AMHERST — The Conservation Commission is poised to discuss a range of options for addressing hunting on town conservation land, from prohibiting the activity entirely to placing more restrictions on some of the public sites where hunting is currently allowed.
With a final report titled “Hunting on Amherst’s Conservation Lands Alternatives” in hand from the Land-Use Subcommittee, the commission meets virtually July 30 at 7 p.m. to get feedback on how to proceed on the topic of hunting and to discuss specific rules and regulations to bring to a public hearing. That hearing, likely to be held in early fall, will be legally advertised in the newspaper.
The subcommittee, which met regularly for several months, was unable to come to a consensus on a draft policy related to hunting, but instead developed what Wetlands Administrator Erin Jacque describes as a kind of “alternatives analysis” that outlines the current locations, among 56 conservation parcels, where hunting is allowed, such as the Houston/ Gage property, the Lawrence Swamp, the Holyoke Range and the Podick, Eastman Brook, Atkins Flats and Simmons Farm lands, and the options available.
The hunting rules and regulations are part of a package of adjustments on how conservation properties are managed and overseen, with other recommendations already in hand, such as when and where dogs can be brought and whether they need to remain on a leash.
The 19-page report on hunting, which the subcommittee submitted April 1, outlines five adjustments to the rules and regulations and five management options that could be implemented.
The report suggests possibly maintaining the current hunting, for all species and all seasons as established by the state and federal governments, on all properties, but removing Eastman Brook, a portion of Atkins Flats, and the two Holyoke Range parcels at the Notch along West Street, while another would restrict the species that can be hunted to deer, turkey, pheasant and rabbit.
Other rules would further restrict hunting by removing more conservation land through “additional exceptions based on an evaluation of the full effects of public safety buffers on the remaining huntable areas” and within the customary conservation areas, or stating that “hunting is not allowed on conservation land.”
Management options include recommending that people and their pets wear orange to increase their visibility during hunting seasons, that signs be posted at trail heads and junctions in conservation areas open to hunting, and that trails be closed to passive recreation during hunting seasons on conservation areas open to hunting.
The commission is also advised to evaluate the effects of the 500-foot public-safety buffer and the 150-foot state highway and paved road buffer, and the suitability of continuing hunting in customary conservation areas other than Eastman Brook, the closed portion of Atkins Flats, and the two Holyoke Range parcels in the Notch along West Street.
Jacque said the rules and regulations adopted by the commission will make for comprehensive land-use policies in one document that will replace the many variations of rules and regulations posted on the town website.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
