Thinning the herd

Visitors to Rice Lake State Park this past weekend may have noticed a few signs up notifying them of a special hunt underway, while hunters had free reign over portions of the park in order to control the local deer population. The special hunt was deemed necessary by the Minnesota DNR and allowed up to 20 hunters to register to take down two deer. The hunters were limited to using muzzleloaders, a throwback rifle.
“It used to be even years until last year when we had a second year in a row and now this year, we have a third year in a row,” Area Parks Supervisor Joel Wagar said of the growing frequency of hunts like the one held this past weekend. “It all comes back to what our wildlife manager thinks concerning the impact our deer population might have on wildlife resources.”
While an uptick of deer might seem like a good sign at first glance, an over population can cause problems when it comes to maintaining a natural balance in the park. “If there’s too many deer per square mile, they have a drastic impact on young trees and flora,” said Wagar. “If you get too many deer in one area, it’s also easier to spread disease.”
One major factor for an increased deer population is the weather. “We had a really nice spring for fawning,” Wagar said. “However, I would not expect us to have another hunt next year. I think we’ll be back into every other year cycles.”
“In years past, they used to have aerial flights in the wintertime that would give us a good number of how many deer were in the area,” Wagar said. “Now it still comes down to assessing the population and the impact that they have.”
A dramatic increase in deer population isn’t just a nuisance for those trying to manage the park’s wildlife, they can also spill out into the surrounding countryside. “Back in 2018, we had at least 10 deer hit cars,” Wagar said. “This year, it started to pick up again.”
Local agricultural producers will also tip the DNR off if they notice that their crops are being affected by a growing deer population. “If the herd gets too big it just wants to eat everybody out of house and home,” said Wagar.
The special hunt held last Saturday and Sunday targeted does in order to stimy breeding and taper the population. “The easiest way and the best way to reduce the population is to take out the breeding does, if you take a buck out another buck can breed those does,” said Wagar.
While the perfect December weekend warranted an increase in traffic to the park during the hunt, the trails were closed. “Unfortunately, we have to close the trails, otherwise it would not be safe having them allowed to be open,” Wagar said. Some areas of the park did remain open to visitors.
The hunting started just before sunrise and extended to just after sunset, with most hunters spending the entire day out in the park waiting to get their deer. Once the deer are harvested, they’re brought back to the park office and registered.
Dan Williams of Waseca was the first hunter to bring his haul back. Williams said he had done some muzzleloader hunting earlier this year in Kentucky and was ready to go, bagging a deer early in the day before getting one later in the afternoon.
“I think they’re a little more people friendly, so they’re not spooked as easily as if you’re hunting someplace else,” he said of the deer in the park. “Although they’re not stupid, once the shooting starts, they seem to know something’s up.”