Hunters And Hikers Find Risks

In Sharing The Forest

By Steve Bigham

A local family was startled this past weekend during a hiking trip through Lower Paugussett State Forest in Newtown. As they exited the woods, mother, father and child came face to face with a man with a gun. It was a man fully armed and dressed for hunting.

Still shaken from the experience, the family contacted town officials this week only to learn they had been hiking along trails in an area where hunting is permitted.

 The months of November and December are peak season for hunters and, although there are strict rules that hunters must obey, hikers, bikers and bird watchers enter the woods at their own risk. It’s a fact of life, said an official with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Hunters and hikers often share the same space this time of year, and there have been tragic accidents over the years, though rare.

“Hunting is safe, but obviously if you’re going to take your family out in the woods, you should be aware that there is a three- to five-week period when you see the most extensive hunting,” noted Dale May, director of the DEP’s Wildlife Division. “You may want to stay away during this time or go on Sunday. Work around the seasonal dates.”

In Connecticut, hunting is not permitted on Sundays.

Hunters are allowed to use some pretty big guns this time of year. They are the kind of guns powerful enough to take down a deer. And, as was evident earlier this month in Woodbridge, where a hunter was accidentally shot and killed, the guns are more than enough to take down a human.

The state is currently in the middle of its three-week shotgun rifle season, and the two-week muzzleloader season for deer is approaching.

“There’s a five week period from mid-November to mid-December when hunters are allowed to take deer with a shotgun or muzzle loader,” Mr May said.

A year ago, a Coventry man stopped by his parents’ house to walk the dog. He was accidentally shot by a hunter. In 1996, a Bridgeport hunter was killed in Newtown after being shot by a fellow hunter in Lower Paugussett State Forest. The man who was killed was not wearing the required fluorescent orange vest.

“The ultimate responsibility is on the hunter. In training, we tell them to be 100 percent sure of their target and what’s beyond it before pulling the trigger,” Mr May said. “Virtually all hunters follow those rules, but if just one doesn’t, it can cause problems.”

Hunters are required to obtain the proper permits and are bound by a strict set of regulations designed to ensure safety. And as one local hunter pointed out, most hunters are ethical people. The laws are strict, but beyond their legal responsibilities, hunters have an appreciation for the woods and wildlife management, he said.

“Good hunters don’t just shoot at movement or noise, but there have been problems in the past with not-so-good hunters,” noted Terry Thomas, a representative of Ducks Unlimited, a non-profit hunting organization. “It’s usually easy to determine what’s a deer and what’s a human, as long as there is talking and other noises.”

Just to be safe, though, hikers, bikers, bird waters and hunters alike are advised to wear fluorescent colors, which are easily visible in a forested area.

“Anyone out in the woods this time of year would probably be well advised to wear that type of clothing,” noted Mr May.

Hunting is allowed at specified state-owned lands, privately-owned land with owner’s permission, permit-regulated hunting areas, state-leased hunting areas, registered private shooting preserves, and lakes, rivers, and tidal wetlands during waterfowl hunting seasons.

Hunting is regulated by the DEP as part of its comprehensive wildlife management program.