dcist.com - Jacob Fenston - Apr 1, 2022
Without natural predators, deer populations have exploded in recent decades, threatening local ecosystems.

So why not re-introduce those predators, to naturally keep deer in check?
It’s a question a handful of people asked during the public comment period about a plan to kill white-tailed deer using sharpshooters in some national parks in D.C. and Maryland.
“Is there any way to introduce predators like wolves or coyotes into parks in the D.C. area?” asked one commenter. “They would take care of the excess deer population.”
Another commenter suggested the NPS should “study the effects of reducing the deer population through the reintroduction of a historically-native apex predator, i.e. the gray wolf.”
Deer Threaten Forest Regeneration
Forests in the D.C. region can support roughly 20 deer per square mile, according to NPS. But in some local parks, officials have estimated there are as many as ten times that many deer.
“It’s really extraordinarily high here,” says NPS spokesperson Sean McGinty. “They are eating noninvasive forest vegetation and tree saplings. They’re really impacting the forest regeneration that we have here in our Maryland and D.C. parks.”
Only 6% of parks under consideration for deer culling currently have enough native plants growing to maintain forest ecosystems, according to NPS. Deer, unfortunately, don’t enjoy the invasive grasses and vines that are taking over many parks.
NPS has been conducting deer culls in Rock Creek Park since 2013. According to NPS, seedling densities of native plants have nearly tripled since deer culling there began. It’s been so successful, the agency wants to expand the program to National Capital Parks-East, including Anacostia Park, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, and many others.
Deer culling always sparks opposition, especially from animal rights groups which advocate instead for non-lethal means of thinning deer populations, such as contraception or fertility control. In Rock Creek Park, deer culling was delayed by protests and a lawsuit.
While wolves, coyotes and bears are certainly lethal, some people wondered if these predators could be a more natural way to restore balance to local ecosystems.
Wolves Would Be ‘Disastrous’ For Visitors To D.C. Parks
In its official response to this suggestion, NPS notes that black bears and coyotes have been making a comeback in Maryland, and coyotes are already present in the District. However, the agency says, these animals aren’t the answer to deer overpopulation: “Both predators take advantage of vulnerable deer such as fawns or sick individuals and have not demonstrated a consistent ability to control deer populations.”
In fact, while coyote populations have been expanding their range and size over the past two decades, deer populations have continued to grow in those same areas, NPS says.
Wolves, on the other hand, are effective at keeping deer populations in check. But there would be a few … shall we say … problems … with reintroducing wolves to the nation’s capital, NPS notes.
First, a wolf pack needs a lot of space — roughly 30 sq. miles of habitat. For comparison, Rock Creek Park, the District’s largest, is just 2.7 sq. miles, while the entire District of Columbia is just 68 sq. miles.
Second, the urban and suburban nature of the D.C. area makes reintroducing wolves impractical, “given the possible adverse effects on residents,” NPS notes, in the dry language of federal bureaucrats, “particularly children and pets.”
McGinty is a bit more direct: “If we were to release black bears or gray wolves into Anacostia Park, for example, that could prove disastrous for our visitors, our neighbors, and our local residents,” he says.

Wolves Could Thrive A Bit Farther Outside The City
Even if we tried dropping off a pack of wolves in the middle of the District, they likely wouldn’t stick around.
“They’re long distance dispersers,” says Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. “They would hit the road and find a place where they could have some more seclusion.”
Anyway, Adkins says if we’re thinking of reintroducing an apex predator to the area, the gray wolf is the wrong one. Historically, she says, the red wolf, Canis rufus, was native to this part of the country, with a range from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Long Island, New York.
Red wolves were just about wiped out by humans, and are still on the verge of extinction. Just 15-17 of the animals live in the wild, with 241 living in captivity in a refuge in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Adkins authored a report in 2019 arguing for widespread reintroduction of the red wolf throughout its historic range, identifying the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia as “a prime region” for bringing the animals back.
There is great potential wolf habitat just a few hours’ drive from D.C., Adkins says, in Shenandoah National Park, Monongahela National Forest, Washington National Forest, and Jefferson National Forest.
