Press Release

Good Start for Deer Hunt At Oak Mountain State Park

January 28, 2004

The first day of the special regulated archery hunt at Oak Mountain State Park began early with hunters waiting as the gates opened at 4:30 a.m. The check-in process ran smoothly with the hunters expressing their enthusiasm for the hunt and for what it means to the future of the deer herd at Oak Mountain.

The information gathered by the 70 hunters scattered throughout the park at the same time provides thorough eye-witness data on the number of deer in the park. At the end of the day, each hunter fills out an inventory form to record the number, sex, and health status of deer they observe. On this first day, the hunters observed a total of 629 deer: 109 bucks, 444 does, and 76 of undetermined sex.

In spite of the windy conditions, the archers harvested a total of 15 deer. Eight of the 15 were donated by the hunters to the Hunters Helping the Hungry  program which provides ground venison to Alabama food banks.

M. Barnett Lawley, Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, commended the cooperation and support shown by the Friends of Oak Mountain and the community toward the hunt, as well as the favorable press coverage. He also cited the generosity of Mark Whitlock of Mark’s Outdoors in Birmingham for covering the processing costs of harvested deer that are donated to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program.

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