The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reacted tepidly this week to a staff proposal that would shift wildlife management responsibilities from the county’s police department to the Fairfax County Park Authority.
“We need a little more time to discuss this [and] make sure we think this through, very carefully,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said at a meeting of the board’s safety and security committee on Tuesday (Feb. 11).
For nearly 30 years, the Fairfax County Police Department has run the program that deals with the area’s abundant deer population, as well as the impact of other wild animals and fowl, ranging from bears, coyotes and beavers to Canada geese.
The park authority is “certainly open” to discussion of taking over the program, Deputy County Executive for Safety and Security Thomas Arnold said during a presentation to the supervisors.
Deputy Police Chief Bob Blakley suggested that, on balance, there seem to be “more pros than cons” to letting the park authority take over wildlife management efforts, which are more compatible with that agency’s mission. Staff would also have more opportunities for advancement and partnerships with ecologists and other experts.
Board Chairman Jeff McKay, however, wasn’t entirely convinced.
McKay and several other supervisors noted that the park authority is a quasi-independent agency with its own board of directors. Shifting wildlife-management responsibilities there would leave the county’s elected officials with only a limited oversight role for often contentious issues.
“That’s very different what from what we have today,” the board chair said.
“I fear … losing direct control,” added Springfield District’s Pat Herrity.
After a 45-minute conversation, McKay indicated that the supervisors are “leaning toward [keeping] this in the police department.” Arnold, Blakley and others were directed to come back with additional information and feedback at a later date.
McKay suggested supervisors and staff take a collective breath, which would allow for a deeper look at all the options available.
“We have an opportunity here to be a national model — if we do things right,” he said.
To manage its population of white-tail deer, Fairfax County relies on a corps of volunteer archers, augmented by police sharpshooters. There were 773 deer harvested in 2024 — down from more than 1,000 deer shot annually in the mid-2000s, according to a report from the county’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council.
The proposal to shift wildlife management oversight from the FCPD to the park authority is separate from an effort already underway to hand off animal control services from police to the Department of Animal Services (formerly the Department of Animal Sheltering).
