April 8, 1997
BY MAIL AND FAX: (301) 587-6151
Mr. Rob Gibbs
Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission
1109 Spring Street, Suite 802
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Dear Mr. Gibbs:
Thank you for your letter of March 25 asking for The Fund for Animals' assistance in funding the installation of Strieter-Lite wildlife reflectors in Montgomery County test sites. As I've mentioned before, we believe the Strieter-Lite reflectors are an extremely effective way to reduce deer/auto collisions, as evidenced by the studies in Washington and Minnesota that indicated an 88 percent and 91 percent reduction, respectively, in deer/auto collisions after installation.
The estimated cost to install reflectors on Brink Road, Randolph Road, and Bonifant Road is $29,470. The Fund for Animals is willing to donate $5,000 to this project if you enter into a binding legal agreement assuring us that there will be no future managed deer hunts in Little Bennett Regional Park, Agricultural History Farm Park, or any other Montgomery County park under the authority of the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).
I think you will agree that the deer hunts conducted in December and January were a waste of taxpayer dollars and a public relations nightmare for your agency. The small number of deer who were killed by hunters will inevitably be replaced during this spring's birthing season, and nothing has been done to address the problem of deer/auto collisions. The installation of Strieter-Lite reflectors will be a much more effective use of funds, and will allow the combining of resources from the Department of Public Works and Transportation, the M-NCPPC, The Fund for Animals, and other private organizations wishing to participate. We hope that your agency will abandon the "band-aid" approach of hunting, and that we can work together to implement real, long-term, humane solutions such as the use of Strieter-Lite reflectors.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Michael Markarian
Director of Campaigns