A controlled deer hunt is being planned for Love Creek County Park in Berrien Center next month.

Berrien County Chief Naturalist Derek Pelc tells us they’ve been holding these hunts at the attraction for several years now to help maintain the deer population. Permit applications are being accepted now.

“We usually designate three, four, five days, maybe, to give a select group of hunters,” Pelc said. “We have a lottery drawing and we have seven zones throughout the park. So at any given time we could have 14 hunters here.”

Pelc says having those zones will help ensure safety. So, why is it important to prevent the deer population from getting too large?

“It could be something as simple as too many car strikes, causing it to be dangerous for drivers. It could be some types of habitat destruction. Here at Love Creek, we could have an incidence, if we have an overpopulation just here at the park, too many species of wildflowers being eaten by a heavy population.”

Pelc says the controlled hunt will take place November 15 through November 18, which is during Michigan’s firearm deer hunting season. Anyone interested in signing up can stop at Love Creek County Park to apply or email Pelc at dpelc@berriencounty.org.

Pelc says hunters who take part in the controlled hunt will need to have a valid hunting license and deer tags.