5 Months of Deer Hunting Coming to Schooley’s Mountain Park

In an effort to cull white-tailed deer and “minimize severe threats posed to the biodiversity of native flora and fauna,” the Morris County Park Commission is continuing its annual deer management program and has released a hunting schedule.

That schedule includes a total of 21 weeks of active hunting allowed in the northern and southern sections of Schooley’s Mountain Park, a county-owned facility.

According to its website, the Morris County Park Commission is “responsible for the stewardship of over 18,000 acres of land. It recognizes that a controlled hunting program is the most efficient and effective way available to minimize the severe threats posed to the biodiversity of native flora and fauna by overabundant white-tailed deer populations.”

The schedule for Schooley’s Mountain Park, which can be found here, is separated into two sections.

Schooley’s Mountain Park north will have open hunting from Sept. 13 to Oct. 31; Nov. 1 to Dec. 24; Dec. 26 to Dec. 31; Jan. 1 to Feb. 21; and is permitted on Saturdays.

Schooley’s Mountain Park south will have open hunting from Sept. 15 to Oct. 31; Nov. 3 to Dec. 24; Dec. 26 to Dec. 31; Jan. 1 to Feb. 20; and will allow permit shotgun, 6-day firearm, permit muzzleloader hunting on Dec. 3, 10, 13, 17; Jan. 7, 14, 17, 21, 26, 28; and Feb. 4 and 11. Park and trails will be closed on those specific days, according to the county.

Sunday hunting is prohibited by state law. Hunters are required to apply for a permit, which will enable them to access a specific park on the dates specified, and are limited to one bow permit and one firearm permit each season.

Find out more about the Deer Management Program here.