It’s November 30, my mind is still catching up with the calendar, and I’m racing through the woods via the Shaw Farm Trail early in the sort-of-sunny morning. I stop for just a few seconds to gaze at a lone deer standing by the edge of the field foraging through the mowed grass. I bid it a silent good morning, and for a brief moment, I acknowledge that today is the start of the firearm deer hunting season in Massachusetts. I wonder if the deer will survive these two weeks. I imagine never seeing the deer again.
Heart rate is dropping and I feel the chill of the air penetrate my clothing, so I turn again to the path and, just like that, I let go of the thought and move on.
It has been archery hunting season for a few weeks now, so I felt smart in my fluorescent orange running shirt that matched the fluorescence of my sneakers. Clearly, one can see me coming. And if that isn’t enough, I make enough noise grunting, stomping on the earth, breathing in and out heavily, and occasionally a swear slips out when my foot hits a tree root and trips me up or I twist my ankle on a rock hidden beneath the leaves.
Having said all that, I was still startled when I came upon the rustling of moving brush and sticks breaking in the woods, an invisible force of sorts: invisible except for the orange blaze. And the man ahead of me standing on the path, rifle in one hand and walkie-talkie in the other, was equally startling. That is fine, except I shouldn’t have been startled at all, for I know it is hunting season. I guess I just didn’t expect to see a hunter standing so close to where I was, to where the lady coming down the path with her doggie dressed in his orange blaze cape was. I have heard them many times before – hunters moving through the woods or shooting from afar – but I had just never seen them out there before. Right there. Uh-oh. Isn’t this sort of, dangerous? I mean, are they allowed to hunt right there on the hiking path?
Actually, yes. Yes, they are. And as responsible as these hunters must be with their firearms when in a place where the public may pass, I must be equally responsible for my safety – which means casting away my assumed belief in hunting setbacks of some type from hiking trails and getting real.
Which brings me to the point of this long-winded rant on winter-hiking/running/whatever-you-like-to-do-in-the-woods ignorance such as mine. NOW is the time when it is most important to be aware and wear hunter’s orange. People should have on at least an orange blaze vest and cap, and pets should have their own blaze, too.
Most of you already know all this. But a gentle reminder never hurts. Hunting is allowed on Wildlife Management Areas, conservation lands and easements, and land trust properties, unless otherwise posted. Just a glance at the MassWildlife online map shows us that we are virtually surrounded by legal hunting grounds. My beloved Shaw Farm Trail and abutting Nasketucket Bay State Reservation included.
Stewardship Director for the Buzzards Bay Coalition Matt Spinner confirmed this, and his message for you was this, “Throw on some orange.”
State land is 100 percent open to hunting and, oftentimes, abutting private lands are too with permission from the landowner. So for the avid trail runner like me who runs throughout the year unencumbered, I feel a bit obliged to let the hunters have the woods for the very few weeks a year they are allowed. I can at least hold off until midday and leave the early morning and before dusk time periods for hunters. After all, there are always Sundays.
Besides, said Spinner, this is just the beginning of the firearms deer-hunting season, so within a week or so things may taper off a bit.
Spinner did mention, however, that there is signage at most BBC-managed lands announcing that hunting is allowed at the sites.
“We should probably have some signage at the [Shaw Farm] trail notifying people,” said Spinner. Especially, perhaps, for first-time hikers in the area who might not be aware that it is indeed hunting season in the areas that completely surround the bike path.
For now, said Spinner, a great alternative for running, hiking, and dog walking is the new Sawmill Reserve in Acushnet off Mill Road, some 20 acres of land with roughly a mile of walking trails that form a loop or two. The site is too close to surrounding neighborhoods and is closed to hunting for safety reasons. “And there’s a lot of public use there, too,” added Spinner.
“So people should wear their orange for now,” said Spinner. “You can’t be too careful.”
So, watch your step until December 31 during deer hunting season (or January 2 for gray squirrel hunting season. Seriously, did you know there was a hunting season for squirrels? I didn’t.)
By Jean Perry
