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(Click on photos to enlarge)
It is called Kings Park Unique Area, it is 67 acres located on Meadow Rd. and archery hunting for deer is permitted. To many who live in the area, the idea that this DEC site which includes a newly constructed foot trail, a bench and is handicapped accessible, is also an active hunting area is ludicrous.
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Oct. 2 - Residents show up at DEC site to check out the new useCompatible is the term the DEC uses. According to the DEC, they have properties throughout the Long Island region where hiking, mountain biking and other recreational activities occur during the archery season without conflict between the uses. Not a good idea for Kings Park say many residents, the Kings Park Civic Association and Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio.
Phones have been ringing almost non-stop at the offices of NYS Senator Flanagan and Assemblyman Fitzpatrick. They have requested that the DEC revisit its decision.
The DEC uses hunting as the primary tool to manage deer populations. Until this year the setback for archers was 500 feet in the 2014 budget bill the setback was reduced to 150 feet. According to the DEC there have been no incidents between a bow hunter and another person in all of New York State due to archery hunting over the past decade. Deer-motor vehicle collisions in NY are estimated to be be around 1,000 per year with a large number of incidents in areas where the 500-ft setback prevented deer management opportunities. The 150 foot setback allowed the DEC to evaluate properties that would benefit by controlling the deer population but could not be considered before the setback was changed. The site according to the DEC is in an area where they have received many questions about the burgeoning deer population. It is the DEC’s position that the cost and danger to motorists outweighs the perceived danger from bowhunting.
The Kings Park Civic Association (KPCA) worked closely with the DEC in creating an area at the site for walking, hiking, birding, dog walking etc. According to KPCA President Sean Leahmann “The Kings Park Civic Association is not taking a stand on hunting, or the State’s decision on whether to or how to control the local deer population. This issue is about the safety of the residents that use this particular trail for recreational purposes, and the close proximity of housing and school fields.”
According to KPCA Vice President Linda Henninger the comparison to other DEC sites is unfair because other sites are larger comprising thousands of acres. The Kings Park site is 67 acres, there is a school, athletic fields and there are homes in the immediate area. “DEC’s policies must change as the typography and demographics change. They can not safely treat Kings Park the same way they treat land upstate or out east. The statistics are like comparing apples to oranges and Kings Park should not and will not be a test case for them.”
KPCA worked with the DEC to improve and promote the site which members call the Meadow Rd. Trail. “We promoted its use, no one ever hinted that there would be the use of firearms at the same site where people push strollers and walk their dogs, we feel manipulated, said Henninger.
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The DEC has posted signs alerting users that hunting may be occurring and posted restricted areas for the sections of the parcels that lie within 150 ft. of a dwelling or public structure. Hunters are limited by the allocation of a single parking space. It is the DEC’s position that the property is far enough from the school to allow safe and legal discharge of a bow.
Town Supervisor Vecchio is never one to mince words. He is not a fan of the DEC’s decision to allow archery hunting in Kings Park. “A patently stupid idea. No guns, arrows or any other weapon that could cause harm to people should be permitted.” Said Vecchio.
The DEC is expected to revisit its decision early this week. The archery hunting season began October 1 and ends December 31.
(updated Oct.6 7:46 am)