MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says DeSoto and Boyer Chute national wildlife refuges will close this weekend for deer hunts. All refuge roads and nature trails will be closed beyond the visitor center on Saturday and Sunday to ensure public safety. Only the visitor center will remain open.

The refuge allows the hunts in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as a way to control the deer population. Also, DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will be closed entirely, including the visitor center, on Monday for repairs to the tour road loop.

DeSoto and Boyer Chute national wildlife refuges sit north of Omaha, Nebraska, along U.S. Highway 30 between Missouri Valley, Iowa, and along U.S. Highway 75 near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska.