Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 321 CMR - DIVISION OF FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE › Title 321 CMR 3.00 - Hunting › Section 3.01 - Hunting, Generally

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Wildlife Management Areas
.
(a) Purpose:
			 321 CMR
			 3.00 governs the administration of wildlife management
			 areas and sets forth permissible and prohibited activities on such areas. The
			 provisions of
			 321 CMR
			 3.00 incorporate the philosophy of the Division that
			 conservation shall encompass the wise use of wildlife resources, including,
			 where appropriate, protection, utilization, and management. Therefore, except
			 as provided in
			 321
			 CMR 3.03, hunting, fishing, and trapping
			 shall be permitted on wildlife management areas in accordance with the
			 provisions of
			 321 CMR
			 3.00 and other provisions of 321 CMR and of M.G.L. c.
			 131.
(b) Definitions:
Alcoholic Beverage
shall be defined as
				in M.G.L. 138, § 1.
Camping
means the utilization of any
				piece of equipment for sleeping in or upon, including, but not limited to, a
				sleeping bag, hammock, tent, tarp, motor vehicle, recreational vehicle,
				trailer, or watercraft, for the purpose of occupying a piece of land or water
				for transient and temporary outdoor living.
Controlled Substance
and
Counterfeit Substance
shall be defined as in M.G.L. c.
				94C, § 1.
Director
means the Director of the
				Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Installation
means fish hatcheries,
				wildlife district offices, and the Westborough field headquarters.
Nature Preserve
means those lands,
				waters, shores and interests therein as defined and established pursuant to
				321 CMR
				11.00 and administered under provisions of M.G.L. c.
				131, §§ 10A through 10D.
Wildlife Management Area
means any
				real property, except installations, nature preserves and wildlife sanctuaries,
				owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the Division of Fisheries
				and Wildlife and subject to the control and charge of said Division, or owned
				by or subject to the control and charge of another agency of the Commonwealth
				or political subdivision thereof or of the United States and operated or
				managed by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife under lease, easement, or
				cooperative agreement as a wildlife management area. Additionally, the
				Director, with the approval of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, may, by lease,
				easement, or cooperative agreement establish a wildlife management area with a
				partnership, corporation, whether profit or non-profit, firm, business, or
				other commercial or non-commercial entity, club, organization, or association
				and such area shall be subject to provisions of
				321
				CMR 3.01(1). For the
				purposes of
				321
				CMR 3.01(1), "wildlife
				management area" shall be construed as inclusive of "public shooting
				ground".
Wildlife Sanctuary
means those lands,
				waters, shores, and interests therein as defined in
				321
				CMR 7.01(2)(e)  and
				administered under provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 7 through 10, or
				any other lands designated by the Director as subject to
				321
				CMR 7.01.
(c) No person shall illegally consume, use,
			 cultivate, or possess any controlled substance of any schedule or class or any
			 counterfeit substance within the bounds of any wildlife management
			 area.
(d) No person, except with
			 the written permission of the Director or his authorized agent, shall consume,
			 use, or possess any alcoholic beverage within the bounds of any wildlife
			 management area.
(e) No person
			 shall dump or discard, or cause to be dumped or discarded, any container,
			 papers, garbage, brush, stumps, leaves, solid or liquid wastes, tires, or other
			 material within the bounds of any wildlife management area.
(f) No person shall remove, damage, or
			 disturb vegetation, soil, or stones within any wildlife management area except
			 under permit from the Director or his authorized agent, provided that nothing
			 in 321 CMR 3.01(1)(f)
			  shall be construed to prohibit the
			 harvesting for personal consumption of edible wild fruits, berries, fungi, or
			 nuts.
(g) No person shall use
			 excessive speed in driving a vehicle on roads within any wildlife management
			 area.
(h) No person, except under
			 permit from the Director or his authorized agent, and except governmental
			 employees in the performance of their duties, shall drive, operate, or possess
			 within the bounds of any wildlife management area any motor vehicle, snow
			 vehicle, or recreational vehicle, except on roads or trails maintained by a
			 governmental agency and designated for the express purpose of permitting public
			 vehicular traffic.
