Deer hunting is conducted from early September to late February in many of the county-run parks where I take photographs. Our area is over-populated with White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and hunting is one element of a comprehensive deer management program. I am personally not a hunter, but I understand the need to try to keep the population in check to limit the likelihood of collisions with cars or of deer dying from starvation during the winter months.
No areas of these parks are closed during this hunting season, which might sound dangerous, but there are strict requirements that the hunters must follow. Most notably they have to be trained and certified archers and must shoot from tree stands. Most people never see the tree stands because they are in remote areas of the parks, but those are precisely the areas that I like to visit.
During recent trips to Occoquan Regional Park, I spotted the tree stand shown in the first photo below. No archers were sitting in the stand, though in the past I have spotted occupied tree stands a couple of times. The second image shows one of several trail cameras that I have seen at this park this year. The cameras that I have spotted in the past were more primitive—they recorded to a memory card that had to be retrieved and reviewed. The markings on the camera shown indicated that it could transmit on a cell phone signal. The manufacturer’s website notes that images can be sent in real-time or transmitted in a batch at periodic intervals during the day.
How does all of this affect me? I am not deterred from visiting these locations, but I am extra alert and cautious when I know there are tree stands nearby. I also make sure that I smile whenever I spot a trail camera—I never know when someone is watching me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Is your season archery only? We have an archery-only season, but a general season as well, when rifles are used. Portions of the refuges and wildlife management areas I visit are opened for hunting, and since dates can vary between the north and south regions, and among counties, I always pay attention.
By law in Texas, “all persons on public hunting lands (state, national forests, and grasslands) during daylight hours when hunting with firearms is permitted must wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange material with orange headgear, and at least 144 square inches appearing on both chest and back.” I have a blaze orange jacket and tee, and a blaze orange cap, that I keep in the car during the season. I’m not usually in hunting areas, but sometimes I am, and it pays to be careful.
In the county-run parks, it is archery only. The national wildlife refuge where I take photos also has several days of deer hunting with guns, but the refuge is entirely closed on those days. I am not sure I would wander like I do if I was in an area with guns, no matter how much orange I was wearing.
Be careful, Mike.
I recently read an article about how they are allowing limited hunting in the township I grew up in in Pennsylvania. I know the area/state suffers from over-population of deer, but the park they’re allowing hunting in is a relatively small park. It’s one I used to frequent as a child. Having bow hunters in there is a scary thought.
Can we thin the Canada Goose population next? I do not ever remember this many geese all over the place when I was a child.My sister’s land is overrun with coyotes who are feeding on the deer.