State officials approve deer hunting in Blue Hills

Map of the permitted hunting zones around Ponkapoag Pond. Shotgun hunting will be permitted in the orange shaded area and archery hunting in the yellow shaded area. (Click to enlarge)

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), in consultation with the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the Massachusetts Environmental Police and the Massachusetts State Police, has approved the 2016 Deer Management Plan for the Blue Hills State Reservation. The 2016 deer hunt, which will take place over the course of four days, is a continuation of a multi-year management plan that was first implemented in 2015.

Under legislative mandate, the DCR is required to implement a management plan where deer overpopulation is negatively impacting forests, water resources, or plant growth on department-owned land. The Blue Hills Deer Management Program utilizes a controlled hunt as part of DCR’s efforts to manage the high deer densities within the state reservation.

According to the DCR, benefits resulting in the management of the deer herd within the Blue Hills include promotion of tree and plant regeneration; sustainability of species diversity; and reduced risk of forest wildfires due to the growth of plant life.

“The negative impacts of too many deer within the Blue Hills State Reservation remains of the utmost concern to the Department of Conservation and Recreation,” said DCR Commissioner Leo Roy. “It is important that we enable the forest and plant species to not only regenerate, but to thrive. In doing so, the forest will be able to continue to support all kinds of wildlife and will remain an excellent place where people far and wide will be able to enjoy and observe nature within the heart of an urban setting.”

Last year, the DCR conducted its first-ever controlled deer hunt within the Blue Hills during the shotgun season. The inaugural hunt had 85 hunters participate on day one of the hunt, 66 hunters on day two, 70 on day three, and 57 on day four. The four-day hunt resulted in 64 total deer removed from the reservation, or approximately 14 deer per square mile of forest from the hunted area, which is more than twice the harvest density taken in the surrounding region over 65 days of hunting.

The 2016 hunt will take place during the state’s shotgun season and will feature a total of four days of hunting on November 29 and 30 and December 6 and 7. Check-in for permitted hunters will begin at 4:30 a.m., and in accordance with state hunting regulations, hunting will be allowed between a half hour before sunrise and a half hour after sunset.

Similar to last year’s controlled hunt, only licensed shotgun hunters selected through a random lottery will be allowed to participate. New this year, hunters may apply to the hunt in pairs.

Interested hunters can apply directly online at mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr, or they can download and submit a paper application. Selected hunters will be required to attend a mandatory orientation session to review the guidelines of the deer hunt.

In addition, the limited use of archery hunting will be piloted in certain designated areas of the reservation. Of the more than 7,000 acres that comprise the Blue Hills, 3,495 acres will be opened to shotgun hunting, while 226 acres will be opened to archery hunting. A maximum of 132 hunters (117 shotgun hunters and 15 archery hunters) will be permitted to participate during each day of the hunt.

The four days of the controlled hunt will include on-the-ground staffing resources from DCR, DFG, and the Environmental and State Police. A unified command center will be established, and staff from each agency will be working together to implement and oversee the controlled hunt in coordination with local law enforcement.

After developing and issuing a draft 2016 plan that included several modifications to last year’s management plan, DCR hosted public meetings in Canton and Milton, where public input was solicited. DCR also provided an additional six-week public comment period to afford the public an opportunity to submit written comment on the draft plan. Following the public input process, DCR modified the draft plan by reducing the number of hunting days from six to four and removing the archery hunting area in the Ponkapoag Zone.

While public access will not be restricted during the hunt, there are several areas within the Blue Hills that will not be opened to hunting in 2016. Those areas include the southwestern half of the Great Blue Hill section (south of Wolcott Path) and the southwestern areas of the Ponkapoag section (including Ponkapoag Golf Course).

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=34499

Posted by Canton Citizen on Oct 14 2016. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.