HOPEWELL TWP. — The Mercer County Park Commission will hold its deer management program at Mercer Meadows parks from Monday, Dec. 21, through Feb. 20. Deer will be harvested by bow.
Hunting will take place Monday through Saturday (no hunting on Dec. 25), and Mercer Meadows will remain open to the public with the exception of Dec. 21-24 and 26, and Feb. 1–6. Hunting will take place from 30 minutes prior to sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Each entrance to the park will be posted with a 3-by-2-foot bright yellow sign to notify park users of the hunting program.
During the Mercer Meadows hunt, the Park Commission is asking park users to keep to the finished gravel paths, the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail and Maidenhead Trail, in the park.
The Pole Farm section and the wooded area of Rosedale Park are included in this year’s hunt. There will be no hunting at Curlis Woods or near the dog park, picnic area or Rosedale Lake. Maps of the hunting boundaries are available on the Park Commission website.
This is the fourth year of Mercer Meadows’ deer management program, which was initiated in response to a forest health study that was conducted at the park five years ago.
The deer management program complies with all of the hunting regulations set by the state; in addition, the Park Commission has adopted county rules for the program. All hunting must be done from an elevated tree stand; hunters are not permitted to hunt from the ground. There is no shooting across park trails.
For a full set of the Park Commission’s rules and regulations for the Mercer Meadows Deer Management Program, visit the website www.mercercountyparks.org.
