Be careful out there people (and turkeys too)

Halton has decided to allow hunting (ugh...). So if you were thinking of hiding out in the woods to catch sight of some migrating birds, don't. Or if you're the persistent type, be sure to wear bright colours.

http://www.insidehalton.com/news/article/805917--turkey-hunt-underway-in-halton-s-public-forests

Tim Foran, CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF Apr 27, 2010 - 11:05 AM

Turkey hunt underway in Halton’s public forests
Bruce Trail head concerned for hikers

The first wild turkey hunt in Halton’s public forests has begun.

Approved by council earlier this year, the Region has opened up seven of its 14 forest tracts in Milton and Halton Hills to the province’s spring turkey shoot from April 26 to May 31.

During the five weeks, hunting wild turkey by shotgun or bow is allowed a half hour before sunrise to 7 p.m., in accordance with Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) regulations.

The hunt is only allowed in the Region’s “outlying” forests, called the Acton, Conley, Elliot, Finney, Frank, Laking and Snyder tracts. A map can be found at www.halton.ca/forests.

Except for Laking, all of those tracts — which make up 510 of the Region’s 1,645 acres of public forest — have hiking, cycling, and equestrian trails.

However, the Region says a majority of the public use in its forests takes place in the Halton Regional Forest Complex (Britton, Robertson, Mahon, Turner and Currie tracts). The Bruce Trail cuts through this area.

“Hiking and cycling users should not be impacted as hunters will not situate themselves in proximity to well-used areas as the game will not be in these areas,” added Halton’s chief planning official Ron Glenn.

He said signs are now posted at each designated tract entrance specifying the particular hunt and permitted dates.

This isn’t the first time hunting has been allowed on municipal property in Halton. For years, the Region has opened up 12 of its 14 forest tracts to the deer hunt, a one-week period in the fall for hunters using shotguns and a longer period for those with bows and arrows. But it’s the first time the Region has allowed the turkey hunt.

“Wonderful,” Jim Hetherington, a member of the board of directors of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), said of the allowance for the hunt in Halton. “(Before) people had to go all over the place to do their turkey hunting.”

The Oakville resident noted the sport has become increasingly popular since Ontario started reintroducing wild turkeys into the wild.

“They’re a very, very popular bird to hunt and not the easiest bird to hunt either,” he added. “In turkey hunting, camouflage is the only way to go. You sit still, and let the turkeys come to you.”

OFAH provides the mandatory courses new turkey hunters must take in order to receive a Provincial licence. Hetherington said much of the course is focused on safety and he doesn’t anticipate any conflicts with hikers using the free forests.

However, the head of the Bruce Trail Conservancy is concerned the Province’s allowance of wild turkey hunting in a small public forest it owns in Halton could endanger hikers wending their way through the woods.

“Hunting and hiking are not compatible on a 50-acre tract,” said Beth Kümmling, executive director of the conservancy.

Kümmling was reacting to the fact Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources will continue to allow the upcoming spring wild turkey hunt to take place on its 50-acre Speyside forest tract, a piece of crown land located on the north side of No. 15 Sideroad east of Regional Road 25 between Milton and Acton.

The MNR property is part of a relatively contiguous forest stretching 13 km in a north-south direction and the optimum route of the Bruce Trail cuts through the property, according to official trail maps.

“We’ve not had an incident (hunting accident) on the Bruce Trail ever,” said Kümmling.

“I think there’s a lot of responsible hunters but I have concerns. This is a small property, it’s not a very large space to have hikers and hunters together.”

A spokesperson for the MNR, John Almond, said turkey hunting has already been allowed, though not promoted, on that property for years and there have been no reported incidents between hunters and hikers. However as the site is small, he doesn’t receive many inquiries about hunting on the property.

Hetherington said hunters also won’t set up near recreational areas used by the public as turkeys won’t come near them.

As a precaution, both the Region and the MNR suggest hikers and other recreational users wear bright clothing when visiting these forests during hunting season.