Sharpshooters Taking Aim At Catoctin Mountain Park Deer
THURMONT, Md. (AP) -- The National Park Service says government sharpshooters are preparing for the seventh season of deer-herd reduction at Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont.
The agency says Park Central and Manahan roads will be closed intermittently from Monday through Dec. 17 while shooting occurs.
The program began in early 2010 in an effort to curb tree and plant damage from a white-tailed deer herd that is bigger than the forest can sustain.
The program has eliminated nearly 1,100 deer. The estimated deer density has dropped from 123 per square mile to 35 by the start of last season.
Park biologists say that's still twice what a healthy forest can sustain.
Conventional hunting is prohibited in the park. Federal sharpshooters do the work and donate the meat to food banks.
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