Parks expected to have deer hunting once more
On April 7 the Monmouth County Board of Recreation Commissioners released the Monmouth County Park System's "Deer Management Program Annual Report." The report contains information about the program as administered by the park system during the 2007-08 deer hunting season and staff recommendations for the 2008-09 season. A complete copy of the report can be found on the Web site at www.monmouthcountyparks.com.

According to a press release from the county, the annual report states that the park system issued 984 hunting access permits for the 2007-08 season. Fifteen county park areas were hunted and 444 deer were reported as harvested.

The report recommends that the deer management program for the upcoming 2008-09 season reopen portions of the same 15 park areas for the hunting of deer; no additional parks are recommended.

The deer management program has been implemented in parks that fall into two categories.

Category 1 parks are those that, within the portions designated for hunting, are largely undeveloped with limited public use. The park system staff has recommended that Category 1 parks be open for bow hunting only during the 2008-09 hunting seasons established by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.

In keeping with common practice in New Jersey state parks and elsewhere, the staff has also recommended that trails remain open during the established bow hunting dates. Included in Category 1 are Big Brook Park, Charleston Springs Golf Course, Crosswicks Creek Greenway, Howell Park Golf Course, Huber Woods Park, Manasquan Reservoir (Bear Swamp Tract), Shark River Park, Tatum Park, Turkey Swamp Park and the Yellow Brook Tract.

Category 2 parks are those with regular public visitation that are closed to outdoor public use during the time when the park is open for hunting. These areas are open for limited times when public visitation is at its lowest, typically December and January, according to the press release.

Category 2 parks include Clayton Park, Hartshorne Woods Park, the Ramanessin Section of Holmdel Park and Thompson Park.

On April 4, 2004, the Monmouth County Board of Recreation Commissioners first authorized the opening of county parklands for the hunting of white-tailed deer in the 2004-05 deer hunting season.

According to the press release, the board recognizes hunting as an efficient and effective means of controlling the population of deer that threaten forest health within the county parks.

The board and staff will continue to pursue the implementation of other, nonlethal management methods of the whitetailed deer when suitable options become available, according to the press release.