McLean and Great Falls residents who walk county park trails will share those paths with licensed archers starting Saturday, Sept. 12.
Fairfax County's Deer Management Archery Program runs through Saturday, Feb. 13, 2027, according to a Fairfax County Police Department announcement. More than 100 parks and properties countywide are included. Parks stay open to the public during the season, but fluorescent orange signs mark areas where hunting is authorized.
Hunters are required to shoot only from elevated tree stands. Ground-level hunting is prohibited in county parks. Tree stands must be at least 100 feet from property lines and at least 50 feet from established trails.
Archery hunting is permitted Monday through Saturday during legal hunting hours, from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. No hunting is allowed on Sundays in county parks.
Last season's numbers
Last year, archers in the program harvested 686 deer, accounting for 91% of total deer harvests under the county's broader Deer Management Program. The Board of Supervisors approved the program in 2000 to reduce deer-vehicle collisions, limit the spread of disease and curb environmental damage from overpopulation.
The Deer Management Program has recorded zero safety incidents since it began.
Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance
County wildlife staff are also using the program to monitor for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in partnership with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). Last season, staff collected samples from 505 deer harvested across 102 parks and properties in Fairfax County and two parks in the Town of Vienna.
One deer tested positive for CWD last season: a 2.5-year-old buck taken by an archery hunter in the Vienna section of Difficult Run Stream Valley. The DWR also confirmed CWD in a 2.5-year-old doe harvested on private land in Chantilly. Since fiscal year 2020, county staff have tested 2,131 deer through the program.
What hunters must do
All archers must pass a criminal background check, hold a valid state hunting license, meet hunter education requirements, demonstrate marksmanship in a qualification test and complete training through the International Bowhunter Education Program.
FFXnow reported the program will also include police sharpshooting at some parks.
The Fairfax County Police Department oversees the program in collaboration with the Fairfax County Park Authority, NOVA Parks and other public landholders. Residents can find a map of participating parks, including those near McLean and Great Falls, on the Fairfax County wildlife management page.
