Bowhunt bags 5 deer in Eureka Springs

Five deer have been harvested in Eureka Springs since an urban archery deer hunt started there on Nov. 10.

Amanda Agresto, a dispatcher for the Eureka Springs Police Department, said all of those deer were harvested during the first weekend of the hunt. The harvested deer include four does and a buck, Agresto said.

Agresto said no deer were taken to the police department over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend or the weekend before that.

The hunt, which is being held primarily on private land, will continue through Feb. 28.

Fifteen hunters wereselected, but other people could be allowed to participate in the hunt if some hunters decide to drop out, said Diane Wilkerson, the mayor’s assistant and organizer of the hunt.

Hunting is allowed from 30 minutes before dawn to 30 minutes after dusk. Hunting is allowed only from tree stands.

Because of problems with deer in the tourist town, voters approved the deer hunt 474 to 393 on the November 2010 election ballot.

Since then, the City Council has been working on details and organization of the hunt.

Eureka Springs’ Deer Hunt Committee decided to hold a hunt under the Arkansas Game and FishCommission’s Deer Management Assistance Program. That means the commission is acting as a consultant and provided the city with 50 tags, which allow hunters to kill does.

Once a hunter has killed a doe in the city, that hunter can kill two bucks, which is the season limit on bucks in Arkansas.

Hope is the only other Arkansas city that will have a hunt under that program this year.

The commission also has an Urban Archery Hunt Program.

Seven Arkansas cities will have deer hunts through that program this year. They are Bull Shoals, Cherokee Village, Fairfield Bay, Heber Springs, Horseshoe Bend, Lakeview and Russellville.