Deer cull plan at Ohio national park approved

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A national park in northeast Ohio will use sharpshooting under a recently approved plan to help reduce its deer population.

The National Park Service announced Wednesday its approval of the population management plan at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Under the plan, sharpshooters will be used early on to quickly reduce deer densities.

About 1,700 deer populate the 33,000-acre park near between Cleveland and Akron. While officials argue the optimal number of deer is 20 per square mile, the park has about 41 deer per square mile, The Plain Dealer reported.

Park officials had studied the population issue for eight years, and argued the cull is necessary to protect trees and other vegetation within the park.