Assabet River NWR Final CCP - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Appendix G: Final Compatibility Determinations
highway and the possession or discharge of any firearm or arrow within 500 feet of any
dwelling or building in use. The use or possession of alcoholic beverages while hunting will
be strictly prohibited. Hunting will occur within designated State seasons but could be
restricted by time or day if determined necessary by the Refuge Manager to address
resource or visitor use issues. All hunters will be required to obtain a permit from the
refuge prior to scouting or hunting. The permit could contain both refuge-specific
information, maps, and/or additional refuge requirements for hunter compliance. This
may be modified on an annual basis if necessary. A fee will be charged for the permit.
Access to the refuge for all hunt seasons is through walking or snowshoeing. Cutting of
vegetation is prohibited.
Limited special seasons will be provided for physically handicapped hunters. Selected
roads on the refuge will remain open for restricted vehicle traffic. Some of these roads will
allow us to provide handicapped accessible hunting opportunities.
Availability of Resources: Hunting on the refuge will be by annual permit. The refuge
will be collecting an annual fee of $20 for all hunting seasons on the refuge. One fee is valid
for Assabet River, Great Meadows, and Oxbow NWRs only for the seasons that are
allowed at each NWR. Fee money collected will help recover costs for funding the
program. The Comprehensive Conservation Plan estimates that the cost of starting a hunt
program will be $60,000 with an annual recurring cost of $10,000. These resources are
available as the program will be managed by existing refuge staff.
Anticipated Impacts on Refuge Purpose: The impacts of allowing hunting may include
disturbance of non-target species in the course of tracking prey, trampling of vegetation,
possible creation of unauthorized trails by hunters, littering and possible vandalism and
subsequent erosion. These impacts are not anticipated to be significant.
White-tailed deer number about 90,000 in Massachusetts. In some areas, deer density is as
high as 25-30 deer per square mile. Many landowners suffer landscape damage due to deer
on a regular basis, transmission of Lyme disease becomes a significant issue with large
numbers of deer, starvation is a possibility when deer numbers are high as food supplies
dwindle in bad weather and deer-vehicle collisions become more common and problematic.
During the hunting season, non-hunters may limit refuge visits to Sundays or to the area
south of Hudson Road, which will be open only for archery hunting during the turkey and
deer seasons, or they may avoid the refuge altogether.
Public Review and Comment: The compatibility determination was included in the Draft
CCP/EA. The Draft CCP/EA was available for comment from July 20 through September
3, 2003. Refuge staff held four public meetings to collect public comments, written and
verbal, on the draft CCP/EA, including all compatibility determinations. Many people
wrote in to express opposition to hunting in general. Others recommended hunting be
restricted to archery deer hunting. Others either supported hunting opportunities
specifically or supported the preferred alternative, which included establishing the hunt
programs.
Comprehensive Conservation Plan - 219 -