In an effort to reduce the deer population inside the Arboretum, St. John's offered up bow hunting license applications this past August, and this weekend, WJON-AM reports an expected 105 bow-hunters will knock their arrows.

According to the CSB/SJU website, they are aiming to;

"...reduce the deer population to a level that allows natural regeneration of the forest ecosystem that is essential to the long-term habitat of deer and other components of the ecosystem. Harvesting primarily antler-less deer is the best method for controlling the deer population."

Arboretum officials also hope to reduce car-deer encounters around the campus.

The rules allow a DNR recommended harvest goal of 30 deer. This year's hunt begins this Saturday (October 26th) and will end on December 31st, or once a total of 55 deer are taken. Once (or if) that occurs, hunters who have not taken a deer will not be able to continue hunting at Saint John’s this deer season, nor have any priority for future seasons.

The last hunt was in 2010 and this year's will be the first ever bow-hunt. It is only the 12th ever deer hunt since the 1930's.

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