DU's Environmental Law Clinic Files Suit Against National Park Service to Protect White-tailed Deer

On Thursday, the DU College of Law Environmental Law Clinic filed an action against the National Park Service on behalf of Friends of Animals. The suit alleges the Park Service’s White-tailed Deer Management Plan for the Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania violates federal law, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Organic Act and Valley Forge enabling legislation.

Prof. Mike Harris, director of the clinic, said, "Under the park’s current plan, administrators plan to shoot nearly 80 percent of the deer in the Valley Forge park. Friends of Animals asserts the Park Service plan is not only extreme and short-sighted, but also reflects neither the careful reasoning required by NEPA nor the ideological purpose of National Parks. Under NEPA, the Park Service is required to consider alternatives before taking action that may affect the environment."

The suit has generated a great deal of media interest, particularly in Pennsylvania. In an article published yesterday in The Philadelphia Inquirer ("Animal Groups Oppose Shoot, Want Coyotes to Kill Deer," Nov. 13, 2009), Prof. Harris was paraphrased as saying that coyotes can play an effective role in reducing deer populations in urban centers. He also noted that coyotes can harass deer herds, thus inhibiting deer grazing in cities and reducing their ability to reproduce.

If you are interested in reading the complaint, click here.