Opponents have met with staffers for Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey and Reps. Jim Gerlach and Joe Sestak, pressing for intervention.

Last week, there was no sign that the politicians would step in to halt the deer shoot, which could start as early as today.

Sestak (D., Pa.) said in an interview that if park officials could assure him of certain safety standards, and allow a neutral observer on the grounds during the shoot, he would count himself "a reluctant supporter."

A representative for Gerlach (R., Pa.) said the lawmaker believes the National Park Service "has looked at this backwards and forwards, and has been very thorough in its review." Gerlach will continue to monitor the issue, particularly in terms of residents' safety and property rights, the representative said.

Efforts to obtain comments from the other elected officials were unsuccessful.

Betty Madden, a Chester Springs social worker and activist, was among those who told staffers for Democrats Casey and Specter about her fears surrounding the kill.

The danger is not only that stray bullets may zip into the neighborhoods that surround the park, she said. It's also that scores of frightened deer - scattering at the first crack of a rifle - could run onto roads, colliding with cars.

"I'm concerned about the deer. I'm more concerned about people," Madden said in an interview. "These deer right now are pretty tame. You start shooting at them, they're not tame anymore. They're running for their lives."

Valley Forge superintendent Michael Caldwell said in an interview that park officials had been in touch with members of Congress, as they regularly communicate with elected officials at all levels - and that the park would move ahead with its plan.

"We believe we've developed a science-based, achievable alternative, and we also believe we've had a vibrant public discussion on this alternative," Caldwell said. "We've reached a decision that's an important decision for the future of the park."

Along with holding public hearings, he said, the park published its plans on its Web site, which includes a page of frequently asked questions.

Park officials have said the first deer shoot will take place between November and March, but have refused to announce dates. The Inquirer has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the dates, along with information about the park's safety plans.

Park officials intend to have federal employees or contractors fire high-power, silencer-equipped rifles, mostly at night, at deer lured to areas baited with apples and grain. Over the next four years, officials plan to reduce the herd from an estimated 1,277 to between 165 and 185.

"Safety is the foremost concern of anything we do," Caldwell said. "That will extend to our deer strategy."

Last week, opponents issued a statement arguing that park administrators "suppressed critical scientific opposition" and that "the public commentary was a sham" because no direct questioning was allowed.

"We would like to have the public hearings reopened," the statement said, and for the park deer study "to include all the critical points of scientific challenge made by Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, Dr. Allen Rutberg as well as other scientists in areas of deer biology."

Kirkpatrick and Rutberg have documented how contraceptives can dramatically reduce deer populations over time. For instance, contraceptives reduced the herd on the grounds of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland by 27 percent in five years.

For deer, Valley Forge is a 5.3-square-mile forest sanctuary where they roam untouched. The green oasis is encircled by development that includes neighborhoods, business districts, and the giant King of Prussia mall complex.

Valley Forge officials say the herd has grown big and destructive, gobbling so many plants, shrubs, and saplings that the forest cannot regenerate. Administrators plan to shoot 500 deer the first year, 500 the second, and between 250 and 300 in years three and four.

After four years, officials say, they'll maintain a smaller herd through contraceptives and additional shoots. They estimate that shooting deer will cost between $2 million and $2.9 million during the next 15 years.

The plan has provoked enormous controversy among people who live near Valley Forge, site of the Continental Army's 1777-78 winter encampment. Opponents say officials embraced a dangerous alternative without fully considering less expensive, more humane options. Others favor the shoot, seeing deer as nuisances that devour plants and put cars and people at risk.

"Sharpshooting is so dangerous," said Elisabeth Anderson, an activist who met with Gerlach staffers. "No one can guarantee the protection of residents."

She and Madden spoke with Bryan Kendro, a senior aide to Gerlach, telling him that constituents would be asking Gerlach to help prevent the deer kill. And, Madden said, Gerlach was "going to have to be answerable to them if anything happens."

Last month, the park announced that it had rejected an offer from Priscilla Cohn, a Pennsylvania State University professor emerita who runs the wildlife group Pity Not Cruelty, to pay for contraception and special fencing in exchange for calling off the deer kill.

Cohn said that her plan would cost $125,000, a fraction of the cost of shooting the deer, and that Pity Not Cruelty would foot the bill. Park administrators said her proposal was far too small and limited. They said they considered their own, similar plan, but learned the effort would require significant resources.

Sestak, who has been in regular contact with park officials and activists, said he was unhappily impressed by the damage that deer had done to the park, by the number of collisions between deer and cars, and by the uncertainty of whether animal contraceptives could end up in the human food chain.

But, he said, he wants the park to ensure that a detailed safety plan is in place before the first shot is fired. That plan should describe how the park intends to handle the risk of deer fleeing onto roads, he said. He also wants a third party on site during the shoots to monitor the park's performance.

Sestak said he intended to hold park officials accountable for their plan, including the use of contraceptives to maintain a smaller herd after the four-year shoot.

"I tell you," he said, "I'm going to follow up."