In Washington D.C., deer overpopulation threatens the future of Rock Creek Park, a protected green space stretching across 1,754 acres that offers residents the opportunity to find refuge from the daily bustle. White-tailed deer have consumed the understory and native species essential to local biodiversity, and prevented seedlings from growing into the next generation of trees. In response to the ungulate threat, National Parks Service biologists conduct annual deer culls. "The results, even anecdotally, are positive. There has been and there is an increase of number of tree seedlings," says botanist Ana Chuquin. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES