Springmill Hunt

MITCHELL — Spring Mill State Park Interpretive Naturalist Jill Vance prepares to tag a 10-point buck brought in by a hunter Monday afternoon. Spring Mill Property Manager Mark Young, center, and Inmate Crew Supervisor Kerry Brock examine the deer. Monday was the first day of a hunt to thin the deer herd in Spring Mill and several other Indiana state parks. (Times-Mail / GARET COBB)

Fewer hunters turn out
47 hunters take 24 deer at park

BY ROGER MOON roger@tmnews.com
November 27, 2007
MITCHELL — Rain moved in as the first day of this year’s deer reduction hunt was to begin at Spring Mill State Park, which contributed to another reduction — in the number of hunters who participated.

“We had 63 registered to come in,” Property Manager Mark Young said, “but we only had 47 actually show up.

“We ended up taking 24 deer. On a day like yesterday, that was a pretty good number. ... It’s one of those things where, as much rain as we got, we were pleased with getting the number (of deer) that we did.”

While Young said the rain “obviously was a problem,” he reported a number of other issues can prevent the hunters who are registered to participate from actually coming to the park. For instance, Young said some hunters who might have requested vacation days from their employer were not able to get the days off in the end.

Young said shortly after 8 a.m. today, “We currently have 31 (hunters) in the park.” Because shooting already had begun, he wasn’t expecting the number to increase by many.

Any registered hunter who couldn’t get there Monday was allowed to come today.

The effort to reduce the number of deer in the park, and in other state parks, involves two, 2-day hunts.

The second is scheduled for Dec. 10-11.

Individuals who want to participate are required to send applications to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and a number is assigned to each applicant. A random drawing determines where hunters will go.

“We were given 63,” Young said. “We figured we would get a few cancellations anyway. Our goal is to try to get 60 hunters to show up.”

A new set of hunters will be chosen randomly to participate in the Dec. 10-11 hunt at Spring Mill.

Those participating in the hunts can get access to the woods beginning at 5 a.m. Shooting isn’t allowed until 7 a.m. Today, hunters have to be out of the park by 4 p.m.

The hunts are part of the DNR’s ongoing program to control the number of deer — and the damage the animals do to the park’s plants. Hunts have become a standard management technique at the state’s parks.

Officials became concerned more than a decade ago that the herds had grown too large for their habitat. As a result, hungry herds had damaged plants and, by extension, other animals that depend upon those plants.

Spring Mill does not have a targeted number of deer for the reduction effort. But each hunter can take up to three animals (only one of which can be antlered).

The park’s service area is used as a check station. Officials keep track of the animals’ gender for DNR fish and wildlife experts.