AMHERST — Hunting on Amherst conservation lands would be prohibited under rules being considered by the town’s Conservation Commission, which, if adopted as written, would closely mirror land-use regulations related to hunting in the city of Northampton.

But the commission last Wednesday voted to table the section on hunting in the revised rules and regulations, written by its Land Management Subcommittee, after commission member Andrey Guidera raised objections to removing hunting access on conservation land, much of which is in South Amherst, including the Lawrence Swamp area, Atkins Flats east of the brook and near the Holyoke Range.

“I think it’s a travesty we’re thinking to close the public lands in Amherst to hunting,” Guidera said. “It’s really got me.”

Guidera said conservation land currently open to hunting is used by many people and there is little time, outside of the two-week shotgun season in December, that people would be hunting on those properties.

He also noted there have been no hunting accidents in town. “All these years and we haven’t had a single accident, and now you’re going to close it because you think there might be one,” Guidera said.

Alex Hoar, who chairs the subcommittee that has been discussing the revisions, said the town’s conservation land currently has 140 miles of trails, an increasing number that puts more people at risk of injury. “They are used heavily and we believe that use increased during COVID, and continues,” Hoar said.

“We’ve never had an accident, and we don’t want one,” Hoar said.

The new rules and regulations would go beyond the current hunting prohibition, which mandates hunters stay 150 feet away from the Norwottuck Rail Trail and any paved road. The subcommittee took a GIS map of all trails and made a 500-foot buffer on each side of trail, similar to state law on how close one can lawfully fire a gun to an inhabited structure.

“What we found was that almost all of conservation land falls within that buffer,” Hoar said.

Hunting would continue to be allowed on other town-owned land and most private land, unless posted for no hunting, so hunting wouldn’t be significantly curtailed within the town of Amherst.

Wetlands Administrator Erin Jacque said current policies leave only a handful of properties open for hunting, and using the new distance limits would leave just five parcels with any land outside those buffers. Jacque said a consideration was made to Lawrence Swamp open for hunting, but only certain portions would be eligible, and it would be difficult from an enforcement standpoint.

Hoar said Shutesbury and Pelham both have all public lands open to hunting, but Northampton has conservation and trails and went through the same process as Amherst, leaving only some conservation land along the Connecticut River at the Rainbow Beach Area open for hunting. Both Lincoln and Concord have also prohibited hunting in recent years on conservation land.

Commission Chairwoman Michelle Labbe said the commission took seriously the possibility of accidents and discussed buffers. It’s about the increased use of land and being proactive, not reactive

“I don’t think that’s a terrible place to come from,” Labbe said. “I don’t want to close it when there has been one. I think that’s a worse place to come from.”

“This is completely done from the point of view of people who don’t hunt,” Guidera responded.

Hoar disputed that, observing that he is licensed to hunt in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire and reflected on his own experience.

“The direction that that’s going in, Andrey, is increased trails, increased use, and the towns departing from the traditional hunting that has already occurred,” Hoar said.

He recalled when he was young he was among those hunting for raccoons, deer and ducks in Concord, including at the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

“I have seen a great deal of change myself, in where I used to be able to hunt, and you can’t do it anymore,” Hoar said.

Commission member Jason Dorney said if there are not many accidents, if any, then changing the rules and regulations might not be appropriate. “It seems a little unfair to the folks who hunt to now close the land off to those people,” Dorney said.

The Land Management Subcommittee’s proposal will lead to a public hearing that will elicit more feedback, before a final vote by the commission in the winter to formalize whether or not hunting will be allowed. The rules and regulations include other topics, such as whether to allow unleashed dogs.

Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek, who oversees the town’s conservation and development, said a lot of work has already been done in advance of a public hearing. “There has been a lot of discussion, a lot of research,” Ziomek said.

Hoar said the public will have its chance to comment. “There are several bites at the apple on this issue,” Hoar said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.