Fairfax County is getting set for the return of its annual deer archery program, part of an ongoing population control initiative that will also include police sharpshooting at some parks.
Starting this Saturday, Sept. 12 through Feb. 13, 2027, licensed and trained archers will be allowed to target white-tailed deer at more than 100 properties across the county, including many parks, the Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Wednesday).
Overseen by the FCPD in partnership with the Fairfax County Park Authority, NOVA Parks and other property owners, the archery program was established in 2009 to address “an overabundance of deer,” which can lead to issues such as increased vehicle collisions, the possible spread of diseases and ecological damage.
Fairfax County has seen an uptick in reported vehicle crashes involving deer since 2021, with incidents increasing every year from 75 in 2021 to 105 in 2025, according to an August presentation on the deer management program. There have been four fatal crashes since 1993.
Statewide, Virginia ranked ninth in the U.S. for collisions involving animals in 2025-2026.
“Because of its proven track record of safety, archery is a preferred deer management method in Fairfax County,” the FCPD said in a press release. “Archery is a compatible use with residential areas and community parks, allowing for deer population management in urban and suburban areas.”
Last year, hunters equipped with bows and arrows killed 686 deer, an increase from the 547 animals harvested during the 2024-2025 season.
More from the FCPD on how the archery program works:
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. Archers are also required to have completed additional training through the International Bowhunter Education Program to participate in the Fairfax County Deer Management Program. All archers must also pass a criminal background check to be eligible for the program. Only hunters that have gone through this screening and selection process with the Fairfax County Police Department may hunt within the designated parks. All archers must comply with state and federal game laws and regulations, local ordinances, and program rules.
Parks remain open to the public during the archery program. Fluorescent orange signs are posted in parks where hunting is authorized. Hunters can only take shots at deer from elevated tree stands; hunting from the ground level is prohibited 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.
A full list of the locations included in the 2026-2027 archery season can be found on the program website.
While no new sites appear to have been added this time, the county notes that the season will end early at Lake Fairfax in Reston and in the Huntley Meadows and Dogue Creek stream valley on Jan. 9, because all three areas are participating in the sharpshooting program, which will be conducted by the FCPD between November 2026 and March 2027.
Sharpshooting operations occur at night when the selected parks are closed to the public. Including Lake Fairfax and Huntley Meadows, police are planning to cull deer at 13 different locations, four of them in the Town of Vienna.
- Annandale Community Park
- Bren Mar Park
- Country Club View Park
- Frying Pan Farm Park
- Glyndon Park (Town of Vienna)
- Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
- Town of Vienna mulch yard
- Northside Park (Town of Vienna)
- Town of Vienna municipal property at Glyndon and Mill streets
- Turkeycock Run Stream Valley
- Woodglen Lake Park
Vienna joined the county’s deer management program for the first time in 2025 in response to concerns about an overpopulation leading to health and safety issues for both the deer and humans. While archery is prohibited in the town, the Vienna Town Council voted in April 2025 to authorize sharpshooting by police officers or licensed contractors, while also banning the feeding of deer and other wild animals.
According to the FCPD, its officers harvested a total of 24 deer — 12 at Northside Park and 12 at the mulch yard — during the first season of sharpshooting operations in Vienna.
Deer killed during the sharpshooting program are turned into venison that’s donated to food banks through the nonprofit Hunters for the Hungry.
As part of the deer management program, Fairfax County staff monitor herds for health issues, including Chronic Wasting Disease. First detected in Fairfax in October 2022, the neurological disease isn’t known to be dangerous to people, but for infected deer, it’s fatal.
During the 2025-2026 archery season, one deer — a 2.5-year-old buck killed by an archer in the Vienna area of Difficult Run Stream Valley — tested positive for chronic wasting disease out of samples collected from 505 deer by the county.
In addition, a 2.5-year-old doe killed by a hunter on private land in Chantilly was confirmed to have been infected by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, which conducts its own surveillance program separate from Fairfax County.
“Collectively, county staff have tested 2,131 deer through the Fairfax County Deer Management Program since FY 2020 in collaboration with the DWR and local hunters,” the FCPD said.
