Point Pelee National Park Temporarily Closed To Visitors For Deer Population Reduction Activity

Point Pelee National Park will be closed to visitors from November 24th to December 1st, 2023, for a deer population reduction activity.

The reduction is part of a multi-year plan to improve environmental health by Parks Canada and Caldwell First Nation.

This year, Parks Canada and Caldwell First Nation decided that to ensure better success, the deer population reduction will occur in two parts: in November 2023 and in January 2024. The park will close again from January 19th to 26th, 2024, for the second week of the operation.

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.

Officials say 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 manage the deer population actively 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.