Deer control for homeowners associations and conservation easement lands

Why have deer numbers grown in suburbs and towns?

Around 1900, market hunting had cut the nation’s white-tailed deer to an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 animals. Protection and restocking brought them back, and estimates today run around 30 million. As farms and forests gave way to housing, office parks and preserves, the land was broken into the forest-and-lawn edges deer thrive in. Much of that land is closed to hunting, lawns and landscaping provide food year-round, and there are few predators, so herds grow until they eat the woods bare, damage plantings and step into traffic.

How do we help homeowners associations?

• A thermal drone deer count the board can show residents
• Help presenting the plan at board and community meetings
• Controlled archery on common areas with mapped safety zones
• In Pennsylvania, a Game Commission deer control permit, which is open to homeowners associations that submit a deer management plan
• Resident notices and a season report for the board
• Canada goose control on community ponds and basins

How do we help conservation easement holders and owners?

Too many deer can undo the very conservation values an easement protects: young trees, native plants and the songbirds and other wildlife that depend on them. We work with land trusts and easement landowners to:

• Review the easement terms on hunting and wildlife management
• Count deer and document browse damage on the protected land
• Set up hunting or controlled archery that fits the easement and the holder’s stewardship plan
• Prepare DMAP, deer control or state crop damage permits where they apply
• Report results to the landowner and the easement holder

In Maryland, the recreational use law treats the holder of an easement as an “owner,” and in Pennsylvania, nonprofit land-holding organizations can apply for a deer control permit.

Which state programs fit communities?

• Pennsylvania: DMAP and the deer control permit for political subdivisions, homeowners associations and nonprofit land-holding organizations.
• New Jersey: a municipality can seek a special deer management area and a community-based deer management plan.
• Maryland: a General Deer Cooperator operation on commercial, private or other lands, with certified shooters and a plan that shows community support.
• Delaware: regular and extended seasons with organized hunting on community land.

Last updated October 18, 2026. Reviewed by DelChester Wildlife Conservation Group.

Frequently asked questions