BALTIMORE — Baltimore City is preparing to launch a deer management program to address what officials say is an overpopulation problem which has gone unchecked for decades.
The city plans to begin culling deer next month in public parklands, focusing on large forested areas including Druid Hill Park, Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park and Herring Run Park.
Wildlife conservation analyst Shane Boehne with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks said the deer population has reached excessive levels.
"When I hear these types of deer-related issues, I'm wondering, how have we gone so long without trying to address these issues?" Boehne told WMAR-2 News.
Boehne said overpopulation has created multiple problems; deer endanger forest health, hundreds of drivers collide with them annually, and they carry Lyme disease.
Boehne, who studied managing deer at the University of Georgia, said data shows Baltimore has far too many deer per square mile.
"It'll actually help us reduce the deer densities down closer to what's recommended by the National Park Service and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, where we want to get to that 20 deer per square mile range," Boehne said. "That's a range that's going to help our forests actually be able to regenerate naturally."
USDA wildlife biologists with firearms expertise will conduct the culling operations. When the work begins, the city will notify the community, clear park interiors, and station personnel at park entrances to prevent public access during operations.
A walk through snowy Druid Hill Park reveals the extent of deer damage. The animals' nibbling threatens new tree growth, and many smaller trees are protected with nets to keep deer away.
"When these antlers are rubbing on these areas, if they rub around the entire tree, it can actually kill the tree entirely, and certainly on the smaller trees they can even break them off because they're rubbing on it a little bit too hard," Boehne said.
The program will benefit Baltimore's food-insecure neighbors; venison from the culling will be donated to the Maryland Food Bank.
"We are going to be able to donate that meat over to the Maryland Food Bank, and if we're able to reach our harvest goal for this season, we'll be able to provide over 40,000 servings back to Baltimore City residents in need," Boehne said.
"We recognize that people may disagree with the type of approach that we've taken," Boehne added, "but we are utilizing a decision making framework to identify an optimal deer management strategy to apply here in Baltimore City. It's really exciting to apply cutting edge science here to Baltimore City."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
