What you need to know about the 2023 Blue Hills Reservation Deer Hunt

Fred Hanson, The Patriot Ledger
·2 min read
2

QUINCY – The annual deer hunt in the Blue Hills Reservation will begin before sunrise Monday. Hunting will be allowed from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset Monday through Thursday until Nov. 22.

For the fourth year, archery will be the only form of hunting allowed, and the participants for this year's hunt have already been selected.

The annual hunt is part of the Blue Hills Deer Management Plan, which is overseen by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. The hunt started in 2015 after a century of hunting being prohibited in the Blue Hills. Its purpose is to reduce the overpopulation of deer in the reservation, which has a negative impact on forests, water resources and plant growth. State wildlife officials estimate there are 26 deer per square mile in the reservation, which covers approximately 11 square miles.

A forested area can sustain about 20 deer per square mile, while the goal for the reservation is between 6 and 18 deer per square mile, state officials said.Hunting will be allowed in about a third of the reservation, much of it in the Wampatuck and Chickatawbut sections between Route 28 and Willard Street in Quincy and Granite Street in Braintree as well as the Braintree section near the Great Pond Reservoir. Other areas include Fowl Meadow and Little Blue Hill west of Route 138 and Ponkapoag and Brookwood Farm.

The sections of the reservation where hunting will be allowed were selected based on the deer populations in those areas. No hunting will be allowed in the most popular recreational areas: most of Great Blue Hill, Houghton's Pond and the Ponkapoag Golf Course.

The areas will be open to the general public during the hunt, and recreational users are encouraged to wear blaze orange or brightly colored clothing while the hunt is underway.

There were 26 deer collected during the 2022 hunt. Since its inception in 2015, a total of 350 deer have been collected.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Where and when will deer hunting be allowed in the Blue Hills