White-Tailed Deer Management Program 2025

Deer Management to Improve Forest Health in the Blue Hills Reservation

The following information is from the Blue Hills Deer Management brochure for 2025 from DCR and Mass Wildlife. If you have questions about this program, please contact DCR.

From the canopy to the understory, healthy forests are made up of trees and plants of multiple age classes and a diversity of vegetation. This forest system also provides habitat for a rich and varied wildlife population. 

Forests with high deer densities prevent forest regeneration as deer over-browse on the forest’s vegetation. Extremely high deer densities also contribute to the growth of invasive species and reduce biodiversity. 

The Blue Hills Deer Management Program is part of DCR’s long-term effort to manage high deer densities within the Blue Hills Reservation. The primary objective is to maintain an ecologically sustainable deer density that allows for the continuous growth and development of forest regeneration. In particular, DCR wishes to reduce the negative impacts that high deer densities have on the regenerating forest to ensure a healthy forest composed of adequate diversity of species and age classes.

To initiate deer management within the Blue Hills Reservation, DCR and Mass Wildlife successfully implemented the first-ever controlled deer hunt in the Reservation during the 2015 hunting season. 

Now in its tenth year, the Program features a permitted archery hunt in designated areas of the Reservation.

2025 Permitted Archery Hunt

• The 2025 permitted archery deer hunt will take place over the course of 15 days on: Mondays through Thursdays only from November 3 – November 26, 2025.
• No hunting allowed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 27, 2025.
• In accordance with state laws and regulations, archery hunting will be permitted from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
• The permitted archery hunt will only take place in designated areas of Blue Hills, as shown on the Blue Hills Archery Hunt map below.

Be Safe, Be Seen!

General public access for recreation will not be restricted in those areas where hunting is taking place. Park visitors are encouraged to wear either a blaze orange hat or vest or brightly colored clothing to increase their visibility while walking the trails.