Montgomery County Parks to Close for Deer Hunts

Various Montgomery County parks will soon be closed while hunters thin the booming deer population.

Beginning Oct. 28, several parks will be closed intermittently for Montgomery Parks’ annual deer management operations.

“Montgomery County has proven to be a very conducive environment for deer population growth,” said Montgomery Parks Wildlife Ecologist Bill Hamilton in a news release. “An expansive patchwork of public and private green space provides excellent edge habitat rich with food and cover. These habitat features and limited opportunities for hunting provide the perfect environment for unchecked population growth in the absence of natural predators.

The booming deer population has resulted in an increase in resident complaints, including deer-related car accidents, damage to crops and gardens and concerns about Lyme disease.

Deer hunts as well as Park Police-based sharpshooting will take place in 28 Montgomery County parks. Montgomery Parks ensures operations are carried out in a safe and humane manner. More details about the programs can be found online.

“The safety of residents is our top priority,” said Hamilton. “In eighteen years of operations, and having harvested 13,000 deer, we have not had one occurrence of personal injury of the public as a result of the department’s deer management operations.”

Montgomery Parks is also seeking the public’s opinion on adding more parks to the program. The proposed parks span 700 acres and are inhabited by about 191 to 241 deer -- six times the recommended density.

Proposed parks include:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Park
• Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
• Paint Branch Neighborhood Park
• Pilgrim Hill Local Park
• Tamarack Neighborhood Park
• Valley Mill Special Park
• Red Door Store Historical Cultural Park

Comments can be made through to Oct. 29 via email to MCP-deermanagement@montgomeryparks.org.

During the lottery-based and cooperative managed deer hunting programs, parks will be closed from sunrise until sunset.

The park closures are:

October

• 24 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 25 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
• 27 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
• 29 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)

November

• 1 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 3 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
• 5 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)
• 7 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 8 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
• 12 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)
• 14 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
• 15 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 17 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
• 18 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)
• 19 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)
• 21 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
• 22 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 24 – Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Olney)
• 25 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)

December

• 5 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 6 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
• 9 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
• 10 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
• 11 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
• 12 – Little Bennett Regional Park (Clarksburg)
• 16 – Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (Darnestown)
• 17 – North Germantown Greenway (Clarksburg)/Great Seneca Stream Valley Park (Gaithersburg)
• 19 – Bucklodge Forest Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 19 – Little Seneca Stream Valley Park (Boyds)
• 20 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)

January

• 2 – Bucklodge Forest Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 2 – Little Seneca Stream Valley Park (Boyds)
• 3 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 9 – Woodstock Equestrian Park (Beallsville)
• 10 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 23 – Bucklodge Forest Conservation Park (Boyds)
• 23 – Little Seneca Stream Valley Park (Boyds)
• 24 – Hoyles Mill Conservation Park (Boyds)

Parks will be closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Jan. 10 to Feb. 28 during the Park Police-based sharpshooting program.

Park closures are:

• Agricultural History Farm Park (Derwood - including attached segments of Rock Creek Stream Valley Units 15 & 16)
• Black Hill Regional Park [Day Use Area] (Boyds)
• Cabin John Regional Park (Bethesda)
• Needwood Golf Course (Rockville)
• North Branch Stream Valley Park Units 2 & 3 (Norbeck)
• North Branch Stream Valley Park Unit 4 (Olney)
• Northwest Branch Recreation Park (Aspen Hill - including Layhill Local Park in Wheaton)
• Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park Unit 7 (Norwood)
• Northwest Golf Course (Wheaton)
• Rock Creek Regional Park (Rockville)
• Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Unit 7 (Aspen Hill)
• Sligo Creek Golf Course (Silver Spring)
• Wheaton Regional Park (Wheaton)
• Woodlawn Cultural Special Park (Sandy Spring)

>>Patch file photo

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