Frequently Asked Questions

• Operations will take place in forested natural land parks located within two separate wildlife corridors along the Potomac River and Four Mile Run. These corridors are being prioritized as they have documented deer overpopulation and contain Arlington’s most ecologically significant natural lands.  
• A single professional sharpshooter will operate firing downward from tree stands at short-range using sound suppressed rifles and non-lead-based ammunition.
• Professional sharpshooting operations will take place in forested areas in the following parks:
  • Potomac River Corridor 
    • Fort C.F. Smith 
    • Gulf Branch  
    • Pimmit Run 
    • Potomac Overlook (NOVA Parks) 
  • Four Mile Run Corridor 
    • Barcroft 
    • Glencarlyn 
    • Bon Air 
    • Upton Hill (NOVA Parks) 

• 2026 operations will begin in February and occur between January-March in subsequent years as needed.
• Professional sharpshooting will take place at dusk and at night when parks are closed and secured.
• Some parks may be closed a few hours early, before dusk, to facilitate operations.

**In order to maintain security and operational flexibility, specific times and dates of professional sharpshooting will not be shared in advance. 

• All sharpshooting will be carried out by contracted professional sharpshooters.
• The County’s current contract is with Wildlife Resources LLC.

• Parks will be closed and secured by Arlington County Police and Park Ranger staff. Professional sharpshooters will operate firing downward from tree stands at short range using sound suppressed rifles and non-lead-based ammunition.
• Public notice signage will be placed in parks where operations will occur. 

• All harvested deer will be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease and venison from healthy deer will be donated to Arlington food banks.

• The Deer Management Program will employ a hybrid approach to deer management centered around contracted professional sharpshooting to keep populations in balance with their environment. Professional sharpshooting will be supplemented by the use of fencing and repellents to protect key plant communities and individual plants. 

• Professional sharpshooting more quickly and cost effectively reduces deer populations relative to surgical sterilization, and has been shown in peer reviewed literature, as well as operations regionally, such as those on National Park Service properties, to reduce deer populations sufficiently to support forest regeneration. It is also the primary recommendation of our consultant, White Buffalo Inc.
• The Deer Management Program considered multiple factors when selecting its management methods, including community feedback, regional benchmark data, a review of the scientific literature, and recommendations by expert consultants. 

• The Deer Management Program carefully considered non-lethal management methods such as fertility control through surgical or chemical sterilization and public archery hunting.
• It found that sterilization is considered experimental by the Virginia State Department of Wildlife Resources, has a delayed benefit and higher cost compared to professional sharpshooting, and lacks evidence that it could reduce the deer population sufficiently enough to promote forest health. 

• Public archery hunting is not practical for Arlington's parks because they are too densely developed, actively used, and close to residences for archers to operate efficiently, impactfully, and at scale during daylight hours when they are permitted to hunt by the state.  

• Professional sharpshooting is taking place in neighboring areas, such as Fairfax County, Washington D.C., Montgomery County, and Prince George's County, to successfully manage deer populations.
• Programs like those in Fairfax and Montgomery County are made up of hybrid approaches including police sharpshooting, firearms-based managed hunting, and archery-based managed hunting. These programs have provided venison to individuals and organizations such as the Capital Area Food Bank.
• Active public archery has been occurring at the Army Navy Country Club since 2012.

• While white-tailed deer are native to Arlington and an important part of its ecology, studies have shown that when they are overpopulated, white-tailed deer can harm local forests by eating certain key plants faster than they can regenerate themselves.
• As herbivores, a single adult deer consumes 5 to 7 lbs. of plant matter in one day. Over 1 ton of vegetation is consumed by one deer in one year.
• Because Arlington’s deer population is not constrained by any predators, it is able to grow to levels at which it may no longer be in balance with our local ecology.
• By managing the deer population, our goal is to conserve our forests for all native plants and animals, and retain the public health, urban cooling, and flood reduction benefits that forests provide our community as we seek to address problem of climate change.

• The Deer Management Program uses multiple survey methods to measure its deer population and understand its impact on key native plant communities in our forest parks.
• To count the number and locations of deer, aerial drone surveys were conducted in 2021 and 2025 that covered most of Arlington County excepting certain federal properties such as National Airport and the Pentagon, and some of our highly urbanized corridors such as Rosslyn/Ballston and Crystal City.
• The most recent 2025 survey found that the deer population is still 3 to 6 times recommended levels in key wildlife corridors based on the 15-20 deer per square mile management threshold recommended by our consultant and in use by National Park Service and Fairfax County.
• To directly measure the impact of Arlington’s deer population on native plant communities in our forest parks, herbivory impact surveys were conducted in 12 ecologically significant parks in 2022. These field surveys directly measured deer damage to plant communities to determine if overpopulated deer were harming forest health and sustainability. In 12 out of 12 parks surveyed, the County’s consultant, White Buffalo Inc., observed substantial damage to native plant communities from deer overpopulation.
• Aerial drone surveys and herbivory impact assessments will be replicated going forward as part of a data driven, adaptive approach to Deer Management that dynamically adjusts as the deer population and its impact changes over time. 

• A single adult deer consumes 5 to 7 lbs. of plant matter per day or 1 ton of vegetation per year. While white-tailed deer are native to Arlington and an important part of its ecology, studies have shown that when they are overpopulated, white-tailed deer can harm local forests by eating certain key plants faster than they can regenerate themselves.
• As these plants are repeatedly browsed, they are unable to reproduce and often die out. This inability to reproduce has long term effects as plants are not replaced when lost.
• The first signs of negative impacts to other plants and wildlife are often subtle – certain preferred species may still be present but will not consistently be able to flower, fruit, and disperse their seeds. They may remain as low sprouts except where deer don’t feed – on a steep bank or close to a trail.
• When deer start to feed on wider ranges of species, impacts to wildlife become more pronounced. Animals that live or nest in this part of the forest – from box turtles to ground nesting birds – will decline with the loss of the habitat they depend on.
• Eventually, entire forests can disappear as large, mature trees die out and there are no young trees to replace them.
• When deer populations increase to unsustainable densities, it is better ecologically and financially to act sooner, rather than later, as deer populations, and their impacts can grow exponentially.