Blue Hills Deer Hunt Management Plan Approved By DCR

MILTON, MA – The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation on Friday approved the 2017 Deer Management Plan for the Blue Hills Reservation. The 2017 plan includes two phases of hunting this fall: archery during specified days in November and a four-day shotgun hunt spanning late November and early December.

This is the third year the hunt will be held at the Blue Hills Reservation. The DCR first implemented it in 2015 as a means of controlling the deer population.

According to the DCR, managing the deer herd is necessary to ensure the continued growth of plants and sustainability of species diversity, as well as to lower the risk of forest wildfires.

The first phase of the hunt will feature 75 archers operating on 790 acres of land. Archers will be permitted to hunt Mon.-Thurs. from Nov. 6-22. The second phase is a shotgun hunt on 4,026 acres on Nov. 28, Nov. 30, Dec. 5 and Dec. 7. That is open to 262 hunters, though only half will be allowed to hunt at a time.

The approved plan is the culmination of a series of public meetings and requests for input by the DCR and MassWildlife.

Hunters interested in applying for archery and/or shotgun hunting should click on the following link: Blue Hills Deer Management Program to review application instructions as well as to complete and submit an application.

Selected hunters will be required to attend a mandatory hunter orientation session to review the guidelines for deer hunting in the Blue Hills. Also contained on the management webpage is the 2016 Program Overview & the 2017 Deer Survey Report.

Image via Pixabay