“Those places have just ideal habitat for red wolves, but are completely missing their apex predator because humans extirpated them,” she says.
When humans hunted wolves out of existence across most of the U.S., it threw ecosystems out of whack. Finding places to safely bring the predators back, Adkins says, helps restore those environments.
“There are ripple effects, where once you get that apex predator back there, slowly but surely, the entire ecosystem transforms and becomes back to the way it it functions best,” Adkins says. And, she says, wolves typically avoid humans, and would not be a threat to hikers or others enjoying the outdoors.
“Wolves are incredibly shy of people,” Adkins says. “It would just be something that would be a real thrill for people to be able to see.”
Of course, reintroducing predators is controversial, perhaps even more so than culling deer. Gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s, setting off decades of battles over the animals in the West. Many ranchers and rural residents don’t welcome wolves, saying they kill livestock and pets.
Open An ‘Urban Deer Hunting Season’
Reintroducing apex predators wasn’t the only creative solution commenters offered to deal with deer overpopulation in D.C. and Maryland parks.
A handful of people suggested opening a deer hunt to the general public. (Deer culling is typically conducted by trained and certified sharpshooters — either NPS staff, contractors, or volunteers — under very controlled conditions.)
“For the deer management plan, I propose a deer hunt,” wrote one commenter. “It goes without saying, no violence towards other hunters will be permitted,” the person clarified.
Any violence against humans during the public hunt, the commenter said, would “result in swift expulsion via extraction teams, and law enforcement involvement if necessary.” There would also be emergency response personnel on hand, just in case, and each participant would sign a waiver, releasing the government from any liability “(lost equipment, injury, death).”
Another commenter opined that the government “needs to allow bow hunters greater access to suburban and urban parks or this problem will never be controlled.”
While setting armed civilians loose in city parks to kill wildlife presents some obvious logistical and safety issues, NPS responded by noting that Congress has not authorized hunting in national parks.
Relocate The Deer To “Upper Mountainous Areas Of Maryland And Virginia”
Others, also thinking outside the box, asked, why not just move the extra deer somewhere else? Someplace nice that needs more deer?
One commenter said NPS could feed the deer “a medication that puts them to sleep, so they can be picked up and taken to the upper mountainous areas of Maryland and Virginia.”
Unfortunately NPS identified two obstacles to this plan. First off, nobody needs more deer.
“Given the abundance of deer in Maryland and most of the United States, recipients for such a program would be very limited,” NPS says.
Also, catching and relocating wild animals is traumatic and dangerous for the animals. NPS cites research suggests that between 50% and 85% of relocated deer could perish within the first year. While this high mortality rate would help lower deer populations, it would not necessarily be more humane than killing the deer outright.
‘Innovative Ideas, Not The Same Old Garbage’
The federal government will probably never approve of urban hunting seasons, wolf releases, or deer relocation programs in D.C. But animal rights activists say there are some serious, safer alternatives that could also achieve lower deer populations, without slaughtering hundreds of the animals.
“You should be finding non-lethal methods,” wrote one commenter. “The public wants innovative ideas, not the same old garbage.”
NPS received a total of 175 responses on the deer management plan during the public comment period over the summer. Of those comments, the largest category, 37%, was people arguing for non-lethal methods of reducing deer populations.
The Humane Society of the United States submitted comments arguing that NPS didn’t fully consider current and emerging research on wildlife fertility control techniques, or management techniques like fencing off sensitive plants.
NPS dismissed these ideas in its response, saying that there are currently no fertility control agents on the market that can achieve its deer population reduction goals. The agency vowed to “review the status of ongoing reproductive control research on a periodic basis.”
Protecting plants from hungry deer across hundreds of acres of parkland is also not realistic, NPS says. “Fencing large areas of forest within the park is not feasible, requiring substantial staff installation and maintenance.”
NPS plans to move ahead with deer culling in D.C. and Maryland, though no dates have been set. Deer culling is usually conducted in the winter months, when park visitation is lowest. In a recently-released report, the agency found no significant impact to the deer management plan — the final step in approving it.