Fairfax County Police Department News

The Fairfax County Deer Management Archery Program begins this Saturday, September 9, 2017 and runs through Saturday, February 24, 2018.

Under the oversight of the Fairfax County Police Department, in collaboration with the Fairfax County Park Authority and NOVA Parks, 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 FY 2010 and is part of an integrated Deer Management Program to reduce and stabilize the white-tailed deer population in Fairfax County in an effort to minimize safety and health hazards related to an overabundance of deer. These impacts include deer-vehicle collisions, potential spread of diseases, and environmental damage attributed to deer that can impact the 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.

Because of its proven track record of safety, archery is a preferred deer management method in Fairfax County. Archery is a compatible use with residential areas and community parks, allowing for deer population management in urban and suburban areas. Since Virginia began tracking hunting injuries in 1959, no bystanders have been injured by an archer hunting deer anywhere in the Commonwealth. Last year, 95% of the total deer harvests in the Fairfax County Deer Management Program were through the use of archery.

Fairfax County’s Archery Program standards require that all archers meet state hunter licensing, education and safety requirements and must pass qualifications to demonstrate skill and marksmanship, in addition to carrying program identification. Beginning this year, archers are also required to have completed a course through the International Bowhunter Education Program to participate in the Fairfax County Deer Management Program. All archers participating in the program must also pass a criminal background check.

Parks remain open to the public during the archery program. Florescent orange 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. Archers are not allowed on private property without permission by the owner or tenant. Archers are approved to hunt at assigned sites Monday through Saturday during legal hunting hours, 30 minutes prior to sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. No hunting is allowed on Sundays in county parks.

More information about the Fairfax County Deer Management Program can be found at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/wildlife/deer-management/

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