Save our Forests

"Save Our Forests" is a fundraising campaign jointly undertaken by the Friends of the Wissahickon and the Friends of Pennypack Park. The principal purpose of this campaign is to fund measures to control the size of the deer herd in each park and thus prevent further damage to the ecology of the parks.

The measures undertaken to control the size of the deer herd include hiring of consultants to study the problem, helicopter surveys of actual deer numbers in the parks, educational materials, and engaging sharpshooters to carry out culls. Additionally, the funds raised are paying for a system of monitoring the effect of the deer on forest regeneration.

It must be noted that not a single penny of taxpayer money has been used for the actual killing of deer. Initially, Fairmount Park paid for the culls with funds solicited from private sources. When these funds were no longer available, the Friends of both the Wissahickon and Pennypack Parks initiated the "Save Our Forests" campaign.

If you would like to donate to this campaign, please contact the Friends of the Wissahickon office at 215-247-0417 or office@fow.org.