/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

Camden Park to close for weekend youth hunt

LYND — Camden State Park will be closed to visitors this weekend for a special mentored deer hunt, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Monday.

The park will close at 5 p.m. Friday and reopen at 8 a.m. Monday.

Camden State Park Supervisor Bill Dinesen said a total of 12 youth hunters and their mentors will be participating in the hunt this weekend.

“It’s kind of a twofold thing for us,” Dinesen said. One purpose for the youth hunt is to help manage the deer population in Camden. “The second is to get youth exposed to hunting.”

“Too many of one animal or plant species in an area can start to throw off the balance of other species in that area,” said Tavis Westbrook, a natural resource program coordinator with DNR’s Division of Parks and Trails. “When there are too many deer in a park, they feed too much on certain trees and native plants, so occasionally we allow deer hunts as a way to protect natural resources.”

At Camden State Park, the deer population fluctuates, Dinesen said. Deer tend to use the park as more of a winter refuge or for cover.

There was a lot of interest in the Camden hunt this year, Dinesen said. Youth applicants were entered into a lottery for 12 open spots.

“We get a lot of repeat mentors,” Dinesen said.

The landscape in Camden offers some unique challenges for hunting compared to other parks in southwest Minnesota, Dinesen said. There’s a lot of varied terrain, with steep slopes, areas of dense forest, and features like the Redwood River.

Hunts will also take place at other Minnesota state parks and recreation areas this fall, and access to the parks will vary, the DNR said. The deadlines have already passed for youth and adults to apply for the permits to participate in these events, which include regular firearms, muzzleloader and archery hunts.

A list of parks and recreation areas that are open, partially open or closed during the 2021 hunting season is available online at www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/hunting.html.

Details on specific areas affected by the special deer hunts can also be found in the “Visitor Alert” boxes on the individual park and recreation area website pages at mndnr.gov.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today