Griffy Lake Nature Preserve closed for Deer Hunts two weekends in November

BLOOMINGTON – Parks and Recreation actively managing Griffy Lake Nature Preserve for plant and habitat diversity. To that end, deer hunts are scheduled for Nov. 16-17 and Nov. 23-24.

Only hunters who applied and were selected to participate in the hunt are permitted to hunt at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve, which remains closed to public hunting.

Griffy Lake Nature Preserve will be closed to the public during deer hunt weekends, beginning at 11 p.m. the Friday before the hunt and ending at 5 a.m. the Monday after the hunt. The closure includes all trails and the entire lake; no shoreline fishing is permitted, and watercraft will not be allowed to launch onto Griffy Lake during the hunt weekends.

The goal of the annual deer hunts is to remove enough deer from the nature preserve to reduce deer browse pressure on understory plants and seedling trees so that these species can recover and continue reproducing within the preserve. 

Parks and Recreation has actively managed the deer population at Griffy Lake with sharpshoots or hunts since 2017. See deer harvest data, and plant height study results from Griffy Lake.

For updated information, follow the City of Bloomington, IN—Parks and Recreation on Facebook or call 812-349-3700.