Sharpshooters target deer at night in Sandy Point Park

By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer

Sharpshooters are thinning the deer herd at Sandy Point State Park in hopes
of reducing cases of Lyme disease, collisions with cars and nuisance
complaints in Broadneck Peninsula neighborhoods.

Following meetings with neighbors, the Department of Natural Resources has
quietly begun putting hunters in the park at night.

"The vast majority of neighbors think it's a necessary evil," said Jim
Hartman, president of the nearby Beacon Hill Homeowners Association.

Beacon Hill and other neighborhoods worked with the Department of Natural
Resources to come up with the plan to bring in the sharpshooters. The work
is being done away from homes and at night when the park is closed, Mr.
Hartman said.

DNR spokesman Heather Lynch confirmed the basics of the operation, but
declined to discuss the program. She cited negative backlash that
accompanied a proposed managed bowhunt at the waterfront park in the
mid-1990s.

That proposal resulted in rancorous meetings, protests from animal rights
activists and even death threats to natural resources officials.

Paul A. Peditto, director of the agency's wildlife and heritage service,
could not be reached for comment.

DNR officials and most neighbors agree that the deer population is a serious
problem at Sandy Point. Not everyone has been able to agree, however, on how
to best deal with the problem.

A decade ago, some hunting opponents suggested shooting the deer with
contraceptive darts or relocating them.

Mr. Hartman said he's had several ugly run-ins with deer. His daughter was
bitten by a deer tick, though she started antibiotics in time to ward off
Lyme disease.

Others haven't been so lucky - Mr. Hartman estimated up to one-third of the
35 or so families in the community have had someone with Lyme disease.

Car accidents with deer also are a common problem. The road that leads back
to Beacon Hill, Bay Head Road, bisects two sections of woods. Deer often run
full bore across the road, resulting in collisions with vehicles, including
Mr. Hartman's.

"If you live here long enough, you'll hit a deer," said Mr. Hartman, who has
lived in Beacon Hill for seven years.

And the deer can be a nuisance, too, snacking on garden plants.

The DNR estimates there are 300,000 deer in Maryland. With almost no natural
predators left, the deer population has increased almost unchecked.

Some biologists say there are even more deer now than there were when
Maryland was settled by Europeans centuries ago.