“CHARTING THE COURSE
FOR DEER MANAGEMENT IN MARYLAND”
A management plan for white-tailed deer in Maryland.MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
March 1998
Parris Glendening, Governor
John R. Griffin, Secretary
Department of Natural Resources
Tawes State Office Building
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Dear Marylanders:The Department of Natural Resources is pleased to present the new Deer Management Plan for Maryland. This plan has been developed in consultation with Marylanders from all over the state to identify comprehensive new strategies to address Maryland’s rapidly growing white-tailed deer population.
White-tailed deer have a long and interesting history in our state, and complex relationships with our natural and social fabric. Once almost driven to extirpation, deer populations in recent years have now reached an all-time high, with over 250,000 animals inhabiting our forests, fields and neighborhoods. White-tailed deer are viewed from many different perspectives by Marylanders from all walks of life, ranging from the outdoor enthusiast who is thrilled by the opportunity to see, photograph or hunt a deer, to the farmer, landowner or motorist who encounters deer in a more troublesome circumstance.
Our job at the Department of Natural Resources is to conserve and protect our treasured natural resources and inspire people to enjoy and live in harmony with the natural environment. That responsibility requires us to seek ways to ensure that deer are conserved at levels compatible with the health of other natural resources, and in manner consistent with the health, safety and well being of Marylanders. At the same time we want to provide opportunities for individuals to enjoy the many and diverse recreational benefits associated with deer.
The management challenge is immense. People have many different values and expectations when it comes to making management decisions about deer. Appropriate population levels, control mechanisms to be used, and the types of recreational uses we may promote are all subject to considerable debate. That is why we develop a plan like this in consultation with as many people as possible, to ensure that we strike the best balance possible, through an informed and reasoned discourse.
This plan retains our strong commitment to hunting as both the most cost effective control mechanism available to us in much of the state, and as an accepted and valuable recreational experience for many Marylanders. But it also recognizes the new challenges we face, as the deer population expands into places where traditional controls are not viable or publicly accepted. We must accelerate and expand our commitment to find new ways to manage deer, ways that are humane and effective. This plan commits us to stronger action in pursuit of those alternatives, giving us new tools and choices as we face the decades ahead.
I would like to thank the citizens of Maryland, our Wildlife Advisory Commission, the Deer Planning Committee and our dedicated employees of the department for making this draft plan possible. Please take the time to review it and let us know what you think.
Sincerely,
John R. Griffin
Press Release: DNR Releases Maryland's First Statewide Deer Management Plan Table of Contents