A proposal to allow limited deer hunting this fall in the Genesee County Park won't get the unanimous support of county legislators.
Legislator Mike Davis said during the Ways and Means Committee meeting that he can't support the proposed local law change that will make the hunt possible.
He said he was concerned about the safety of other park users during hunting season.
"If the park were completely closed to all but hunting, then I'm in, but without that I just can't support it," Davis said.
The committee the voted with the one dissenting vote to recommend passage of the local law to the full Legislature.
Davis was recently appointed to the Legislature and represents the Darien and Pembroke areas of the county.
Under terms of the proposal, bow hunting will be confined to 12 zones along the southern border of the park. While the hiking trails will be open, hunters are being told to stay clear of trails and be courteous of others using the park.
Hunters will be selected through a lottery Sept. 15, following a Sept. 11 deadline for applications, which open Aug. 17.
Two zones will be set aside for youth and disabled veterans, and young hunters and disabled veterans will be given priority over hunters from outside Genesee County.
In all, 48 hunters will be selected to receive permits for the four-week season, which runs from Oct. 19 through Nov. 15.
I agree with Mike. If nothing
I agree with Mike. If nothing else, makes me nervous walking through park with my kids, grandkids. Maybe I'll buy some chainmail like the knights of old wore going into battle. To those that say nothing bad will happen, pick up a newspaper.
I agree with Mike and Dave.
I agree with Mike and Dave. Bullets know no boundaries.
There will be no bullets.
There will be no bullets.
There`s an accident waiting
There`s an accident waiting to happen.
If this were for gun hunting
If this were for gun hunting it wouldn't have made it further than a verbal discussion. As for the "pick up a newspaper" comment... bow hunting accidents are extremely rare and I don't recall ever seeing a news story about one myself.
Bow hunters seem to be far more safety conscious than the "average" gun hunter. Some land owners I know will allow bow hunting only on their property, just for that reason alone.
Isn`t there enough land to
Isn`t there enough land to hunt on without having to take any chance at all of an accident happening in a public park?
I hunt private land so i am
I hunt private land so i am not certain but i believe that public hunting on state lands doesn't normally forbid non hunters to visit during the season. So hunters do on occasion see non hunters in the woods. Seems like a pretty petty worry to me. Why should this one park need to be closed altogether for hunting when no other public hunting land is similarly off limits?
Using that logic, the park
Using that logic, the park should be closed to everyone. We wouldn't want someone to slip and fall on the hiking trails, they might break a leg or arm.
A) Comparing a walk in a
A) Comparing a walk in a public park with people shooting deadly arrows in a public park? Non-sequitur.
B) A few years back, I believe it was in Orleans County, a boy accidently killed his friend with a bow and arrow. It was in ALL the papers. Arrows can kill, check with Custer. The more arrows flying, logic dictates, the more chance it will hit something it's not supposed to in a PUBLIC park.
"Isn`t there enough land to
"Isn`t there enough land to hunt on without having to take any chance at all of an accident happening in a public park?"
Take a drive around the rural areas, and notice all the POSTED signs on lands that are privately owned.
More and more lands are being POSTED by landowners because of the carelessness of many hunters, who are not as safety conscious as they should be.
Open land for hunting is very hard to come by, and most hunters look to state & county owned land, like parks, to hunt on because of POSTED lands elsewhere.
I have to agree with Mr. Davis as well. While I am all for opening the park for hunting, safety of others has to be the number one priority, and as long as the park's hiking trails remain open during the same time as the proposed bow hunting in the southern zone of the park, there is too much risk of someone getting hurt, or worse.
People are free to hike on in
People are free to hike on in the state lands during archery season, whats the big deal. every hunter has taken a mandatory saftey coarse and chances are about 0 that someone will mistake a person for a deer in an archery hunting situation. The problem will end up beign archery hunters getting mad an non hunters for disturbing the deer, it takes hours of patience and silence sometimes just to get a chance of a deer coming in close enought to take it with an arrow.but thats what you get for hunting in the park.
Doing a little research
Doing a little research online, most states have this little stat from the national safety council...
National Safety Council statistics on injuries and deaths indicate that the sport of archery and bowhunting combined are safer than golf, tennis, fishing, swimming, and bicycling (“Injuries/ deaths per 100,000 participants”). Injuries or deaths by bowhunters to non-hunters are virtually non-existent.
Most states that had archery fatalities found most of them were purposeful. One state had 3 deaths that were. One hunter shooting another over marital infidelity, one over an argument, and the last was because the victim hunter had 600.00 cash on him and the shooter robbed him.
All in all most bowhunters either from blinds or treestands can't target anything beyond 20 to 30 yards and missed arrows usually land less than 10 ft from target. When in a stand, the angle causes missed shots to be less than 2 ft from target.
" every hunter has taken a
" every hunter has taken a mandatory saftey coarse "
Which is no guarantee that every hunter is a safe one. In 2013 there 19 hunting incidents, including two fatalities, in N.Y.S. Not as high as the 1960s but still high enough.
"chances are about 0 that someone will mistake a person for a deer in an archery hunting situation."
Not true.
I can't wait to read a story
I can't wait to read a story about a guy hitting a deer and then it runs towards a more public area in the the park before it bleeds out and then while the guy is in the middle of gutting it, some lil kids go walking by and start freaking out !!!! Then ill be lmao.
I can't see how they would
I can't see how they would allow 48 people to hunt such a small section of property. The park is only 431 acres total, and at the south end it's less than a mile wide. Then mix in possible hikers, and the thought like Robert Bombard has above of a wounded deer being seen by non-hunters. It looks like a poorly thought out recipe for bad publicity for the County, hunters and hikers. Of course, safety of everyone involved is an issue also. I'm a life long hunter myself, of 40 years. Bow hunting is a safe sport as far as people being shot by others. Most accidents are by careless hunters inflicting wounds upon themselves.
I see the need for this hunt and possibly future hunts. The park is over populated by deer. It's not that droves of hunters are begging to hunt here, the County and Parks personnel are trying to come up with a way of thinning out the herd so the park will survive and not become barren of ground vegetation. Sure it's nice to watch the deer, I do that all the time. I saw a nice herd of about 12 behind the Interpretive Center last weekend while I was there.
I guess we can all agree that there is a problem with the plan they have and the solution is quite simple. It's the first time this will be attempted so, close the entire Park for 2 weeks. Select your 48 hunters as planned. Figure out zones for the whole thing. Assign hunters to zones if that's the plan. Keep in mind, wounded deer travel and they don't know zone boundaries so be thoughtful of other hunters in the area. Wish everyone luck and report your take to an assigned person so results can be tracked for future hunts.
My own personal safety tip....if you're walking on the ground, wear some orange so you can be identified. I always do and take it off if I'm in my stand or blind.
Happy hunting and enjoy the park.
link to park map, hunting is proposed on the southern most sections.
http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/docs/GCPColor11x17Full2012.pdf