New survey asks: Dear Baltimore residents, what do you think about deer?
They’re popping up increasingly in city parks and yards, prompting the creation of a new Rec and Parks Deer Program that promises to, somehow, deal with them
Above: Deer grazes in a North Baltimore yard. (Fern Shen)
Whether you’ve cursed them for devouring your hostas or kvelled over their cuteness, you’ve probably notice that deer are proliferating in Baltimore city public parks and private yards.
And the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Department is gearing up to try to do something about it.
A Deer Management Program has just released an online survey “to explore residents’ views toward – and understanding of – deer and deer management.”
“Your feedback will help us make informed decisions to protect natural habitats, maintain our tree canopies, and support safe park use for all,” Rec and Parks says in the release accompanying the confidential 10-minute survey.
Already planned for next month:
A series of community meetings, information sessions and focus groups to refine the city’s approach to handling its growing Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed deer) population.
The program’s goals: “balance the needs of park forests and the deer that use them, decrease conflicts between humans and deer and increase residents’ involvement in making deer-related decisions,” Rec and Parks says.
Initial group of targeted parks: Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, Powder Mill Park, Hanlon Park, Herring Run Park, Druid Hill Park, Farring Baybrook Park and Moore’s Run Park.
The program is collecting more data, but they already have some deer demographics.
They point to deer population increases since 2015 (they’re up 64% at Druid Hill Park and 31% at Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park) and they can report the most deer-dense location in their survey, (apparently it’s Powder Mill, with 264.57 deer-per-square mile.)
How do they know all this, you ask?
“In early 2025, the deer program utilized thermal imaging equipment along pre-determined routes to count the number of deer using eight parks and the green areas surrounding them,” the Deer Management Program says.
Data on the deer population in Baltimore. (Baltimore City Recreation and Parks)
It’s unclear what management techniques will be selected ultimately, but the survey does note “non-lethal methods” and “lethal methods.”
Go HERE to read more about it.
Page four of Baltimore Rec and Parks’ Deer Management Program online survey.