Deer Management: Trails Closed in The Grant, The Greens, & The Grove

Willowsford Conservancy’s deer management program continues in The Greens, The Grant, The Grange, and The Grove.  Following VA state guidelines, archery hunting on Conservancy property will be underway October 7 – January 6 in The Grant, The Grange, The Grove, and The Greens between ½ hour before sunrise to 10:00 am and 3:00 pm to ½ hour after sunset.   All trails will remain open during archery hunting.

Trails will be closed during brief firearms hunting periods in The Grant, The Grove and The Greens, including

• Mon – Fri, November 6 – 10;

• Wed – Sat, November 29 – December 2;
• Mon – Fri, December 11 – 15;
• Wed – Sat, January 3 – 6.

We achieve these objectives through a group of trained and licensed hunters who volunteer in the program. Each hunter is here to serve the community through volunteer service hours and serve the environment through population management. Participating hunters abide by county and state regulations and a stringent set of rules that Willowsford Conservancy sets.

Our program is guided by recommendations from a 3-year browse study conducted by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Conservancy open space. After several years of utilizing this management tool, we are already seeing improvements in the health of our forest understories!