By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor

OBSERVATORY HILL — As part of ongoing efforts to reduce the deer population in Pittsburgh’s parks, a targeted harvesting program was piloted in Riverview and Frick parks to further bring down the herd numbers of the animals.

The targeted harvest was performed in March following the completion of the 2024-25 archery-controlled program. The archery program, which was launched during the 2023-24 deer archery season, permits certain archers to hunt deer in Pittsburgh parks, and is run by a collaborative effort between the City of Pittsburgh and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Unlike the archery program, which is open to any hunters who possess enough accuracy skill to qualify, the targeted harvest was undertaken by USDA-contracted marksmen who are trained to hit a 1-inch target at 100 yards multiple times.

“In consultation with our partners at the USDA, we have decided to introduce a pilot targeted harvesting program in the hopes of shrinking our deer population,” said Lee Schmidt, director of Pittsburgh Public Safety, in a press release. “We are grateful to the USDA for their continued expertise and guidance as we expand our program to ensure a healthy deer population.

The targeted harvest resulted in the culling of 76 deer from Riverview Park and 60 from Frick Park, totaling 136. All deer harvested were donated to local food pantries, amounting to 21,760 meals, according to the city.

Check out the May edition of The Northside Chronicle for the full story.