Drones Prove Deer Hunt Was Needed at Quabbin Park

When Massachusetts officials told residents a deer hunt was necessary at Quabbin Park, some locals were not convinced, as reported by the Boston Herald. They questioned the headcount, the math, and possibly the eyesight of whoever was doing the counting. So the state brought in an impartial referee that does not argue on Facebook.

A drone with infrared vision.

Counting Deer From the Sky

After criticism of traditional deer counting methods last summer, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation decided to try something new: infrared equipped drones.

The goal was simple. Get a clearer picture of how many white tailed deer were actually roaming Quabbin Park, and whether their numbers were high enough to damage forest regeneration and water quality.

Quabbin Park sits inside the massive Quabbin Reservation, a protected area surrounding the reservoir that supplies drinking water to greater Boston. Hunting was banned there for decades, which was great news for deer and less great news for young trees.

Since the early 1990s, the state has used limited controlled hunts to keep deer numbers from turning the forest into an all you can eat salad bar. Quabbin Park itself was added as a hunt zone in 2024, triggering public debate and a lot of anecdotal deer sightings that may or may not have involved headlights at dusk.

Infrared Drones Enter the Conversation

To calm the debate, DCR partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division to fly drones equipped with thermal cameras over the park.

Warm animals show up clearly against the cold winter landscape, which means deer stop blending into the scenery and start glowing like little forest lanterns.

The 2,600 acre park was divided into 22 flight paths, all launched from Quabbin Tower to stay within FAA rules and visual line of sight. Two pre hunt flights in late November and early December produced deer density estimates between 24 and 32 deer per square mile.

That lined up closely with existing pellet group surveys, a method that involves counting deer droppings and trusting the math. The drone data essentially told biologists, yes, your poop based science checks out.

According to DCR, anything above 20 deer per square mile begins to harm forest health, especially new tree growth.

Hunt Results and What Comes Next

The controlled hunt took place on December 8 and 9. Hunters were selected by lottery, the park was closed to the public, and 24 deer were harvested.

A follow up drone flight on December 17 showed deer density had dropped to about 16 deer per square mile, right in the target range. Another round of drone surveys is planned for January to fine tune the numbers even more.

Officials from the Water Supply Protection Trust were impressed. One called the technology “so cool,” which may be the first time anyone has used that phrase in a deer density meeting.

DCR now sees drone surveys as a potential tool for managing wildlife across other parts of the watershed, offering faster data, fewer assumptions, and less arguing over who saw how many deer on their morning walk.

DroneXL’s Take

This is a textbook example of drones doing what they do best. Turning emotional debates into data driven decisions. Infrared drones do not care about opinions, politics, or childhood memories of seeing deer near the trail.

They count warm moving objects and move on. As wildlife management becomes more controversial and more public, expect drones to keep playing referee, quietly buzzing overhead while humans argue on the ground.

Photo credit: DCR’s Division of Water Supply Protection