INDIANAPOLIS (AP): Indianapolis official are recommending that deer hunting be allowed for the first time in the park along Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis.

The recommendation to the city parks board comes after a Purdue University ecologist found that plants in the city-owned Eagle Creek Park showed severe damage caused by deer.

City spokesman Scott Manning tells The Indianapolis Star that the proposal calls for allowing a deer hunt by disabled military veterans, followed by a team of city-hired professional sharpshooters. The hunts in the 3,900-acre park could happen between November and January.

Deer hunts have been conducted in state parks over the past 20 years to control their populations, but hunting is prohibited in all Indianapolis parks.

The Indianapolis parks board could discuss the proposal during its Sept. 24 meeting.