Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-05-17
The Great Outdoors
Public Shooting Grounds.
BY GEORGE III. GRAHAM
tFormcr Massachusetts, Game Con-


missioncr.)
Each year in Massachusetts, more
land Is posted against the gunners and
The men who enjoy getting out in the
open in quest of game are gradu-
ally being deprived OF their old time
hunting grounds. In some cases large
tracts have been leased to shooting
clubs those members are the only
ones to enjoy the privilege of hunting
on these leased lands, in other cases
the land owner posts his land because
the hunters will pull down his stone
walls and fences. cut his wire OF shoot
the family cat When such things
happen the owner says he objects to
having any one enter his property
with a gun.
1t is plain to see that the ordinary
! every day gunner has no place where
he has a right to hunt unless he first
gets permission from the landowner.
II Is different In the case of the fisher
man who has the 900 great ponds in
all sections Of the State which are the
property of all the people and where
all have a right to fish under regula-
tions made by the legislature. The
great ponds-over 20 acres-and nav-
igable rivers will always furnish ar
opportunity to those who wish to go
on the water for boating and fishing
but where will the people go for
camping and hunting?
What Should BE Done.
/ believe that the State SHOULD be-
gin at once to acquire large tracts OF
unused land, so-called waste land,
for the purpose of having this and re-
forested and while this is being done,
the land should be available for
camping and hunting under certain
restrictions. Our present law closing
all State owned land to the gunner.
TO my mind is a mistake. We already
have several large reservations which
could be made into Public Shooting
Grounds and thereby give the gunners
a nance to hunt on State owned
property.
As It is now the game on State res
ervations Is continually protected
for the benefit of the men who own
land adjoining and on which land the
public has no right to enter except by
permission. What / suggest is for the
State to make a game sanctuary in
side or these reservations where the
game will be protected at all times
and allowed to increase and spread
over the entire reservation for the
benefit of these hunters who have
a permit to go and get It. Let. say.
one-fourth Of the large reservations
be set aside as s~anctuaries and let the
public have threefourths for hunting
under certain restrictions.
, Pennsylvania has some such plan
and It has worked ~splendidly. The
land that Is set aside for the sane
tuary should be bounded by a fire stop
moi less than 80 feet wide and with
a single strand of wire stretched
around it on which posters should be
placed warning the public out at all
times, with a dog or u
Stock Them Each Year.
These inside reservations should be
stocked with game each year from
the State game farms this with the
natural overflow of wild game, ought
to keep the surrounding territory we'll
stocked for the benefit of the public.
Each reservation should be in
charge of a protector or warden whose
business should be to keep down yer
min and give the game all the protec-
ton possible. Today our reservations
are of little value to the sportsmen
because there is no systematic work to
keep down the vermin and vermin
seem to increase as fast or faster than
the game.
Every reservation should be avail
able for camping at all seasons under
certain rules and regulations which
should be carefully observed the same
as Is the case with the large National
reservations in the West. IL these
| tracts are to benefit the people, the
people should hav access to them.
When people realize that they are
hunting and camping on land which
they are part owner in. 1 believe 1t
will stimulate a healthy public inter-
est that will work for the benefit of
all.
We have today in all sections of
Massachusetts large areas of unused
land that is available for reservations
and which can be bought at a low
figure. When this land is reforested
it will become quite valuable and
as the years go by it will increase in
value tremendously.
Public Grounds In Each County.
Each county should have establish
I'd within its borders. several of these
public shooting and camping grounds
which In the future will become State
Forests.
I realize that it will be necessary
to establish regulations which must
be observed by all who hunt on the
reservation and that it will require
some method of controlling the gun
/ ners, not to allow some men to get all
the game. l would suggest that per-
mits be issued In every instance and
that a report made of all game that is
bagged.