Deer Hunting Rules Eased
Montgomery Council Cites Crashes, Other Problems
By Miranda S. Spivack
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 5, 2007; B01
Deer hunting in
Montgomery County's more developed areas will soon be allowed under a bill unanimously approved yesterday by the Montgomery County Council.
Citing data that show there are at least 2,000 collisions involving deer on county roads each year, an increase in Lyme disease carried by deer ticks, and extensive crop and property damage inflicted by deer, the council's measure will allow managed hunts in more parts of the county even as it becomes more developed.
Deer present a complex problem for lawmakers. More development reduces the animals' natural habitat and drives them closer to populated areas to find food, where they can cause serious problems.
County Council Vice Chairman Phil Andrews, chairman of the public safety committee, said he found the data on deer-related dangers persuasive. He shepherded the new hunting law, which he called "a significant change in policy."
Under the new rules, which will take effect in three months, deer hunting can take place 50 yards away from a road, on smaller parcels than currently allowed if landowners band together to create a 50-acre swath for hunting. By comparison,
Fairfax County doesn't allow hunters to get within 100 yards of a road.
Deer hunting in
Montgomery also would be allowed 150 yards away from a building that is occupied by animals but not people. That would allow hunting close to a barn as long as it isn't next to a house. Signs would have to be posted to alert neighbors of the impending deer hunt.
Current law in Montgomery prohibits deer hunting within 100 yards of a road and doesn't allow neighboring properties to be linked to create a tract large enough for hunting.
The legislation was originally introduced by
Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty), now the council president, two years ago after the council received recommendations from a deer management work group proposing fewer restrictions on deer hunting. Initially, the measure proposed lifting all restrictions on hunting close to roads, mirroring state law. But Montgomery Police Chief
J. Thomas Manger, citing safety concerns, urged the council to prohibit shooting within 50 yards of a road.
County residents are divided about allowing deer hunting closer to populated areas.
Shelley J. Winkler of Washington Grove, who lives near a large open area where hunting would be allowed under the new law, said she was concerned. "This county is becoming denser by the minute, and to think that guns could be fired so close to my home and to many others near me is frightening," she said. "It's the inverse of what should be happening."
But in a letter to the County Council, David Michaels, head of a citizens association in the
Colesville area, urged the council to allow more deer hunting, saying the "overgrowth of deer in our area is resulting in a multitude of intolerable problems."
Montgomery already allows managed deer hunts in county parks several times a year, and there is an official deer hunting season in specified areas of the county. Currently, a managed hunt is underway at Little Bennett Regional Park off Interstate 270 north of
Germantown, according to a county parks official.
Yesterday's deer discussion at the council had a moment of poignancy as council member
George Leventhal (D-At large) recalled a recent collision with a deer on the Beltway that broke several bones in his face and left him hospitalized for several days. Leventhal said he debated whether that experience might have biased him against deer and considered whether he should recuse himself from the vote.
"I honestly believe I would vote in favor of this bill even if this misfortune had not occurred to me," he said before voting for the bill.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120401954.html
Good for bow hunters in MD
