Point Pelee National Park temporarily closing for two deer culls. Here’s when:

Point Pelee National Park in Leamington, Ont. on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

Point Pelee National Park will be temporarily closing for deer culls for two weeks in November and January.

Parks Canada and Caldwell First Nation will be conducting the deer population reduction activity in the park between Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, 2023 and then again between Jan. 19-26, 2024.

A statement said public safety is of the utmost importance to Parks Canada and therefore, Point Pelee National Park will be closed to visitors during this time. The park will reopen on Dec. 2.

This year, Parks Canada and Caldwell First Nation decided that to ensure better success, the deer population reduction will take place in two parts.

Parks Canada is responsible for maintaining and restoring ecological health in national parks. Caldwell First Nation’s traditional territory encompasses the park. A high population (hyperabundance) of white-tailed deer in Point Pelee National Park is a serious threat to forest and savannah health and the species that depend on these habitats.

It is estimated that the current deer herd population is two to three times higher than is ideal. Parks Canada has been collaborating with Caldwell First Nation for a number of years to actively manage the deer population in order to protect the park’s sensitive ecosystems.

The deer reduction activity is part of the Hyperabundant Deer Management Program, which includes ecosystem monitoring, deer population monitoring, species at risk protection, ongoing research and collaboration, in efforts to reduce the white-tailed deer population to sustainable levels based on the goal to achieve ecological integrity - the health and wholeness of the environment and nature.