INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Eighteen Indiana state parks will close temporarily later this month and in early December for deer reduction hunts.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced Monday the parks will close Nov. 17-18 and Dec. 1-2. The parks will close to the general public the evening before each of the two-day hunts and reopen the morning after the second day.

The state parks affected are Brown County, Chain O'Lakes, Charlestown, Clifty Falls, Fort Harrison, Harmonie, Indiana Dunes, Lincoln, McCormick's Creek, Ouabache, Pokagon, Potato Creek, Prophetstown, Shakamak, Spring Mill, Summit Lake, Tippecanoe River and Whitewater Memorial. 

The DNR says the hunts help control browsing by deer to a level that helps maintain habitat throughout the state parks for all plants and animals.