News Release

National Park Service to hold public meetings for the start of white-tailed deer management planning for select National Parks of Western Pennsylvania

White-tailed deer at Flight 93 National Memorial.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: February 26, 2025

Contact: Elizabeth Shope, 814-449-4125

The National Park Service (NPS) has begun preparing a white-tailed deer management plan for Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Friendship Hill National Historic Site and Flight 93 National Memorial, all in western Pennsylvania. The dramatic increase in white-tailed deer densities over the past century have led to substantial ecological changes and degradation in both the natural and cultural landscapes of western Pennsylvania parks.

A deer management plan will support the protection, recovery and restoration of native vegetation within the cultural and natural landscapes by managing deer overbrowsing inside the parks. Deer are part of the natural ecosystem. NPS wants to maintain a manageable deer density that also allows forests to regenerate.

NPS invites members of the public to attend one of two upcoming public meetings. NPS will host the first meeting at the Flight 93 National Memorial Learning Center on Tuesday, March 11, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. The agency will host a second meeting at the Fort Necessity National Battlefield Visitor Center on Wednesday, March 12, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. At each meeting, NPS staff will present an overview of the project. Afterward, members of the public can ask questions.

For more information about the project and about how to attend the meetings, visit the project website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/wepa-deer. NPS will accept comments on this proposal until March 28, 2025. You can submit comments at the project website or by mail to: Superintendent, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, 1 Washington Parkway, Farmington, PA 154337.

After considering input received during this initial civic engagement period, the agency will refine the preliminary alternatives. The next phase will assess compliance needs under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act and other resource protection laws and regulations. Once NPS releases its preliminary NEPA document, the public will have another opportunity to review the plan.