UNION COUNTY, NJ — The Union County Department of Parks and Recreation has released details of its annual Deer Management Program, which began Monday, Jan. 4, in six county parks and one municipal park. The program will operate in the Watchung Reservation, the Summit portion of Passaic River Park, Ash Brook Reservation, Lenape Park, Nomahegan Park, Oak Ridge Park and the Hawk Rise Sanctuary.
The Union County Deer Management Program will operate Mondays from Jan. 4 to Feb. 12. When there is a holiday on a Monday, the program moves to Wednesday. In the event of inclement weather on other Mondays, the hunting activity will be moved to Wednesday that week. If Wednesday brings inclement weather, the hunting will be moved to Friday. Hunters will be in the parks from 5:30 a.m. until after dark, but shooting may occur only during daylight hours.
Browsing for food by large numbers of deer has caused a loss of forest understory in park areas throughout the northeastern United States. The overpopulation of deer threatens the survival of the plant and animal communities that are important to the ecology of these parks. For more information, visit http://ucnj.org/parks-recreation/wildlife-management/deer/ or contact the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation at 908-527-4900. Hunters interested in joining this program in a future year may be added to a mailing list for applications through the website.