Starting Wednesday, several roads and trails of Rock Creek Park will be closed nightly as the National Park Service begins its annual deer management operations.

Biologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Park Police, and local law enforcement will be shooting deer at night when the park is normally closed, according to a statement released by the National Park Service on Monday. The program will run through March 31.

Different roads will be closed from either 5 p.m. or 6:45 p.m. to 4 a.m., and the NPS advises motorists and cyclists to use alternate routes. NPS staff members will be posted along closed roads and trails during shooting hours to ensure public safety.

The deer reduction process began in 2012, when the high-density population of white-tail deer in the Rock Creek Park area posed a threat to the health of the forest. NPS says that having 15-20 deer per square mile is necessary to allow the forest to regenerate. Otherwise, the animals could eat all of the seedlings before they take root. In years past, the meat from the deer has been donated to local food banks and non-profits in the area. In 2018, the Rock Creek deer cull produced 3,000 pounds of meat that were donated to D.C. Central Kitchen, according to the NPS website. 

Here is the list of potential road closures per the National Park Service:

Temporary road closures from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. may include

• Horse Stable Road NW
• Ross Drive NW
• Ridge Road NW, south of Grant Road NW
• Glover Road NW, south of the Rock Creek Park Horse Center

Temporary road closures from 6:45 p.m. to 4 a.m. may include:

• Beach Drive NW, from Joyce Road NW to Wise Road NW
• Beach Drive NW, from West Beach Drive NW to the Maryland/District Columbia boundary
• Sherrill Drive NW
• Beach Drive between Broad Branch Road NW and Joyce Road NW
• Beach Drive between Wise Road NW and West Beach Drive NW
• Wise Road NW
• Ridge Road NW
• Glover Road NW
• Grant Road NW
• Joyce Road NW
• Morrow Drive NW
• West Beach Drive NW and Parkside Drive NW
• Stage Road NW