A study conducted by a13-member panel will be presented to the Calvert County Commissioners Tuesday, April 16 and the recommendations could lead to an increase in deer hunting within the county.
In a summary of the report, expansion of deer hunting is identified as “the most economic and practical method to regulate the deer population.”
In a memo to the county commissioners, Calvert County Division of Natural Resources Chief Karyn Molines stated that the workgroup was formed at the board’s direction “in response to numerous vehicle/deer collisions and crop damage in Calvert County.”
Molines reported that the group held four meetings within 18 months and received presentations from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), representatives from the community of Accokeek and the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service.
The group is recommending the board establish the workgroup through a resolution and expand its membership to include representatives from the Calvert County Health Department, the Farm Bureau, Forestry Board, and state and county highway officials.
The report notes an estimate of Calvert’s deer population “has not been determined recently.” However, “it has been found that in Southern Maryland they can reach levels of 170 deer per-square-mile in locations where they are protected from hunting.” The report cites recorded data on Calvert’s 2011-2012 deer harvest. The number of antlered deer harvested totaled 558, while the number of unantlered deer totaled 1,180. Factoring Calvert’s land total of 213 square mile, the result is eight harvested deer per square mile.
Data in the report indicates humans are in peril due to the high deer population. In 2012, one motorist in Calvert County was killed in an accident attributed to a vehicle collision with a deer, the report stated.
In addition to hunting, the workgroup is also recommending the county include “non-lethal measures—fencing, repellants and vegetation management—and a public awareness campaign in its strategy for reducing Calvert’s deer population.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
