Mercer County To Host Pair Of Deer Management Programs Beginning In December

The Mercer County Park Commission will host a pair of deer management programs in that begin in December, county officials said Thursday morning.

One program will be held at Mercer Meadows from Dec. 12, 2016, through Feb. 18, 2017. The other takes place at Baldpate Mountain on select days from Dec. 7, 2016, through Feb. 11, 2017.

Both programs are designed to reduce the overabundant deer herd in the greater Hopewell Valley area. Each one is open only to those who have applied and been accepted to the individual program.

Mercer Meadows will be open to hunting on a limited number of days during both the Permit Bow and Winter Bow seasons, and will remain open to the public during the program.

Hunting will take place Monday through Saturday, with no hunting on Dec. 25, and will take place 30 minutes prior to sunrise through 30 minutes after sunset.

Each entrance to the park will be posted with a 3-by-2-foot bright yellow sign to notify park users of the hunting program.

During the Mercer Meadows hunt, the Park Commission is asking park users to kindly keep their recreating to the finished gravel paths, the Lawrence Hopewell Trail and Maidenhead Trail.

The Pole Farm section and the wooded area of Rosedale Park are included in this year's hunt. There will be no hunting at Curlis Woods or near the Dog Park, picnic area or Rosedale Lake. Maps of the hunting boundaries are available on the Park Commission website.

This is the fifth year of Mercer Meadows' deer management program, which was initiated in response to a forest health study that was conducted at the park six years ago.

The Baldpate Mountain Deer Management Program is open for six-day firearm, permit shotgun and permit muzzleloader hunting only.

Baldpate Mountain will be closed to the public during management days. Hunting will take place every Wednesday through Friday and every other Saturday.

Each entrance and trailhead to Baldpate Mountain will be posted with a 3-by-2-foot bright orange “closed” sign as a reminder to the public that the program is taking place.

The deer management program complies with all of the hunting regulations set by the state. Additionally, the Park Commission has adopted county rules for the program. The rules and regulations have been created to maintain the management ethics of the county’s deer hunts.

All hunting must be done from an elevated tree stand; hunters are not permitted to hunt from the ground. There is no shooting across park trails. For a full set of the Park Commission's rules and regulations for the Baldpate Mountain Deer Management Program, visit www.mercercountyparks.org.

Interested parties should visit www.mercercountyparks.org/environment/deer-management or call 609-303-0706 for program rules and regulations, application and zone maps.

Applications will be accepted in person or via mail through Friday, Oct. 28, at the Historic Hunt House; 197 Blackwell Road, Pennington, NJ, 08534.

Patch file photo