The town considered the matter closed in 2002 when it recommended hunting mostly limited to deer. The DEP did nothing with the land until late last year, when it sent a letter to Supervisor Jeremy Wilber seeking comment. Wilber, assuming the DEP was going to implement the 2002 recommendations, took no action.
The town passed the matter onto the Environmental Commission, which recommended most of the parcel be open to hunting. The commission cited devastation of undergrowth as a rationale, saying hunting would be an effective means of controlling deer, which consume forest undergrowth. It said the land is not conducive to multiple hunting seasons, nor is there a way to limit hunting.
The DEP has said it has no interest in a compromise. It’s either open to all recreation including hunting or it’s closed, they’ve stated.
One resident found it hard to believe there was no other solution to deer population than to hunt.
“We live in a nation that can pinpoint drone attacks across the world, but our only solution to overpopulation is to shoot something,” said Tony Fletcher.
Neighbors say they’re concerned for their safety and shouldn’t have to wear bright colors just to enjoy their back yards, but Joe Leone, former president of Ulster Federated Sportsmen, said nearby Wittenberg Sportsmen’s Club and other hunting groups are willing to work out a solution. The property had been open for decades before the DEP purchased it about 12 years ago and there had been no incidents, Leone said.
Loose dogs a problem
But those neighbors, while open to deer hunting, say that it hasn’t seemed to curb the population. And recent inclusion of other hunting seasons hasn’t helped, they say.
By expanding the hunting season, “we’re killing off the deer’s predators,” said Orli Auslander.
At least one resident isn’t convinced deer population is even a problem.
“Don’t believe the hype,” Erin Moran said. Armed with documentation for the board, she said the undergrowth is being stifled by a thick tree canopy, not deer. Forest management is the issue, she said.
Jeff Shultis had a different complaint. He told the board his family has hunted for 200 years in the area and big issue is people with their dogs off leash. There are leash laws in town and people need to abide by them, he said.
“No dog should be running loose on these lands,” Shultis said.
Jim Davis said it’s outsiders, not local hunters, that are the real issue. Opening the land would attract a lot of people not familiar with the land, Davis has said at past Environmental Commission meetings.
“I personally have called Woodstock PD (police) eight times in 20 years,” he said, recalling a man who shot a deer with a bow from his car window, then left the deer.
“That’s the kind of people we don’t want in our community,” Davis said.
Locals and city folk
The board ultimately decided to get more help from the public in crafting a careful compromise in hopes that maybe the DEP would bend a bit.
“This country is in a lot of trouble because people are not listening to each other,” said Councilman Bill McKenna, a former member of the Wittenberg Sportsmen’s Club. “I’m hard-pressed to believe that if we come to some sort of compromise that the city would tell us to go blow.”
Councilwoman Cathy Magarelli, who has walked the land and talked to neighbors, still hasn’t arrived at a decision. She agrees a compromise could work, though. “I think they (the DEP) made their mind up, but not necessarily 100 percent.”
Councilman Jay Wenk, though for a task force, said he is still opposed to hunting but will listen to both sides.
Wilber urged people to re-read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow because it is particularly appropriate for the situation. It tells the story of the English moving north of NYC to this region. “It’s a very interesting story about change brought to an area. It’s something that has happened over and over and over again.”
Wilber recalled a time when the locals conversed with the city folk at the original Deanie’s on Deming Street and hopes someday outsiders and natives can coexist peacefully once again.
At one point in the meeting when board members shared their views on the situation, Wilber quoted the 1953 Tom Lehrer tune “The Hunting Song.”
I always will remember
Twas a year ago November
I went out to hunt some deer
On a morning bright and clear
I went and shot the maximum
The game laws would allow
Two game wardens, seven hunters and a cow.