(i) No person
			 shall deface, damage, remove, or molest any sign, fence, gate, building,
			 monument or equipment within or on any wildlife management area.
(j) No person shall build or maintain, or
			 cause to be built or maintained, a fire within any wildlife management area
			 without written permission from the Director or his designated agent and the
			 city or town fire chief or the District Fire Warden.
(k) No person shall camp within any wildlife
			 management area without written permission from the Director or his designated
			 agent.
(l) No person shall engage
			 in target practicing or target shooting within any wildlife management area
			 without written permission from the Director or his designated agent. "Target
			 practicing" shall be construed to include the "sighting in" or testing of
			 firearms and bows-and-arrows.
(m)
			 The night hunting of raccoon and opossum by means of a pistol or revolver not
			 larger than .38 caliber, or by means of a rifle chambered to take ammunition
			 not larger than .22 caliber long rifle shall be permitted on the following
			 wildlife management areas between ½ hour after sunset and ½ hour
			 before sunrise in accordance with the prescribed seasons, bag limits, and other
			 provisions of
			 321
			 CMR 3.02(5). During this
			 night hunting period, the wearing of a "hunter orange" cap or hat is not
			 mandatory.
1.
Central Wildlife
			 District
:
Breakneck Brook Wildlife Management Area (WMA)
Fish Brook WMA
Lawrence Brook WMA
Leadmine WMA
McKinstry Brook WMA
Merrill Pond WMA
Moose Brook WMA
Muddy Brook WMA
Poutwater WMA
Prince River WMA
Quisset WMA
Raccoon Hill WMA
Savage Hill WMA
Wolf Swamp WMA
Connecticut Valley Wildlife
				District
:
Catamount WMA
Coy Hill WMA
East Mountain WMA
Facing Rock WMA
Lake Warner WMA
Leadmine WMA
Ludlow WMA
Millers River WMA (Wendell)
Montague WMA
Mt. Toby WMA
Orange WMA
Palmer WMA
Satan's Kingdom WMA
Tully Mountain WMA
Wales WMA
Warwick WMA
Wendell WMA
Westfield WMA
Whately WMA
Williamsburg WMA
Northeast Wildlife District
:
Boxborough Station WMA
Dunstable Brook WMA
Hunting Hills WMA
Mulpus Brook WMA
Nissitissit River WMA
Pantry Brook WMA
Salisbury Marsh WMA
William Forward WMA
Southeast Wildlife District
:
Black Brook WMA
Burrage Pond WMA
Canoe River WMA
Church Homestead WMA
Copicut WMA Dartmoor Farms WMA
English Salt Marsh WMA
Freetown Swamp WMA
Haskell Swamp WMA
Hockomock Swamp WMA
(exclusive of Erwin S. Wilder Section)
Hyannis Ponds WMA
Mashpee Pine Barrens WMA
Meetinghouse Swamp WMA
Peterson Swamp WMA
Purchade Brook WMA
Quashnet River WMA
Red Brook WMA
Rochester WMA
Rocky Gutter WMA
Sly Pond WMA
Taunton River WMA
West Meadows WMA
Western Wildlife District
:
Becket WMA Chalet WMA
Cummington WMA
Day Mountain WMA
Dolomite Ledges WMA
Fairfield Brook WMA
Farmington River WMA
Fisk Meadows WMA
Fox Den WMA
Green River WMA
Hancock WMA
Hiram H. Fox WMA
John J. Kelly Memorial Forest and WMA
Jug End State Reservation and WMA
Lily Pond WMA
Maple Hill WMA
Mount Tekoa WMA
Otis WMA Peru WMA
Powell Brook WMA
Savoy WMA
Taconic Ridge WMA
Three Mile Pond WMA
Walnut Hill WMA
2. Night hunting of raccoon and opossum under
			 special conditions shall also be permitted on all other wildlife management
			 areas, except on the Delaney (Harvard, Bolton, and Stow) and Flint Pond
			 (Tyngsborough) Wildlife Management Areas. During the period from the first
			 Friday after Columbus Day through the Saturday following Thanksgiving, night
			 hunting of raccoon and opossum shall be permitted on these areas only between
			 the hours of 9:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M. subject to the limitations pertaining to
			 firearms in
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(m). During this
			 night hunting period, the wearing of a "hunter orange" color cap or hat is not
			 mandatory.
