Mass hunting questions about land use ?

[mac1911]

OK so my friend who hunts more than I do came across a issue while blackpowder hunting.

Through out our area there are several areas marked off with these small green signs

XXXXX name conservation land and or XXXXXX reservation land. Other than that the one in our area are not posted in anyway or is there any info posted @ the somewhat makeshift entrances.

His stance was well it aint posted and it is well out of the way of buildings,roadways ect ect.

Now the fun begins. He was aproached by police as he was leaveing and they said he could not hunt on this land. OK no problem was his response to them but decided to ask why? LEO because it is preservation land
Hunter "this is conservation land"
LEO "samething"
HUNTER "why the difference in signage and why is it not posted"
LEO....at this point the leo and my friend where both scratching their heads. Then the LEO basically said that he would have to go to town hall and get the information and or permission to hunt? It even got more interesting as my friend asked "are you sure the town owns this property.

In the end there was no answers and both parties left in wonder. Now the reason for the LEO to be there in the first place was a call to the PD "man walking around with gun"

 

[arlow]

It is your responsibility to know your towns rules and the rules/law to the land you are on. 99.9% conservation or preservation lands are off limits. One exception in our area we have a lot of "Trustee's of the Reservation" lands. I believe this org owns lands all over Mass. May even be the same organization that you are talking about. Here some are posted, some are just marked with little circular tags. The lands with the tags are legal to hunt, the ones posted obviously are not.

 

[Broc]

what town?

most towns have a section in their website, where you can see who owns the land.

 

[Mikel131]

The Department of Conservation and Recreation has Conservation land you can hunt on in the Wachusett Watershed area Holden, Sterling, Princeton, Rutland permit is needed it's free (see my Post Link below) Happy Hunting MikeL


http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...G-PERMIT-WACHUSETT-WATERSHED-Lands?highlight=

 

[mac1911]

He told me he was off rt44 plympton/Kingston area. I I did not get which police he talked to ? He is going to call me back monday with any details.
He only mentioned that the LEO where very cool about it no issues and was not informed of any wrong other than they believed he could not hunt there ?

 

[glockstones]

I thought all "conservation land" was open to hunting, I thought that was what our license fees go to maintaining?

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I thought all "conservation land" was open to hunting, I thought that was what our license fees go to maintaining?

Conservation land is a very general term. The state owns a lot of conservation land and has conservation easements on other properties most of which is open for recreational use including hunting. A lot of state parks, sometimes referred to under the general term of "conservation land" or open space by the town, are closed to hunting.

There are also other private organizations like the Trustee's of Reservations that Arlo mentioned which also conserve land that is also generically referred to as "conservation land." I know that in the case of the Trustee's of Reservations the determination of whether the land is open to hunting (and what kind) is determined by the wishes of the donor and any special requirements they laid out ( IE: no hunting etc) and a determination of the Trustees of Reservations' conservation department.

It is always the responsibility of the hunter to know where he or she is and what activities are permitted there.

Bob

 

[glockstones]

Yea I know the term "conservation land" get throwm around alot I was talking about like when you drive up to the conservation land off exit 9 on 495 in norton(technically taunton). Basically I was wondering about places that have the big green signes that say conservation land right on them, I know most will say in plain writing near or on the sign hunting allowed. I thought those where the lands that our money for the license went to upkeeping.

 

[Broc]

He told me he was off rt44 plympton/Kingston area. I I did not get which police he talked to ? He is going to call me back monday with any details.
He only mentioned that the LEO where very cool about it no issues and was not informed of any wrong other than they believed he could not hunt there ?

Was it myles standish? I think ( not 100% sure) that is the only wildlife management area near 44 in that area. And some places are posted.

 

[Broc]

He told me he was off rt44 plympton/Kingston area. I I did not get which police he talked to ? He is going to call me back monday with any details.
He only mentioned that the LEO where very cool about it no issues and was not informed of any wrong other than they believed he could not hunt there ?

Was it myles standish? I think ( not 100% sure) that is the only wildlife management area near 44 in that area. And some places are posted.
Tell him to give you an address. there is another place near 58 and 44 in middleborough where my girls dad hunts deer.

 

[mac1911]

he is not very good @ relaying locations,
seems he was parked in plympton but he is almost certain he was in kingston after a short walk. After talking with him sounds like he was off rt 106 rt 36 area. He is going back today to get the name of the street he was parked on ?
This was the response from kingston

Hello John,



We do allow hunting on open space properties, but as a hunter I’m sure you already know that some properties are not suitable due proximity to dwellings and roads. The only property where hunting is specifically prohibited is Bay Farm which straddles the Kingston-Duxbury line. Other properties are too small for hunting and are therefore within 500 feet of houses or 150 feet of roadways.



You need a typical hunting license, nothing special to hunt on Kingston open space properties.



There are multiple users in the woods and on the trails on public lands including hikers, horseback riders, cross country skiers, etc. so we ask that you exercise extreme caution when hunting on public open space.



We are working on our signage – often I put up a sign stating it is hunting season so that users of the property are aware that there could be hunters. I haven’t done that yet this year, but virtually all of our open space signs need maintenance/updating. New signage will include information on multiple users of the lands, trail etiquette, hunting, etc.



Let me know if you have any other questions.



Thanks,



Maureen



Maureen Thomas

Conservation Agent



Town of Kingston

26 Evergreen Street

Kingston, MA 02364

T: 781-585-0537

F: 781-585-0543

 

[Broc]

i drive by there all the time.

there are a few small places around that area. Be careful over there, there are a lot of houses near by.

There is one WMA area near the Hanson gun club. close to Rt.27

 

[mac1911]

from what he found out he was hunting in or around the State forest rt 44 and rt 80 area of kingston. He also went out into the cranberry reserve in kingston of rt 27 aprox 240 ac res, did not see any action.....was not hunting just looking around

 

[Broc]

from what he found out he was hunting in or around the State forest rt 44 and rt 80 area of kingston. He also went out into the cranberry reserve in kingston of rt 27 aprox 240 ac res, did not see any action.....was not hunting just looking around

i think thats where my girls dad hunts for deer.