Hunter Education at the Narragansett Bay Reserve

On a small island in the middle of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, a deer problem has become a conservation opportunity. Prudence Island, home to the Narragansett Bay Reserve, has seen its deer population grow steadily over the years, raising concerns about ecosystem health and Lyme disease-carrying ticks. In response, the Reserve has partnered to launch a pilot hunter education program, connecting new audiences to the land while supporting science-based wildlife management.

“Reserve staff had been collecting wildlife data through an extensive camera trap program,” says Rachel Holbert, the Reserve’s project specialist and former environmental educator. “This created an opportunity to explore how this research, public education, and wildlife management could come together in innovative ways to solve a common problem.” In addition to data captured by Reserve camera traps, additional cameras were deployed [by DFW] to understand the movement of resident deer populations.

Recognizing that people engage with nature in many different ways, Holbert wanted to explore how hunting could become a sustainable part of the solution to deep overpopulation on Prudence Island. While deer hunting was already happening on the Island, interest from the general public to visit was waning. Working with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Reserve developed Deer Camp, a pilot program that paired five new hunters with experienced mentors. 

“The Reserve’s unique location provides participants with a true remote camp experience without ever leaving Rhode Island,” says Maddie Proulx, who works with RIDEM’s Hunter Education Program and attended Deer Camp. “They provided housing, hunting land, local knowledge, logistical support, and helped create a setting that makes this program unlike any other in the state. Their support has played a major role in the success of Deer Camp and in helping us introduce newer hunters to ethical, safe, legal and responsible deer hunting.”

Because Prudence Island is accessible only by boat or ferry, the Reserve’s lodge and cottage facilities, housed in a former Navy building, provided a space where participants could learn hunting skills and access the island’s unique ecology. 

Mentors spent months scouting Reserve lands before the hunting weekend, using their knowledge of local wildlife and habitat conditions to prepare for the experience. Participants took part in educational programming leading up to the event, creating opportunities to learn about conservation, wildlife populations, and responsible hunting practices.

“The group needed a place to go that was open to hunting, large enough for several hunting parties, and had an abundance of game,” says Michael Woods, one of the Deer Camp mentors and lead for the local chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. “Prudence Island met this need well and is also an example of what can happen when deer populations are allowed to grow beyond the ecosystem’s capacity: heavily browsed vegetation and tick-borne illnesses. If they had more developed roads, I’m sure that deer-vehicle collisions would be frequent.”

The program demonstrated how Reserve-generated data can support real-world management decisions. Wildlife camera traps, drone imagery, and ongoing monitoring efforts help researchers and biologists better understand deer populations and animal behavior across the island. Those insights can inform hunting regulations and management strategies, offering lessons that are transferable far beyond Rhode Island.

“This program reached people we don’t normally reach,” says Holbert. “It brought together so many different communities with a shared commitment to stewarding this landscape. Participants were introduced not only to hunting ethics and skills but also to the broader mission of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.”