Fontenelle Forest Managed Deer Hunt
ALL FONTENELLE FOREST TRAILS ARE CLOSED DECEMBER 4-7 (MON-THURS)
The Nature Center will remain open. For everyone’s safety please make sure to respect the trail closures during this time.
The only exception will be the trails at Neale Woods Nature Reserve, which will remain open.
Fontenelle Forest has conducted a deer hunt for population management since 1996. The hunt takes place each December and includes archers and muzzleloader hunters.
The managed deer hunt is vital to keeping the deer population balanced and healthy. Our ecosystems need enough deer to browse the floor of the Forest. A balanced deer population provides a matrix of short and tall plants which provides habitat for many species. Deer are a native species and have shaped our plant communities for generations.
We continue to hold a managed deer hunt, which uses a limited number of hunters to keep deer abundant but not overpopulated.
The Forest is closed to all other outside activities during the hunt.
Hunters are required to provide the following; a Nebraska deer permit for the applicable area and gender, a state-recognized hunter safety certificate to the corresponding weapon of use, successful completion of a proficiency shoot with the weapon of use, sign a waiver, and pay an administration fee.
Most hunters return each year and are known as veteran hunters. We will not be taking in any new hunters for the foreseeable future.
You can learn more about Fontenelle Forest’s deer herd and managed deer hunt in the following blogs:
- Stewarding a Healthy Forest and a Healthy Herd
- Twenty Years of Urban Deer Management: The Fontenelle Forest Experience
Neale Woods Nature Reserve will remain open! Take this opportunity to check out the awesome trails at our property in north Omaha, a favorite hiking spot for many of our members and guests.
In general, Neale Woods trails are more rugged than those at Fontenelle Forest. There are a few shorter loops, such as Gifford, to Wagon, to Raccoon Hollow and back up Neale Trail. All of the openings at Neale Woods have had extensive prairie restoration and reconstruction work and are in varying phases of restoration. Neale Woods contains the majority of our prairie reconstructions. We have used periodic prescribed fire, thinning, and invasive plant management to increase the diversity of life in our openings and enlarge the prairie reconstructions.
Address: 14323 Edith Marie Avenue, Omaha, NE 68112
Click here to view a map of Neale Woods
Pay Neale Woods Daily Admission Online