Bow hunting for deer is probably coming to conservation land in Harvard—but not yet. After an hour-long discussion last Thursday, the Conservation Commission voted 5-0, with Jim Burns and Joanne Ward abstaining, to accept the Deer Management Subcommittee’s report and its recommendation to allow bow hunting. But the commission decided to delay putting a hunting program into effect until the 2020 season to allow more discussion on which conservation lands should be opened to hunters.
Commission member Paul Willard said it was hard to vote in favor of the hunting measure, even though he supported it, without knowing the specific lands where hunting would be allowed. And Liz Allard, the town’s conservation agent, told the group it was impossible to choose any lands until their deeds were checked for restrictions that might affect hunting.
At first, most commission members were noncommittal in their reactions to the report. But when member Wendy Sisson got her turn to speak, she took a definite stand, noting that the group had talked about the issue for the past 10 years. Over that decade, she said, deer numbers had been increasing. At the same time, the amount of hunting had declined, because more land had been developed for houses or protected for conservation.
Sisson said the commission had a duty to protect the land, saying, “I have seen land that is heavily browsed, and it’s a sad situation.” She acknowledged that Harvard’s woodlands currently have moderate—not severe—deer damage, but she said, “If we don’t do anything, we are going to get to the point where we have a more severe problem that requires a more radical response.”
From the audience, a half-dozen opponents of the hunting measure also spoke. Brian Sundeen, of Scott Road, cited an online petition against hunting on conservation land, organized by his wife Jennifer Sundeen, which claimed 1,400 signatures as of last Monday. He said many of the signatories were Harvard residents.
Several audience members called for a townwide vote on the issue, saying all residents should have an opportunity to make their voices heard. Select Board member Stu Sklar, who attended the meeting, said ConCom had jurisdiction over conservation lands, but a town meeting would have the authority to ban hunting in town entirely, on both conservation land and private land.
After hearing the public discussion, ConCom attached several provisions to its approval of the motion allowing hunting to begin in 2020. Among them were requirements for an annual review of the hunting program and for regular monitoring of deer population density.
Future commission meetings will identify the lands where hunting would be allowed. Given the uncertainty over the deeds, commission member Janet Waldron concluded, “It’s premature to make that decision now.”
