Local Deer Population on the Rise

It may happen while driving down Twin Branches Road at sunrise on your way to work or perhaps while accompanying your child to the Walker Nature Education Center. You may even come face to face with one in your own backyard.

No, we're not talking about the Loch Ness Monster (although Lake Thoreau does have occasional suspicious swirls of thick morning fog). Because of the many wooded areas, streams and abundance of plant life, Reston has become the home of a growing population of white-tailed deer.

"The deer population in Fairfax County continues to increase each year without the presence of sufficient sustainable hunting pressures occurring countywide," said Fairfax County Wildlife Biologist Vicky Monroe of the Fairfax County Animal Services Division. She adds that the animals actually thrive in the suburbs (or "habitat modified areas"), due to the creation of artificial edges around commercial and residential zoning.

Deer management in Fairfax County is just one of many programs that addresses the number of urban species in a given area and the impact of its presence on its life and for the residents of the county.

While deer do not generally pose a threat to people or pets, a deer management program is developed each year to assess the impact on residential life as well as life for other species in our environment.

The first program was implemented in 1998, following the first fatal deer-vehicle collision in the county. Since then, an annual residential survey has been distributed to assess resident's perception of deer and experiences with local deer population.

Monroe will use the results from this year's survey, which closed Aug. 4, to gauge public interest level and conduct community outreach programs focused on deer behavior and management options.

The prevalence of deer in the area is partly due to changes in their environment. "White-tailed deer are a prey species that now lack natural large predators such as wolves, cougars, and year-round hunting by humans," said Monroe.

Virginia ranks fifth in the country for deer-vehicle collisions. Statistics show there are between 4,000 and 5,000 occur each year in Fairfax County alone.

Meanwhile, a Reston homeowner recently received permission from the Reston Association to hire a bowhunting company to hunt deer in his backyard. He says four members of his family have Lyme Disease, which is carried by deer ticks, and traditional deer management methods have not worked.

The health and environmental impact of a large deer population are very real, says Monroe.

"Deer are the primary wildlife host to the adult blacklegged ticks and lone star ticks. Blacklegged ticks are able to transmit the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) that cause Lyme disease," Monroe said. "Deer serve as the "public transit system" for these ticks and able to transport them throughout the County and into resident's yards. A single adult tick can lay between 800 to 3,000 eggs at one time before dying."

Deer can also have a negative impact on your yard - the average adult deer consumes between five and seven pounds of plant life per day.