Our complaint alleges that in
choosing to kill native wildlife for the first time since the Park was
established in 1890 NPS is violating the law that created the Park, which
requires NPS to preserve wildlife in “its natural condition, as nearly as
possible.” Because there are less drastic ways to control the deer
population, including fencing and contraception – successfully used to control
wildlife populations in several other areas in the country, such as Fire Island
National Seashore in New York – NPS has failed to carry out its
statutory mandate.
The plaintiffs further allege
that the Park Service failed to consider how luring hundreds of deer to bait
stations at night to be shot by guns and arrows will impair the overall
character of the Park as an oasis of serenity and peace in the middle of our
nation’s capital, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.
Follow the links for our complaint
and a press release.
