HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — The National Park Service says federal sharpshooters will target hundreds of white-tailed deer at two Civil War battlefields in Maryland this December.
Spokeswoman Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles said Tuesday that killing deer at the Antietam and Monocacy national battlefields will curb damage to forests and plants. She says the meat will go to food banks.
She says both parks have deer populations more than 10 times greater than the commonly accepted sustainable density of 15 to 20 per square mile.
Anzelmo-Sarles says portions of the parks will be closed periodically from December through March.
This will be the first year of a multi-year deer reduction plan the agency approved in 2014.
Antietam is near Sharpsburg, about 70 miles west of Baltimore. Monocacy is near Frederick, about 50 miles west of Baltimore.