By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Jan. 31, 2019) Motorists traveling along U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 113 near Berlin may have seen a gruesome sight during the last several weeks.

Near the turnoff from eastbound Route 50 to Route 113 toward Dover, in the wooded area along the on-ramp, were what appeared to be several large mounds of earth surrounded by a number of deer carcasses, some of which appeared to have been there for some time.

One Berlin resident, who asked not to be named, said the remains have been there for a month or more and described the scene as “three piles of dead deer mixed with wood chips and who the f knows what else.”

Upon inspection of the woods, there were several large sawdust hills and a number of deer carcasses in varying states of decay. Some were mostly intact, while others were merely skeletal.

Sgt. Colin Schweitzer with the Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack on Monday said the Maryland State Highway Administration was using the area to store the remains, but had not yet gotten to bury them.

“We got ahold of the state highway administration and that is an actual dumping site or burial site for deer that have been struck on the road,” Schweitzer said. “A supervisor advised he will have somebody out there tomorrow to cover them up.

“For whatever reason, they haven’t been disposed of how they normally have been, but that’ll be taken care of tomorrow,” he added.

Charlie Gischlar, media relations manager with the Maryland Department of Transportation, State Highway Administration, on Tuesday said that agency “is responsible for maintaining all of the State’s numbered routes and interstates.”

“Part of this maintenance is removing deer and other wildlife that were unfortunately struck. There are limited options as to what to do with the carcasses,” Gischlar said.

“We have basically two options for deer disposal on the shore: Option # 1 – Take deer to the landfill. This is our preferred option. Option # 2 – Bury deer on MDOT SHA right-of-way away from any residences or businesses. This is done using Maryland department of the Environment guidance.

“The carcasses are buried beneath the ground surface at an appropriate depth within MDOT SHA right-of-way near the point of impact. Caution is paid to underground utilities and infrastructure before digging and sometimes lime is added to accelerate natural decomposition. This option is used if taking deer to a landfill is not suitable.”

Gischlar confirmed the Route 113 and Route 50 interchange is an example of the latter.

“The deer were placed there last week with the intention to bury them,” he said. “They are being buried today. This location is on MDOT SHA property and there are no residences in the area.”