17 state parks to close for deer hunts

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Seventeen Indiana state parks will be closed for a pair of Monday-Tuesday periods while hunters reduce the deer population.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says the parks will close Nov. 17-18 and Dec. 1-2. The hunters invited to the parks were selected in September from a pool of applicants.

DNR biologists say reducing the deer herd in the parks helps protect endangered plants.

The parks that will be closed are Brown County, Chain O'Lakes, Charlestown, Harmonie, Indiana Dunes, Lincoln, McCormick's Creek, Ouabache, Pokagon, Shades, Spring Mill, Summit Lake, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Whitewater Memorial, Fort Harrison and Clifty Falls.

Indiana's firearm deer season runs Nov. 15-30.