Managing Deer at Breaks Interstate Park: Restoring Balance
Figure 1. Group of deer in an agricultural field in Virginia (photo credit: Meghan Marchetti/DWR)
In 2025, the Breaks Interstate Park (BIP) Commission determined to host its first series of managed hunts to reduce white-tailed deer overabundance within the park. This decision was reached after careful deliberation with park staff and in coordination with other agencies, including the Virginia Department of Forestry (VA-DOF), the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VA-DWR), and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (VA-DCR). The first managed hunts will be conducted in December of 2025.
What is a “managed” hunt?
Managed hunts are highly developed, well-organized efforts to reduce deer populations through hunting. Although hunting in general is very safe when done in accordance with state laws and regulations, good judgement, and sound hunting ethics, managed hunts are distinct from general hunts by being subjected to more rigorous oversight and often include additional restrictions for each participant. In general, the number of participants is limited, hunting locations are pre-defined and controlled, and other parameters are established to ensure the safety and success of those involved.
Figure 2: Chestnut Oak seedling at Breaks Interstate Park:
Heavy browsing of oak seedlings of all species by deer are resulting in a forest community with many older oak trees, but relatively few younger trees. If allowed to continue, this will result in a significant decline in healthy, acorn producing trees in the long term and will have a significant negative impact on food availability for turkeys, deer, squirrels, bears and a host of other species that rely on oaks for food.
Why is it necessary?
Overabundant deer are associated with a suite of undesirable outcomes that can jeopardize the health of humans, our forests, and the deer themselves.
Human safety. Too many deer on the landscape can pose heightened risks to human health and safety. Deer-vehicle collision rates and human-deer conflicts usually increase in areas with overabundant deer. In parks, these conflicts can include increased boldness by deer. Habituated deer do not behave like normal, wild deer; they may approach or even attack humans.
Ecological health. In 2023, the VA-DOF conducted a health assessment of the forests at Breaks. Their report noted significant, negative impacts to forest regeneration due to deer over-browsing of understory vegetation. These impacts can have legacy effects that alter future forest species composition—both plants and animals—leading to concerns for a loss in biodiversity within the park. Oak regeneration, in particular, is important for many of our native wildlife species. Continually losing generations of young oak seedlings due to deer browsing can result in changes to forest structure and lasting net losses for our ecosystems decades from now. Other understory vegetation, including rare or threatened plant species, are at risk from herbivory or trampling by overabundant deer. Additionally, native groundcover provides critical food and cover resources for many wildlife species, including small mammals and birds.
Deer herd health. Over time, having too many deer on the landscape creates concerns for the deer themselves. As the number of deer in an area exceeds what the land can support, their health will suffer, with declines in individual body weights and conditions eventually realized. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal, neurologic disease that is spread directly between deer and indirectly from contaminated environmental sources to deer. It was first detected in Virginia in 2009 and has spread to new regions since that time, including Tazewell County. Although it has not yet been detected in Buchanan or Dickenson Counties, reducing deer numbers in Breaks Interstate Park is a responsible, proactive way to manage deer in lieu of the potential for density-dependent disease outbreaks.
Figure 3. DWR biologists sampling deer at a check station in Virginia (photo credit: DWR).
What will happen to the deer meat?
Each deer harvested during the managed hunts will be utilized by hunters or donated to organizations that provide venison to individuals and families threatened by food insufficiency. Additionally, VA-DWR biologist(s) will be present to obtain biological data from each deer and sample for CWD. No harvested deer will be wasted.
Figure 4. White oak (Quercus alba) acorns (photo credit: Lynda Richardson/DWR).
In a nutshell
Deer management at Breaks Interstate Park is necessary to reduce overabundant deer within the park and address the negative impacts to forest health and human safety. The acorn, being a keystone resource, provides benefits to many wildlife species, which rely on this carbohydrate-rich energy source to boost their caloric intake in preparation for harsh winters. The pressure on oak-regeneration from overabundant deer will be relaxed upon restoring balance to the deer herd on park grounds, ensuring up-and-coming oak seedlings will have a chance to be recruited into the next generations of mighty oaks. Other wildlife will benefit from the return of native understory and groundcover vegetation. If you find yourself on the fence about deer management at Breaks, consider the reasons it is necessary and the costs of doing nothing. Deer management is less about removal and more about restoration.
For more information on the managed hunts at Breaks Interstate Park, please click here:
By Ethan Chapmon, VA DWR Wildlife Biologist:
Ethan Chapmon is a district wildlife biologist with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources who currently serves Buchanan, Dickenson, Wise, Lee, Scott and Russell Counties. Born and raised in NC, Ethan has been a Virginia resident since 2016. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoo and Wildlife Biology from Liberty University and a Master of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from Clemson University. He has a strong interest in bird conservation and a passion for improving hunting and wildlife-viewing experiences across southwest Virginia.
