Fairfax County to Cull White-Tailed Deer

Deer population has grown to poses safety and health hazards and environmental damage 

Many Northern Virginians find their backyard plants like hostas and day lilies chomped down to a nub, often a sure sign that deer paid a visit. White-tailed deer are too numerous in Fairfax County, county officials maintain.

The county recently announced that “deer management” will occur from Sept. 6 to Feb. 14, 2026, in certain county parks, primarily using archery by “qualified bowhunters” who must meet certain standards.

A county map shows where the hunting will occur. In the Mount Vernon area, for example, hunting will take place in Huntley Meadows, Grist Mill, Mount Vernon and John Byers Parks. 

White-tailed deer are most active at dawn and dusk and breeding season is from late September through February. Most does have at least two fawns. Deer are herbivores and easily adapt to human landscapes.

Predators Gone 

​Historically, animals like mountain lions, bobcats and wolves were the primary deer predators. Today, the major predator is people. Deer are killed by hunting, vehicle collisions, dogs and trains, says the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. “Deer have few natural predators in Virginia, and other sources of mortality (e.g. diseases, injuries) are not sufficient to control populations,” says DWR. 

Both the state and Fairfax County governments base their deer management on the concept of carrying capacity. “The maximum number of deer a habitat can support on a sustained basis is the biological carrying capacity,” explains Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’ website. 

Fairfax County’s deer management plan says, “A healthy ecosystem can support 15 - 20 deer per square mile without damage to the environment. Estimated deer density at many sites in Fairfax County is a minimum of 40 - 100 deer per square mile. … The deer population in Fairfax County has grown to a level that poses safety and health hazards to our communities and is not sustainable by the environment over time. An integrated deer management program is necessary for long-term reduction of deer-related conflicts in Fairfax County.”

Forest Regeneration at Risk

​Deer primarily eat leaves, twigs, buds of woody plants, forbs, acorns, nuts, fruit, grass, mushrooms and lichens. “An average adult white-tailed deer requires five to seven pounds of food daily per 100 pounds of body weight, which equates to over one ton of vegetation consumed by one deer in one year,” DWR points out.

Because they eat tree seedlings and saplings, deer can disrupt natural forest regeneration and succession. The National Park Service (NPS) maintains that deer browse is one of several factors threatening forest regeneration in Washington-area national parks, including the George Washington Memorial Parkway(GWMP), to the point that “patterns of consistently insufficient regeneration or altered species composition call into question the long-term viability and resilience of forest ecosystems,” one study found.

On Aug. 27, GWMP Superintendent Jennifer Madello said via email that they do not have a deer management plan or funding for one. “The NPS is reassessing deer management in National Capital Region parks by refining white-tailed deer modeling tools and ensuring population reduction targets directly support park ecosystem recovery and conservation goals. … The potential for future collaboration with adjacent state and county programs is a possibility for the future.”

Fairfax County’s website echoes NPS’s conclusions, noting, “In many areas within Fairfax County, there is little to no regeneration of trees due to consumption of seedlings and saplings by deer. Forest structure has become impaired and simplified with removal of understory and shrub layers by deer. Additionally, seed banks (seeds stored in forest soils for future generation) will not be replenished and will decline over time. White-tailed deer not only alter vegetation structure through direct browse damage to native plants (lowering their ability to become established), but also impact forest health through the dispersal of non-native, invasive plants.” Deer browsing can also have cascading effects such as loss of insects, birds and other wildlife that depend on these habitats.

Another View

​Fairfax County’s deer management is “inhumane and cruel,” asserts Gina Lynch, Chair of the Animal Services Advisory Commission, a board appointed by the Board of Supervisors.  She views bow hunting as recreation and says that “about 10 percent of arrows are never accounted for or collected,” which means that some deer run off with arrows embedded in them. In testimony to the Board of Supervisors, she requested a moratorium “until a reliable assessment could be developed which studied the full spectrum of issues associated with wildlife within the County.” Lynch has advocated for non-lethal contraception. “At some point, we have to coexist,” she said in a recent interview.

​Charles Smith, a restoration ecologist and board member of the Virginia Native Plant Society, argues that there are few practical alternatives to the county’s program. In a 2022 article, he wrote, “Immuno-contraception and sterilization are not effective on open deer herds. Simply put, you cannot sterilize enough does and deer move around a lot.” He also contends that fenced exclosures “can be effective, but most landowners and localities lack the resources to implement effective exclosure programs.

“With lethal control of deer populations, we can reduce the impacts and ultimately reduce browse to levels that allow native plants to regenerate and support local biodiversity,” Smith wrote.

Vehicular Collisions

​Virginia ranks ninth in the country for deer-related vehicle crashes, according to the insurance company State Farm. There are 1.3 million animal collisions in the country annually and State Farm processed over 1.8 million claims involving animal collisions from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. The most dangerous months are November, October and December, according to State Farm.  

​Conservation groups like Wild Virginia are advocating for more wildlife corridors – connecting natural lands – to keep animals off roads and improve ecosystem health. They helped create Virginia’s Wildlife Corridor Action Plan.

How to Discourage Deer

Deer find some plants unpalatable, like mountain mint, yarrow, milkweed, wild indigo and goldenrod. Generally, deer avoid prickly and strongly scented plants. Check the deer-resistant plants and tips for protecting plants at Plant NoVa Natives,  https://www.plantnovanatives.org/deer-and-native-plants.