NORTHAMPTON — The idea of expanding hunting to more areas of city conservation land has generated opposition from some local conservationists, who assert that hunting is disruptive and incompatible with other uses of public land.
The issue of hunting expansion was raised last year by Wayne Feiden, Northampton’s director of planning and sustainability, while presenting the city’s plans for a new seven-year Open Space, Recreation and Multi-Use Trail Plan.
In these public presentations, Feiden noted the possibility of opening the portion of Beaver Brook Greenway that is currently open to bow hunting to all types of hunting. A 40-acre parcel south of Beaver Brook and a portion of the Mineral Hills Conservation Area off Chesterfield Road would also be open to all types of hunting. These areas were selected because they have low rates of visitation.
In addition to bow hunting in a portion of the Beaver Brook Greenway, the only piece of city conservation land where hunting is allowed is Rainbow Beach, a city-owned property in the Meadows accessible either by boat or on foot by crossing private property. That beach area is open to all forms of hunting.
The hunting proposal has generated its share of opponents, including the Broad Brook Coalition, whose board of directors released a statement in January opposing the expansion.
“We don’t consider hunting on conservation lands to be appropriate,” Robert Zimmermann, president of the Broad Brook Coalition, said.
The coalition manages the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area with the Conservation Commission. Additionally, the organization donates money to the city so that it can purchase more lands for conservation. Zimmermann said that the coalition had never thought that such lands could be opened up to hunting.
“It never occurred to us,” he said.
Both the Beaver Brook Greenway and the 40-acre parcel south of Beaver Brook, which were floated for hunting expansion and hunting respectively, were purchased with the help of funds from the Broad Brook Coalition.
One recent donation, which was given toward the purchase of 20 acres of the Randall Property, had a stipulation that the land not be used for hunting.
Zimmermann said that the coalition is not an anti-hunting organization. However, he characterized the city’s conservation land as “far too valuable” to allow hunting on it.
Hunters, however, contend that they have as much right to use the land in the city in which they live as everyone else. They say hunters aren’t interested in high-traffic areas, and that what is being proposed is a small fraction of the conservation land in Northampton.
Hunters in a Gazette article in December also pointed out that hunting accidents are rare and typically happen to hunters themselves.
Zimmermann said that city’s conservation lands are intended for passive recreation, such as hiking, running, photography and birding. He said that although most hunters are responsible, hunting presents a public safety concern.
Hunting accident data, however, don’t back up that claim. According to the Northampton Police Department, there were no reported hunting accidents from 1998 to 2018 in the city. The department’s records are not limited to hunting accidents involving firearms. In this same period there were four accidental shooting incidents, although no one involved was hunting when they occurred and two of them involved BB guns.
The region has not been entirely free of hunting accidents, however. Last November a 36-year-old hunter in Ware shot himself in the foot with a shotgun. No one else was injured.
Dave Herships, another Broad Brook Coalition board member, said that the new areas proposed for hunting are not big enough.
“They’re too small … to hunt on,” he said.
An avid hiker, Herships maintained that hunting is not compatible with his hobby.
“The hunting and the hiking don’t mix,” he said.
Bob Sproull, who is the coordinator for the Friends of Mineral Hills, said he believes that opening up more lands to hunting would have a chilling effect on other uses.
“I’m personally not in favor of it,” he said.
He said he could not see a school taking children to an area where hunting was allowed, and that he thinks that expanded hunting areas could also have a detrimental effect on people’s desire to sell or donate their land to conservation in Northampton. In addition, he said the process around expanding hunting grounds has not solicited enough public input.
A hunter’s perspective
William Golaski is a Florence hunter who has been an advocate for the expansion of hunting onto more conservation lands in the city. He said that hunters are being offered access to a very small percentage of city conservation lands, and that they are not interested in hunting in high-traffic areas.
“Those aren’t the places we want,” he said.
On bad behavior of some hunters, Golaski said that there are people in every group that don’t obey the rules, noting hikers who leave trash in the woods and people who take dogs on city land unleashed.
He also said that he was willing to work with any group, but that use of the land should be open to all people.
“The land should be for everyone,” he said.
As for hunting outside Northampton, Golaski said he would like to hunt in the city he lives in.
“I would like to recreate in Northampton,” he said, noting that there are hiking areas outside of Northampton that people can drive to in addition to hunting areas.
Dee Boyle-Clapp and John Clapp, owners of the Starlight Llama Bed and Breakfast, have a direct stake in the hunting debate. Their land abuts some of the Mineral Hills land that was proposed for hunting. The husband and wife say their business would be negatively effected if hunting occurred in neighboring conservation lands.
“We will lose our business,” Boyle-Clapp said.
The couple said they have had negative interactions with hunters in the past, including finding a tree stand illegally placed on their property and a “No Trespassing” sign being shot through.
“It’s intimidation,” Boyle-Clapp said.
The couple said they don’t support hunting on conservation land in other places in the city either, and Boyle-Clapp said that the land was put into conservation to provide a safe place for animals.
“This is not a NIMBY issue,” Clapp said.
Boyle-Clapp also said people who donated money to preserve land for animals would not like the acreage being opened to hunting.
“The citizens are going to feel betrayed,” she said.
The Clapps said they are looking to do more public events on their land, 120 acres of which carry a conservation restriction. John Clapp said that if hunting on the neighboring public land is not approved, he would work with volunteers to keep the trails on his property clear.
Boyle-Clapp also said that they are looking to have school children on their property for Forest Fridays; invite Food For All, Grow Food Nesthampton and UMass Permaculture to create exhibition gardens; and host art exhibitions that will be open to the public. None of these activities would happen if hunting is allowed, she said.
“I will not bring a school kid out here if there’s hunting,” she said.
Clapp said that he is not anti-hunting, and noted that he hunted in his youth growing up in Northampton. At the same time, he said that the hunting expansion is not wanted by most people in the city.
“People don’t like it,” he said.
Clapp said that there is already a lot of land to hunt in the area. Additionally, hunters have access to state lands throughout the state, Herships said.
Golaski argues that the Clapps are getting a benefit from the city conservation land.
“They’re using city-owned property to enhance their business,” he said.
Feiden said that a draft of the new Open Space, Recreation and Multi-Use Trail Plan has not yet been written. He said this was because his office has been occupied with other matters, and that even though the current plan is set to expire this month, a new plan does not need to be in place until the city applies for a grant where the plan would be relevant.
As for hunting, Feiden said that the draft will present information on the subject, but it will not make a recommendation either way to the Northampton Conservation Commission. He said that areas for possible expansion would be put forward, but couldn’t say which areas they would be and whether they would include areas previously discussed. However, given the outcry around it, he said he did not believe the Mineral Hills portion that had been previously proposed would be included.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.