Stop deer overgrazing from damaging Saratoga battlefield
White-tailed Deer Management Plan for Saratoga National Historical Park
National Park Service· Saratoga National Historical ParkNPS Planning (PEPC) project page ↗
NPS PEPCWe track this on the agency’s own system of record, where most on-the-ground decisions live.
Too many deer are stripping vegetation and eroding the historic Revolutionary War landscape at Saratoga.
What’s at risk
The park's natural ecosystems and irreplaceable Revolutionary War battlefield landscape are at risk. Unchecked deer overgrazing destroys both native plant communities and the historic terrain that makes this site significant.
If this goes through
If a weak or poorly enforced management plan is adopted, deer overpopulation could permanently alter the battlefield landscape and degrade the ecology that the park exists to protect.
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
3 holes in the agency’s own analysis
What the public could have raised, from the agency’s own document
- I oppose this action as proposed, and I ask the agency to weigh the specific harms below.
- The National Park Service must ensure that any deer population control method chosen for Saratoga National Historical Park protects the Revolutionary War battlefield landscape that gives this park its historic significance.
- Any management plan for white-tailed deer at Saratoga National Historical Park should demonstrate that it will not cause further damage to the park's culturally significant resources and natural ecosystems.
- I urge the National Park Service to fully consider how each proposed deer management option at Saratoga National Historical Park will affect visitor recreation and wildlife advocacy interests before selecting a final approach.
- Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.
In the agency’s own words
Civic Engagement
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