Haudenosaunee deer harvest in parts of Dundas Valley runs Mondays to Thursdays, November 2 to December 3

What the HCA announced

In a media release dated October 29, 2026, the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) said deer harvesting will take place concurrently in two designated areas of the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, shown on maps it calls Schedule A and Schedule B. It says harvesting will only occur on HCA-owned lands within those areas on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between November 2 and December 3, 2026, and that the number of deer is limited to 60 across both areas combined.

Closures and signage

The HCA says Hamilton Police, City of Hamilton municipal law enforcement and Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement staff were consulted on public safety and advised of the harvest and the corresponding area closures, and that trail signage and notice to adjacent residents about the harvest and area closure will be provided. The release says harvesting happens only Monday to Thursday; it does not list individual trails or say on which days the area closure applies. The Schedule A and Schedule B maps linked from the release show the boundaries.

Background

The HCA says the Haudenosaunee Wildlife and Habitat Committee and the HCA have a Specific Agreement for the 2025 to 2027 seasons, based on an existing protocol addressing Haudenosaunee Treaty Rights on HCA-owned lands. It describes deer harvesting as a long-standing Haudenosaunee tradition and says the Nanfan Treaty, or the Treaty at Albany of 1701, gives the Haudenosaunee the right to harvest and fish in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. It says the Ontario Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs recognized and supported the treaty in 2011, the year the HCA board authorized an agreement with the Haudenosaunee Wildlife and Habitat Authority setting out a protocol for deer harvesting on HCA-owned lands.

Other HCA alerts in Dundas Valley and at Tiffany Falls

• Tuesday, November 3: the Dundas Valley Main Entrance at 650 Governors Road is closed to all users for a private event. Parts of the Main Loop Trail and Monarch Trail will have intermittent afternoon closures, and access to the Trail Centre building will be limited.
• Wednesday, November 4: Tiffany Falls Conservation Area is closed in the morning for hazard tree removal, with no access until 12 p.m.
• Friday, November 6 and Monday, November 9: contractors remove hazard trees at the Hermitage parking lot, 621 Sulphur Springs Road, and portions of the lot will be closed. These are the dates in the alert's text; its heading reads November 8 and 9.
• Tuesday, November 10 and Thursday, November 12: contract arborists work on the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail between Bumblebee Hill and the Trail Centre, and users should expect delays and stops while cutting takes place.
• An HCA alert dated October 7 says the trail around Sawmill Pond is closed because of bank instability.