Bloomington officials say they will hold a deer cull at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve over the next three weekends.
The city received $25,000 through the Community Hunter Access Program (CHAP) to conduct regulated deer hunts at Griffy Lake.
Bloomington Natural Resource Manager Steve Cotter says the cull is important for the health of the preserve.
“The real purpose for the CHAP hunt that we’re doing is to reduce the deer brow pressure in the preserve to the plant community can rebound and reproduce," he says.
Bloomington Board of Parks Commissioners signed a $30,000 contract with White Buffalo Inc., an entity that specializes in deer management. White Buffalo has worked with the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve in the past but isn't bringing its own hunters this time.
Cotter says the sharpshooters won’t be used for the hunt this year and they’re focusing the effort locally.
“These are Indiana deer hunters who have been trained and screened by White Buffalo," he says.
The preserve will be closed for the next three weekends, including the trails and lake, from 11 p.m. on Fridays until 5 a.m. on the Monday following each hunt.
