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For four years, the county has partnered with a nonprofit to turn an old saying on its head — when life gives you a rapidly expanding deer population, make venison for the hungry.

Montgomery County's deer donation program, launched in 2004 at the urging of farmers tired of seeing their crops picked to pieces by the native grazers, returned with the start of the deer hunting season. Hunters can take advantage of liberal hunting limits meant to help control the deer population without wasting meat by bringing their excess haul to drop-off spots in Poolesville and Laytonsville. There the deer are inspected and stored until the meat is processed and delivered to food pantries or charities.

Hunter participation increased incrementally in the first three years, and the program collected 197 deer, or 7,880 pounds of venison, in the 2007-08 hunting season, a 131 percent increase from the previous year, according to the county Department of Economic Development's Web site.

"A lot of people just don't know about it, but it's a great program for hunters, especially ones that are trying to manage their populations" on their own property, said Joe Brown, coordinator at the Poolesville drop-off and co-owner of Barnesville-based Patriot Land and Wildlife Management Services. "An average hunter just needs two deer, but that's nowhere near enough to bring populations down to sustainable levels."

The number of white-tailed deer is a growing problem in the county, where development has forced the animals into smaller spaces and created dense, urban areas generally unsuited for hunting. Deer have no natural predators aside from man, and a population can double in size in one to two years, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resource's Web site.

The deer have become a headache for farmers as well. In 2005, deer were responsible for 86 percent of the $4.16 million in wildlife crop losses suffered by farmers in North Central Maryland, which includes Montgomery County, according to the most recent data available from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. And in a 2004 survey, county farmers said that deer overpopulation was the biggest threat to the area's agriculture, according to DED.

"They love it all, they're not picky," said grain farmer Tom Linthicum, coordinator for the Laytonsville drop-off, which opened last year to serve hunters in the eastern part of the county. Linthicum, like many area farmers, allows managed hunts on his property to keep deer numbers down.

Once at the drop-offs, both located on farms, deer are stored in a refrigerated truck mounted on cinderblocks until they are transported to butchers. The meat is distributed to charities and food pantries by Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, a nonprofit based in Washington County with coordinators in 26 states. For the last few years, the meat collected in Montgomery County has been given to the Capital Area Food Bank, which serves the Washington, D.C., region, according to Josh Wilson, operations director for Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry.

Due to its high cost, fresh meat is often hard for food pantries to come by, according to the group.

"It's different than beef — it's a leaner meat, so depending on how it's cooked, it can be a little drier," Wilson said. "It's also very good in spaghetti or tacos."

Even among those opposed to hunting, Wilson said most people he's talked to about deer donation have been supportive because the meat goes to a good cause.

Jeremy Criss, the county's agricultural services manager and coordinator of the deer donation program, agreed, citing the dangers large deer populations can create.

"It's interesting, most people who don't care for the program usually change their mind after they have a deer collision," he said.

By the numbers

Number of deer and pounds of venison collected in Montgomery County.

2004-5: 39 deer, 1,560 lbs.

2005-6: 51 deer, 2,040 lbs.

2006-7: 85 deer, 3,400 lbs.

2007-8: 197 deer, 7,880 lbs.

Source: Montgomery County Department of Economic Development

The county accepts deer daily except Sundays and holidays through April. Drop-off by appointment only.

To drop off deer in Poolesville, 20301 Whites Ferry Road, call Joe Brown between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 240-388-0602. To drop off deer in Laytonsville, 22310 Laytonsville Road, call Tom Linthicum between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 240-398-0122. For more information, contact the county's Agricultural Services Division at 301-590-2823.