(n) No person
			 shall hunt during the pheasant or quail seasons on any wildlife management area
			 where pheasant or quail are stocked without wearing a "hunter orange" color cap
			 or hat, except for the hunting of raccoon or opossum in accordance with
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(m)  and except
			 for persons hunting waterfowl from within a blind or a boat. For the purposes
			 of 321 CMR
			 3.01(1)(n), "hunter orange"
			 color shall be that color defined in
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(2).
(o) No person, except with the written
			 permission of the Director or his authorized agent, shall, within any wildlife
			 management area, dig, excavate, remove or disturb, or cause to be dug,
			 excavated, removed or disturbed, any archaeological or paleontological
			 artifacts, remains, ruins, sites, fossils, or other objects of unusual
			 historical or prehistorical antiquity.
(p)
Rules of Conduct on Wildlife
			 Management Areas for Dogs, Horses and Other Domesticated Animals
.
1. No person may cause or permit any dog,
			 horse, or other domesticated animal listed in
			 321
			 CMR 9.02(3)  to be
			 unattended or to roam or be at large on any wildlife management area. No person
			 may cause or permit any dog, horse, or other domesticated animal listed in
			 321
			 CMR 9.02(3), owned by him or
			 her or in his or her custody or under his or her control, to be on any wildlife
			 management area unless such animal is restrained within a cage, or is bridled,
			 or is restrained on a physical tether or leash by the animal's owner or
			 handler.
2. In addition to the
			 requirements in
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(p)1., any dog
			 feces shall be collected immediately by the person who has custody or control
			 of the dog(s) and disposed of properly by that person outside of the boundaries
			 of the wildlife management area.
3.
			 The provisions of
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(p)1. and 2.
			 shall not apply to persons using dogs on any wildlife management area while in
			 the act of hunting in accordance with the Division's regulations, or training
			 dogs for hunting, including hunt tests and field trials by persons holding a
			 valid Massachusetts hunting or sporting license or by persons participating in
			 a Retriever or Bird Dog Trial event permitted by the Division pursuant to
			 321
			 CMR 2.01:
Retriever or Bird Dog
			 Trials In Massachusetts.
For the purposes of
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(p)3., the
			 training of dogs for the above purposes shall include, but not be limited to,
			 obedience training, pointing, retrieving, water handling, quartering, casting,
			 marking and trailing. Those persons using dogs pursuant to
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(p)3. shall
			 immediately collect feces deposited by their dog within a designated parking
			 area, or within 100 feet of a designated parking area, and dispose of it
			 properly outside the boundaries of the wildlife management area.
4. Division personnel, an environmental
			 police officer or other law enforcement officer may direct that any dog, horse,
			 or other domesticated animal listed in
			 321
			 CMR 9.02(3):
Categorical Non-exemptions
be removed from a wildlife
			 management area by the animal's owner or handler for failure to comply with
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(p).
5. If the Director deems it necessary to
			 fulfill the purpose of a wildlife management area as described in
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1), he or she may,
			 by posting notice on the wildlife management area or on the Division's website,
			 prohibit from or restrict the access of any dog, horse, or other domesticated
			 animal listed in
			 321
			 CMR 9.02(3):
Categorical Non-exemptions
to any portion of a wildlife
			 management area or for a particular time period.
(q) The Director is authorized to declare
			 special regulations as deemed necessary by him for the purpose of dealing with
			 situations or conditions peculiar to specific wildlife management areas. Those
			 special regulations appearing in
			 321
			 CMR 3.03 shall be construed to be part of
			 321
			 CMR 3.01(1)(q).