Deer Management Archery Program Begins Saturday, September 12

The Fairfax County Deer Management Archery Program begins on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015 and runs through Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016.

Under the oversight of the Fairfax County Police Department, in collaboration with the Fairfax County Park Authority and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, the archery program is conducted in parks and other locations throughout Fairfax County.

These signs are posted in archery program areas.

The archery program began in 2010 and is part of an integrated Deer Management Program to reduce and stabilize the white-tailed deer population in Fairfax County in efforts to minimize safety and health hazards related to an overabundance of deer.  These impacts include thousands of deer-vehicle collisions, potential spread of diseases, and environmental damage attributed to deer that can impact the entire ecosystem. The program was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2000 and is recognized as a safe and efficient method of deer population control by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Fairfax County’s Archery Program standards require that all archers meet state hunter education and safety requirements and must pass qualifications to demonstrate skill and marksmanship, in addition to carrying program identification. All archers participating in the program must pass a criminal background check. They are approved to hunt at assigned sites Monday through Saturday during legal hunting hours, 30 minutes prior to sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. Florescent orange and yellow signs are posted in parks where hunting is authorized. Harvest attempts will be accomplished from elevated tree stands; ground blinds are not permitted in county parks. Tree stands must not be located closer than 100 feet from property lines or closer than 50 feet from established park trails.

Because of its proven track record of safety, archery is a preferred deer management method in Fairfax County. Virginia began tracking hunting injuries in 1959. There have been no injuries related to archery reported by bystanders anywhere in the Commonwealth during this time.