Deer “management” to begin Jan. 2 at Manassas National Battlefield Park

To protect and restore native vegetation, promote healthy and diverse forests and protect historic landscapes, Manassas National Battlefield Park will implement previously approved white-tailed deer management plans for the first time. The window for deer population reduction at the park is January 2 through March 15, 2019.

Operations will take place at night when the park is closed. Biologists, who are also highly trained firearms experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will work under the direction of National Park Service (NPS) natural resource management specialists and in coordination with park law enforcement rangers to conduct reduction actions safely and effectively, a news release stated.

NPS said it will donate all suitable venison to local food banks after the deer are professionally processed and tested for chronic wasting disease.

Overabundant deer populations damage plants and eat nearly all the tree seedlings, Extensive damage from deer at Manassas National Battlefield Park has also adversely impacted the park’s historic landscape.. This prevents forest regeneration and destroys smaller trees and shrubs, which provide critical habitat for native birds and other wildlife. Extensive damage from deer at Manassas National Battlefield Park has also adversely impacted the park’s historic landscape.

Prompted by a marked decline in forest regeneration, Manassas National Battlefield Park initiated a public process to create a plan, finalized in 2014, which calls for reducing the deer population to a level that will support long-term protection and restoration of native plants and promote a healthy and diverse forest. The NPS will continue to monitor how well plants are growing with fewer deer. The findings, NPS said, will be used to develop future deer management actions.

Deer management has produced positive results at several area national parks including Gettysburg National Military Park (Pa.) and Catoctin Mountain Park (Md.). Catoctin has actively worked to reduce deer populations in the park since 2010 and has seen more than a 10-fold increase in seedling density.