The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, better known as MassWildlife, held virtual public hearings Monday on two proposal packages to permanently formalize emergency deer-hunting regulations and make changes to other hunting regulations.
Eve Schlüter, acting director of MassWildlife, led the hearings over Zoom after the brunt of the recent blizzard passed through Massachusetts. Martin Feehan, a deer biologist for the state department who recently came to the Island to discuss off-season opportunities for Island hunters, provided a brief summary of all of the regulations under discussion.
The initial hearing covered regulations that were passed through an emergency order and are currently active. Now the department wants to consider whether to make the rules, which include an extension of the winter deer season into February, as well as a 10-day early season in September, permanent.
The emergency regulations pertain to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands, also known as Wildlife Management Zones (WMZs) 13 and 14, all of which experience deer overabundance that contributes to habitat damage, beach erosion, spread of tick-borne diseases, and increased vehicle collisions. MassWildlife’s goal is to maintain deer density at 12 to 18 deer per mile across the state, whereas WMZs 13 and 14 see 50 to 70 deer per square mile in areas where hunting is allowed. That number is closer to 100 in areas closed to hunting.
The emergency regulations, which also remove the visibility requirement for harvested deer in transport as well as the on-Island deer-check requirement, were enacted late last year. Deer harvested on Martha’s Vineyard may instead be checked in at stations off-Island.
Feehan said not only is there significant impact through tick-borne diseases and the allergy to mammalian products, alpha-gal syndrome, but there are “impacts directly on agriculture, particularly on Martha’s Vineyard, where there are more farms that have not yet been fenced.” It directly impacts the local food system, he said.
He added that this year’s extended winter deer season, which began on Jan. 1 and ended Feb. 14 through the emergency regulations, was very successful. There were 763 deer taken in the fall harvest on Martha’s Vineyard, which is the ninth highest on record. And on top of 171 taken in the winter season, there were a total of 934 harvested this season on the Island, the second highest on record.
The second hearing focused on five proposed regulation changes, which, pertaining to the Island, would expand the youth deer hunt to two more days, allow only synthetic and non-deer-based lures to prevent the spread of a fatal deer illness called chronic wasting disease, and allow Massachusetts Environmental Police to substitute confirmation numbers on harvested deer for physical metal seals, to enable more remote reporting.
The hearings were a means to collect feedback, but those not able to attend can submit comments by email or mail until Monday, March 9, at 5 pm. There is an online form on the public hearings page, or comments can be sent to MassWildlife Field Headquarters, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581.
These hearings didn’t cover several bills in the state legislature, such as universal access to more efficient and accessible crossbows (currently limited to people who suffer from a disability) and the reduction of setback limits, to try to encourage an increase in hunters. Those are statutory limitations, all of which would need legislative action to change.