Hiking the Trails

Fall is a great time to get outdoors and explore. The oppressive humidity is gone and most of the pesky insects have ceased to buzz around our heads, but it never hurts to dress appropriately, use repellant, and take precautions.

Hunting Season

As we near the month of October, please be aware that hunting is permitted on Land Trust properties, as well as on Town Forest land and in the State Forest. Beginning at the end of September, the various deer seasons span several months.

There is a youth hunt day on September 28, but the official start of archery season in this part of Massachusetts is on October 7. Archery season ends on November 30, and it is followed by shotgun season December 2-14. The remainder of December is the season for primitive firearms, which ends on December 31. In Massachusetts, hunting is prohibited on Sundays. Hunting is permitted from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset.

If you and your pets plan to hike during the hunting season, there are a number of precautions. Obviously, avoid drab clothing and early morning and early evening. Bright colors or the luminous safety vests are recommended, which are also available for your dogs.

Why is Hunting Permitted?

One of the pluses of living in Rehoboth is being close to nature – even seeing deer in our back yards – along with the turkeys, many kinds of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. We welcome them and encourage them, often by providing food and great habitat. Some nibble at our gardens and cause minor problems, but most of us enjoy their presence.

Maybe we have been too kind, as some populations have thrived on our nurturing. In the absence of sufficient numbers of predators, deer populations have often grown too large for the habitat they require, especially as development consumes the forests and fields. Deer tend to eat the understory growth in forests, preventing the regeneration of new growth and impoverishing the quality of our woodlands. Many a farmer has had crop loss, and many a gardener damage to plantings as well. Even worse, perhaps, is the fact that in some places deer starve over the winter because the habitat can’t support the number living there. A limited hunting season helps keep a balance in the environment that they, and we, occupy.