46 deer killed during 2 weekend hunts at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve

Carol Kugler
·3 min read
A deer stands in the woods near Griffy Lake on Dec. 28, 2017, the first year a hunt was conducted. This year's two-weekend hunt, meant to allow native plants and trees to thrive, killed 46 deer.
A deer stands in the woods near Griffy Lake on Dec. 28, 2017, the first year a hunt was conducted. This year's two-weekend hunt, meant to allow native plants and trees to thrive, killed 46 deer.

Even with fewer days and cold weather, this year's deer hunt in Griffy Lake Nature Preserve was one of the top two for the number of deer killed, with most being taken on the opening day, Nov. 12.

"It was cold and the wind was blowing with snow. It was not an easy day to hunt," said Steve Cotter, natural resources manager for the city's parks department.

Even so, 33 deer were killed on the first day. The hunts have been conducted for the past four years to lessen the impact of deer browsing on native plants and trees in the 1,200-acre preserve on Bloomington's north side.

Four days of hunting:Deer hunt at Griffy Lake preserve to be 2 weekends this year instead of 3

Cotter credited the fact that deer stood out against the white snowy background as one of the reasons there were high numbers of deer taken on Nov. 12. The hunt continued on Nov. 13 and Nov. 19-20. In past years, the hunts has been three weeks, but this year Cotter said the park was open to the public on Nov. 26 and 27 so people could hike and enjoy the preserve on Thanksgiving weekend. During the weekend hunts, the nature preserve was closed and parks employees and other security personnel kept visitors from entering during the hunt.

The hunt was again administered by White Buffalo Inc., a company based in Chester, Connecticut, that conducted a cull in the nature preserve in December 2015 that killed 62 deer. White Buffalo screened prospective hunters to ensure they were handling their firearm in a safe manner and were able to pass a proficiency exam. The company was paid $22,495 and security for the hunt cost $3,888.

About last year's hunt:Hunters from Monroe, area counties harvest 47 deer in Griffy Lake Nature Preserve hunts

This year fewer hunters were approved to participate. Twenty-eight hunters killed 46 deer. In 2021, 40 deer were killed during the three weekends with 43 hunters participating.

Cotter stressed the deer hunts are conducted to lower the deer population within the 2-square-mile area. According to researchers, there should be about five deer per square mile to allow native vegetation and trees to recover and thrive, he said.

Cotter said it's the fifth year the city has done monitoring of vegetation in the nature preserve and it is showing "slight improvement each year and we hope that will continue. That's why we do the hunts — to allow the native vegetation to thrive and reproduce."

While it's difficult to know exactly how many deer are in the nature preserve, Cotter said that's not necessary. "The bottom line is we don't need to know how many, we just need to create conditions for the plants to thrive."

Because of the success of the two-weekend hunt this year, Cotter is confident next year's hunt will also be two weekends instead of three. "We're going to continue on this course for the foreseeable future. This was the second highest total harvest and that was only over four days."

Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com, 812-331-4359 or @ckugler on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington IN's Griffy Lake Nature Preserve annual hunt bags 46 deer