The food and protection that whitetail deer enjoy in Kansas City's larger parks is too good, biologists say.

Deer numbers have skyrocketed beyond what is safe for motorists and park ecology.

So from Nov. 26 through Dec. 10, managed bow hunts for deer will be held in two Kansas City parks -- Tiffany Springs Park and Riverfront Park -- as a trial effort to restore nature's balance.

"Our deer densities are amazingly high in those parks," said Mike Herron, North Division manager for the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.

Aerial surveys showed that the parks had about 119 deer per square mile, said Debra Burns, an urban wildlife biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. That is far higher than recommended densities of 25 to 30 deer per square mile.

"Deer-and-vehicle collisions are the biggest problem," Burns said. "And Tiffany Springs borders KCI (Kansas City International Airport). Also, there's ecological damage to vegetation."

Crowded conditions for deer also increase the potential for disease outbreaks, she said.

"We've also had reports of illegal hunting in both parks," Herron said, "and we hope this eliminates that."

While bow hunts occur in suburban cities and public parks, these will be the first on land owned by the Parks and Recreation Department.

Both parks will remain open for public use. But archers will not hunt in areas frequently used by the public, such as ball fields or picnic areas, Herron said.

The Department of Conservation will manage the two hunts.

Officials have chosen 30 bow hunters for each park. The hunters attended orientation sessions about the areas open for hunting and other guidelines, Herron said.

The hunters will be in raised shooting platforms, or stands, and shooting toward the ground at close range. That will reduce the concerns about public safety, he said.

Similar hunts have been held at other area parks, such as Longview Lake, managed by Jackson County, without problems.

Burns said she hoped the deer numbers would be reduced by at least 30 at each park. Hunters are welcome to take more. But bow hunting is a slow and challenging sport, she said.

Hunters will have about 838 acres to roam at Tiffany Springs Park, much of it wooded, Herron said. Signs have been posted to keep hunters from wandering onto neighboring property.

Riverfront Park is on the Missouri River's south bank, from about Riverfront Road and Front Street on the west, downstream to east of Interstate 435. There is about 500 acres of brushy land, he said, much of it between a levee and the river. Much of the park is fenced.

That park is downstream from Richard L. Berkley Riverfront Park. No hunting will be allowed at Berkley.

But managed hunts could be added at other parks.

"If we're successful this year," Herron said, "we'll be considering other areas next year both north and south."