Dozens of local hunters woke up at the break of dawn Monday to take part in the first of four planned deer reduction hunts at the Indiana Dunes State Park.

When park property manager Brandt Baughman arrived at his office at 4:30 a.m., more than 40 hunters already were waiting to be checked in. About 90 hunters from the region took part in Monday's hunt.

Over the summer, park officials randomly selected 100 hunters to participate. Baughman, who coordinates the hunt, said this year boasted a higher number of applicants than last year. Almost 250 hunters applied for this week's reduction, and 204 applied for the second round of hunts on Dec. 10 and 11.

"It's a chance to go somewhere and hunt where you usually can't go," said hunter Steve Trinkle, of Schererville. Trinkle said this is his first year participating in the park's cull.

Although hunting is normally banned in Indiana state parks, in 1994 the General Assembly passed legislation that allows it when needed to protect various ecosystems.

Baughman said the growing deer population at the Dunes is problematic because it causes them to overgraze, which is harmful to the park's natural resources.

"Unfortunately, it's our native plant species (the deer) like," Baughman said. "They tend to stay away from the invasive species, which just compounds the problems we already have."

Park officials don't keep count of the deer population, but use various indicators, such as studies of plant species and the success rates of previous reduction hunts.

During the cull, hunters are restricted to three deer each, only one of which can be an antlered buck.

"We do that for two reasons," Baughman said. "First of all, we really don't want this to turn into a trophy contest. It is a reduction, after all. Secondly, it makes sense to get rid of more does, since they're the deer that breed."

All hunted deer must be checked out with park officials, who make sure the quota was followed and attempt to keep track of the ratio of does to bucks.

Over the course of four days last year, 85 deer were hunted, with a near-even split of does and bucks.

"We're appreciative of the hunters coming out here because it really does benefit the park," Baughman said.