Lake Ridge homeowners debate what to do about deer in neighborhood

The nearly 100 Lake Ridge residents who crowded into Tall Oaks Community Center Dec. 9 were told the solution to the overpopulation of deer in Prince William County may be a step closer to realization. Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association (LRPRA) called the meeting.

The county’s weapons control committee is supposed to report the results of its deer studies to Prince William Board of County Supervisors Jan. 13, and supervisors are expected to have a hearing on the matter at their Feb. 7 meeting.

Existing county regulations prohibit shooting of firearms or bow and arrow within 100 yards of an occupied dwelling without the property owner’s permission.

Ron Pereira, LRPRA general manager, told the meeting that there would be two questions on deer herd management on the LRPRA board of director’s ballots that will be mailed to association members in early January. He urged residents to answer the deer questions so the association board can know what people want.

Pereira pointed out the association has no opinion on deer management, and just was seeking information on the situation. Near the end of the meeting, he asked for a show of hands from those who think something must be done to manage the deer herd. Nearly every hand went up.

Pereira introduced speakers at the Dec. 9 meeting. They were Kevin Rose, a biologist with Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF); Charles Smith, an ecologist, and Charlie Grymes, head of Prince William Conservation Alliance.

Pereira explained the county is looking at a possible ordinance change, and that next fall or winter would be the earliest any change would go into effect. He said the LRPRA’s 1200 acres have no natural deer predators, unlike other areas where coyotes and wolves are found.

“The herd is destroying natural habitat and is a nuisance to many homeowners,” he reported. He said one question for the association is whether its insurance would cover bow hunters, what a maximum insurance amount would be and who would manage any bow-hunting program.

Rose told his audience deer manage better in neighborhoods than they do in the woods because food is more plentiful in suburbia. He noted a deer population “can explode” and “eat a neighborhood out of house and home.” Once an ecosystem is destroyed, the deer will starve.

“Deer need food, water, cover and space,” Rose said. A doe in rural areas will roam over 200 acres, while a buck needs 640 acres. He showed pictures of forest areas stripped of lower vegetation by deer, adding that deer eat three to five percent of their body weight each day.

“A 100-pound deer will eat three to five pounds (of vegetation) each day,” according to the biologist. “There will be no greenery from (my) chest on down, which leaves no habitat for small animals.”
Rose noted a deer “can jump an eight-foot fence,” and that “a hungry deer will eat anything, even mountain laurel.”

The speaker added that though some people feed deer, it is illegal to do so from Sept. 1 to the last Saturday in April in Prince William County.

When it comes to controlling the deer population, Rose reported, “there are no non-lethal options for homeowners.” He said Fairfax County has an urban archery program using trained archers.

“Urban archery in Lake Ridge is the way to go,” he estimated. He said trapping and transferring the deer are not options because the mortality rate using this practice is 50 to 80 percent.

Rose also said drivers should not rely on deer-deflecting devices they put on their vehicles because they don’t work. “They give you a false sense of security,” he said.

The biologist said Fairfax City had a research project, which darted deer, took them to the police station, spayed them and returned them to the wild. He added the research project “is not a proven tool,” and that the 18 does involved each cost the city $1436.

Smith told the audience that deer have stripped undergrowth that hummingbirds need. He explained that “people have always managed the deer population,” and “that by 1900, there were almost no deer in Virginia.” Once deer remove plants, the birds and the insects also disappear, he added.

The advent of the “Bambi” movie in 1939 caused people to have an aversion to hunting, Smith observed.

Deer pose a serious threat to forests, Smith explained. “We need to manage deer. They’re affecting the future of our forests indefinitely,” the speaker said. He added the animals are “agricultural pests.”

Smith also told the audience that Prince William County has the most reported vehicle collisions with deer in the state.

The ecologist said archery is a very safe means of deer herd control, and “is the most flexible for an urban area.”

“Only lethal control is effective. People are the only ones who can regulate it,” he asserted.

Grymes asked his audience to check area woods. “Look at the woods in Lake Ridge. Are there any branches in the bottom four feet, or are they gone?”

Grymes said he lives near Manassas National Battlefield Park, and that he expects the national park service to address deer in the park next year. He showed a photo of a deer caught in a car’s bumper.

“Deer are great for controlling the speed limit. Deer make you go 45 miles an hour,” he added.

A woman who said she originally was from Wisconsin said pesticides also contribute to a lack of vegetation in the area.  Smith agreed that “man is the number one changer of the landscape.”

John Maher, a Troika Ct. resident, said he is on a team that bow hunts deer in Fairfax County. “The parks are not closed, and there have been zero accidents. Hunting also has cut the illegal hunting in the parks. Archery is a safe method for deer management. You have a lot of misinformation out there,” he explained.

Maher said archers are shooting in Fairfax County six days a week from Sept. 6 to Feb. 22.

Maher said that hunters are tested by the county and must be able to place three arrows in an eight-inch target at 20 yards. The archers can only test three times a year if they fail. Archers also carry picture and signature identification cards, must hunt from a tree stand and each arrow bears an owner’s number.

Smith said Fairfax County explains to residents that bow hunting is a “compatible use” in its parks, “just like mountain biking is.”