Community Corner

Deer Hunting 2012: Several Three Rivers Parks to Close in November

The Three Rivers Park District will close or partially close some parks in November for scheduled deer hunts to "keep deer herds in balance with available habitat."

 Three Rivers Park District will conduct scheduled deer hunts intended to keep deer herds in balance with available habitat. This will necessitate the closing, or partial closing, of parks where the hunts are taking place.

Archery deer hunts will take place Nov. 9-11 in Crow-Hassan Park Reserve (City of Hanover and Rogers), Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (Savage), and Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake). During the archery hunts, these parks will be closed; however, the off-leash dog areas at Cleary Lake Regional Park and Crow-Hassan Park Reserve will remain open.

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Shotgun deer hunts are scheduled Nov. 17-18 at Elm Creek Park Reserve, (Dayton) and Nov. 24-25 at Baker Park Reserve (Medina). During the shotgun hunts, these parks will be closed. 

Three Rivers Park District selects a limited number of archery hunters by lottery. A limited number of shotgun hunters are selected by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Hunters have already been selected for this year’s hunts.

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In addition to temporarily closing the parks to the public, the Park District takes several measures to ensure the safety of nearby residents. Shotgun hunting boundaries are established well within park property where homes are located adjacent to park borders. Hunters may not go beyond these boundaries unless they are accompanied by a Park Police officer. In addition, all shotgun hunters must attend a pre-hunt orientation that stresses firearm safety procedures. Deer hunters must also follow all applicable DNR regulations.


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