Pea Ridge NMP Deer Management Plan/Environmental Assessment

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The National Park Service has been monitoring the white-tailed deer population at Pea Ridge National Military Park for 15 years. Using this data the park has calculated the average white-tailed deer population to be 137 deer per square mile. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission recommends a healthy herd size is 20-35 deer per square mile. Where deer are overpopulated there is an increase in deer-vehicle strikes and deer-related diseases, and deer browsing has a negative impact on native vegetation.

The Park has drafted a Deer Management Plan (DMP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) to help improve the health of the deer herd, the habitat, and to increase human health and safety by reducing the number of deer in the park.

The DMP and Environmental Assessment (EA) describe the no-action alternative and one action alternative and analyzes the environmental consequences of implementing each. Under Alternative A, the no-action alternative, the NPS would maintain current management practices, including not taking measures to reduce the deer population. Alternative B, the action alternative, would be a deer management plan that would reduce the deer population to 20-35 deer per square mile. This reduction would be achieved through a culling operation using qualified federal employees or authorized agents.

Contact Information

Superintendent
Pea Ridge National Military Park
15930 Highway 62
Garfield, AR 72732