Jr. The questionnaires will be used to assess the severity of the deer problem. Residents likely will be asked whether deer have eaten their landscaping, if the residents have ever hit deer with their cars and how often they see dead deer on the roadside.

Baltimore County Council members are looking to amend a bill to permit controlled deer kills in certain public parks, but critics say the proposed changes don't go far enough. Council members said the changes are being formulated, but references to hunting have been deleted in favor of a "wildlife management program. " Other amendments would require the county to also explore alternative methods of deer control — including sterilization — and would clearly state that the bill would not allow open season in county parks.

A managed deer hunt in Baltimore County parks could happen under a bill introduced at Monday's council meeting. Republican Councilmen Todd Huff and David Marks sponsored the bill, which would amend county code to permit a hunt in collaboration with the state Department of Natural Resources. A study by a county environmental commission conducted more than a year ago determined that deer were causing severe damage in some parks, particularly Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, leading to devastated crops and greenery, and potentially increasing the spread of Lyme disease.