4-day controlled deer hunt approved in Blue Hills State Reservation (MA)

Just a heads-up for folks who frequent the Blue Hills. Dates for the hunt are: Monday, 11/30, Tuesday, 12/1, and Monday 127 and Tuesday 12/8

More info:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...hunting-approved-blue-hills-state-reservation (subscription may be required)

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dc...tivities/blue-hills-controlled-deer-hunt.html

Maps of the areas designated for the hunt can be found here: http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/ne...parklands/blue-hills-deer-management-plan.pdf

Thanks for the heads-up; first I've heard of this. The over-browsing is quite obvious in many parts of the Blue Hills but I never dreamed the population was 67 deer per square mile! That's about 700 deer inside the park.

Judging by the state of my hastas, I'd certainly believe that estimate!

I only read the middle link (mass.gov one) - said population density is estimated at 85 deer/square mile, and that that estimate is almost surely low. Study also stated that desirable (healthy) population density is 6-18 deer/sq mi, threshold for negative impact is 18-20/sq mi. Wow! So Blue Hills is at 5-15x the desired deer population density!

I've been thinking about this issue for the past few years as we see deer practically daily in our yard in Sharon and the impact is obvious. I'm pleased to hear that the population can likely be controlled by harvesting the deer as a food source. This is a good option IMO. The linked study noted that in other parts of the northeast, other methods of controlling deer population have been tried. For example: sugical sterilization. After 5+ years of surgeries at ~$1000/deer, the population density in Ithica, NY actually increased. Also noteworthy: there are ~22,000 hunters within a 30 mile radius of Blue Hills.

Other animal populations I wonder about in and around Boston are wild turkey and Canada geese. I suspect there's a lot of conversation going on regarding both of those animal populations.