Opponents of deer hunting on town land in Weston are working to prevent a pilot population-control program from continuing next fall, despite concerns among officials that local forests are being denuded and the threat of Lyme disease is intensified by an overabundance of the animals.

A group of residents has been organizing opposition to the hunting program since the town broached the subject last year. A limited season, with permits granted to 26 bow hunters for access to five parcels of town property totalling about 2,000 acres, was approved over the summer; the season opened Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 31.