Fort Yargo Park closed for deer hunt

WINDER - Fort Yargo State Park in Winder will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday so that hunters can cull the deer population in the park.

Wildlife biologist Kevin Lowrey with the State Department of Natural Resources said the hunts at Fort Yargo have been going on since 2006 in an effort to control the deer population there. He said DNR officials realized it was time to thin the herd when transportation officials began recording an unusually high number of deer-car collisions on the roads surrounding the park. Fort Yargo State Park is bounded on one side by Georgia Highway 11 and on the other side by Georgia Highway 81.

The hunters who will participate have already been selected, but other park-goers need to know that Fort Yargo will be inaccessible to them, especially those who enter the park from undesignated entrances.

"It's folks like that who really need to be aware that this hunt's going on," said Lowrey. "They don't need to be there these two days."

He noted that some runners and bicyclists have been known to access park trails at undesignated points when the park is closed.

Lowrey said signs have been posted that clearly warn of the park's closing and the hunting activity that will be taking place.