GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site announced this week it will conduct lethal removal of white-tailed deer as part of the White-tailed Deer Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. The removal program began this month and will last through March of next year, park officials said.
The program "addresses the over-browsing of native vegetation and agricultural crops and is a management strategy that supports long-term protection, preservation, and restoration of critical elements of the cultural landscape and other natural and cultural resources while maintaining a deer population at both park units," the park said.
The cultural landscapes of both park units are fundamental resources and critical to the interpretation of the events that took place at each park, according to officials.
Public hunting is not permitted inside the two parks; only qualified federal employees will take part in the effort to manage the deer populations, park officials said.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services will be doing the work under an inter-agency agreement with the National Park Service (NPS), which closely coordinates all activities associated with implementation of the plan with the Borough of Gettysburg, surrounding Townships including Cumberland, Mount Joy, and Straban, state law enforcement officials, and with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the park said.
In June of 2017, the Pennsylvania Game Commission designated a new Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Area which includes a portion of Gettysburg National Military Park and all of Eisenhower National Historic Site.
For this culling season, all culled deer will be tested for CWD regardless of which area they are taken from.
Once negative CWD tests are completed, all venison will be donated to local area food banks and non-profits via United Way of Adams County, park officials said.
