Today was the first day of the two-day, combined antlered and antlerless deer hunt at Presque Isle State Park. The hunt is being offered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)

The hunt kicked off Wednesday, December 11 and will conclude Thursday, December 12. The DCNR says the goal of the hunt is to assist the state park wit maintaining a healthy number of deer within the ecosystem. 

When deer populations exceed an ideal carrying capacity, degradation of the park habitat can occur. 

According to the DCNR, 24 deer, 19 antlerless and 5 antlered, were harvested Wednesday's hunt. 37 hunters participated in the first day of the regulated hunt.  

Each day of the hunt, up to 85 hunters will be allowed to hunt using shotguns that are not semi-automatic and are loaded with slug ammunition, black-powder muzzleloaders, or archery equipment for both antlered and antlerless deer. 

Required licenses and tags will be checked when signing in at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center and must be carried while hunting.