Deer Management Report Details Annual Hunt in County Parks

On Friday, a park ranger stopped visitors at the entrance to Thompson Park to explain that the park was closed until noon for a scheduled deer hunt. 

On Monday and Thursday morning, Holmdel Park will be closed to all outdoor activities for a hunt there. And in January, Huber Woods Park will be closed on three Friday mornings for the hunt. 

Since 2004, the Monmouth County Park System has permitted an annual deer hunt at the parks to thin out the over abundant white-tail deer herd, in an effort to improve forest health and wildlife diversity. The Park System has posted a visual report on its website to show the negative effect deer are having on forest regeneration. 

Residents who are interested in knowing more about the details of the deer hunt in their local county park can browse the 2012-13 Monmouth County Deer Management Program Annual Report to the Board of Recreation Commissioners. 

Here is some information pulled from the report about last year's hunt: 

The Monmouth County Park System issued a total of 810 2012/13 hunting access permits to hunters licensed by New Jersey to deer hunt. Of those 810 hunters, 54% were Monmouth County residents.

In an End of Season Harvest Report survey filled out by 95% of the hunters:

• 86% of permitted hunters actually hunted in a Monmouth County park during the 2012/2013 deer hunting season ƒ
  
• 28% of the permitted hunters harvested at least one deer ƒ
  
• A total of 407 deer were harvested at the 16 park areas open during the 2012/2013 season.ƒ

• 225 or 55% of the deer harvested were female ƒ
• 47% were harvested by crossbow ƒ
• 47% were harvested by other bow and arrow ƒ 
• 6% were harvested by shotgun (Thompson Park only)