Essex County’s Annual Deer Hunt Returns January 18

Essex County’s annual deer hunt is returning.

Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. will outline plans for culling deer at three county reservations on Monday at 1 p.m. at the county’s satellite office at the South Mountain Recreation Complex.

This year’s hunt will take place for six weeks, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting on Jan. 18 and ending on Feb. 24.

The hunt has been conducted at the South Mountain Reservation since 2008. Last year, the county expanded it to the Eagle Rock Reservation and the Hilltop Reservation. South Mountain  is 2,047 acres and is located in Maplewood, Millburn and West Orange. The Hilltop Reservation, with 284 acres, is in Verona, Cedar Grove, Caldwell and North Caldwell, while Eagle Rock Reservation, which has 408 acres, is located in West Orange and Montclair.

During the hunt, experienced marksmen will work from tree stands to cull the deer. Main roads in and out of the reservations will be closed and additional police officers will be on duty to ensure public safety.

In addition to the deer hunt, the county has started a reforestation program and installed deer detectors on roads inside the South Mountain Reservation. In past years, the county executive has said the deer have overpopulated county reservations, leading to car accidents, deforestation, and  

According to the county, the deer hunt has yielded 750 deer between 2008 and 2010. In 2008, 360 deer were taken from South Mountain Reservation, which dropped to 138 in 2009 and 59 in 2010. Also last year, 151 deer were killed at Hilltop Reservation and 42 from Eagle Rock Reservation.

Past studies have estimated that  South Mountain Reservation, for instance, has between 27 to 35 deer per square mile.

The deer hunters work as volunteers. They are allowed to keep a portion of the venison and the remaining meat is donated through the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.